635. New Belgium – Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa Tripel

635. New Belgium - Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa Tripel

As I mentioned in my last couple of posts, I’m out to dinner with my friend Joe, who is in town for work this week. We’re at Medici in Normal for dinner and a few craft beers. After dinner, I was looking for something flavorful and interesting to try as an almost dessert beer. I’ve had a few beers in New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series and felt like a sour beer might fit the bill.

Location: On tap and served in a snifter glass at Medici in Normal, IL.

Numbers: 9.4% ABV, ~340 Calories

Ingredients: Hops: Target, Nelson Sauvin; Malts: Pale, Black; Yeast: Bastogne Belgian; Fruits/Spice: Feijoa, Hibiscus

Appearance & Aroma: It’s dark amber in color and lightly hazy with a very thin head – which fell to a thin ring around the edge after a couple minutes. There was a very citrusy-tropical aroma to it.

Taste & Feel: The body was light-medium and the mouthfeel was smooth, but dry. The flavors up front were very sweet with a good amount of tropical fruitiness and a bit of tartness. The tart tropical citrus flavors grow in the middle, with a good amount of citrus bitterness as well. The citrusy bitterness peaks in the finish, with the tropical citrus tartness in the background with some spiciness. The citrus and tropical fruits last for a brief time in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: This beer has a lot of tropical citrus and hop flavors, which I think would be a great pairing for a pork dish – like pork chops or tenderloin. The tropical and citrus flavors add a bit of flare to the muted, meaty pork flavors.

Overall Impression: I expected a fair amount of tartness and sourness from the Lips of Faith series brew, but I didn’t expect the good amount of citrusy hop flavor and bitterness. The flavors were fairly bold, yet this was a pretty quaffable beer with almost no hint of the high ABV. Overall, it was a very complex beer with very unique flavors. While it’s unique flavors are not what I’d drink on a regular basis, it’s one that’s good every once in while.

My Rating: ★★★½☆

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