I recently sipped my way through the very red and very good Transatlantique Kriek from New Belgium. It was the first re-collaboration with original Belgian brewers for the Lips of Faith series. There are three more coming our way in 2016 to look for with the cool twist being that you could pick up 4-packs.
Hof ten Dormaal Golden Ale
“Hof ten Dormaal debuted this April in 12-oz four-packs, marking a packaging first for Lips of Faith beers, which were formerly found only in bombers and on draft. This beer is a collaboration with the Jannsens family, which runs Hof ten Dormaal in Tildonk, Belgium, pairing Old World ingredients with new world innovation. The Jannsens provided their Belgium yeast strain, giving delicate pear, banana and clove notes to the beer. Spelt, malted sunflower seeds, and wild carrot herbs provide a nutty, bready and grassy wash. Add in Saaz and Mosaic hops and you have spicy, tropical accents and a taste of the Belgian countryside in every sip.”
De Koninck Flowering Citrus Ale
“De Koninck Flowering Citrus Ale, a collaboration with Antwerp, Belgium’s historic De Koninck Brewery, will release this summer. This beer will offer a pop of key lime and lemons. The fragrance of hibiscus, rose petals and strawberry-tinged Mistral hops will make it the ideal beer for soaking in summer days.”
Anne-Françoise Spiced Dark Strong Ale
“The final beer in this Belgian-collaboration series is a spiced dark strong ale. Deep into Belgium’s Forêt d’Orval two brave brewmasters—Orval’s first female brewmaster Anne-Françoise Pypaert and New Belgium’s Peter Bouckaert—crafted Spiced Dark Strong Ale. They brought spruce tips and medium-toasted American oak to this brooding chocolaty beer, and then wove deeply herbal French Sprisselspalt and spicy Liberty and Willamette hops into the mix. A dash of grains of paradise offers a beam of citrusy light.”