Beer Review: New Belgium Lips of Faith Kick

Did you hear the news? New Belgium now distributes to Maryland. About damn time! There's a slightly different version of the Fat Tire label that says something along the lines of "don't be crabby, we got to the Chesapeake". I guess this is to answer similar reactions from others who share my feelings. It is about time.

Craft beer folks will know to skip the Fat Tire and go right for the big boys, the Lips of Faith series. In all seriousness, I'm very happy that New Belgium stuff can be had in Maryland. I'm thrilled that they sent out some of the special and seasonal releases in addition to their standard line. I hope this is a sign of things to come. Prices seem very reasonable at about $4 for the standards and $7-$9 for the big guns.

Kick appears to be a fall seasonal. The jack-o-lantern themed label give that away. This brew is a collaborative effort between New Belgium in Colorado and Elysian Brewing Company in Washington. It's a sour ale that's a blend of sorts. 75% is an ale that's brewed with cranberry juice and pumpkin. 25% is an un-fruited ale that's been aged in wood barrels. It clocks in at 8.5% alcohol by volume.


I poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a medium snifter. I offered to share this with my wife, but she declined. Ok, I'll drink it by myself. Darn. It appears evenly hazy, pale orange with a fine bubbled head, small streams of carbonation that come up sporadically through the tasting. The head scoots to the edge really quick. The aroma is with faint hints of cranberries with some light wood notes. It reminds me of chardonnay wine.

Sipping commences. It's big and tart. Huge tart orange citrus up front which sticks through the middle. I picked up some earthy woody notes and tart and sour cranberries in the middle. It finishes with hints of sweet cherries. The lingering aftertaste is rocky and sour with some hints of cinnamon spice. It comes back and goes away a few times. This is a palate cleanser, for sure. Kick feels light to medium in body with not a hint of alcohol.

I'm pleased with this, my NB-hype excitement aside. For the price, this is a VERY well executed lightly sour ale. I don't pick up too much from the pumpkin addition, but the cranberry is there for sure. This could be a good one for the adventurous beginner who has had success with lightly sour brews. Very enjoyable as a sipper after dinner. The 8.5%ABV is extremely well hidden. The  use of cranberry and the cinnamon notes make me want to save this for the colder holiday weather. But, it's quite enjoyable in the light summer as a sour to finish off a tasting session.

In my recent shopping I grabbed some Clutch, a dark sour ale. We'll see how that one is tomorrow.

A Not-So-Comprehensive List of Craft Cans

This is a follow up post to this one on Craft Cans. I'd like to keep a running list going of craft cans that can be found. Not necessarily specific to one area. Ideally this will be all-inclusive, but I'm sure I'll leave some out at first. Please share something if I've left one out that you know of. I've not had all of these, so input and tasting notes are welcome.

21st Amendment Brewery San Francisco, CA
21st Amendment IPA American India Pale Ale7%
Back In Black American Black Ale 6.8%
Bitter American American Pale Ale 4.4%
Fireside Chat Winter Warmer 7.9%
Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat Beer Wheat Ale 4.9%
Monk's Blood Belgian Strong Dark Ale 8.3%

Caldera Ashland, OR
Ashland Amber  American Amber/Red Ale - 5.4%
Caldera IPA American India Pale Ale - 6.1%
Caldera Pale Ale American Pale Ale 5.5%
Dry Hop Red American Amber/Red Ale - 5.7%

Cisco Brewers Inc Nantucket, MA

Whale's Tale Pale Ale English Pale Ale 5.6%

The Brewer's Art Baltimore, MD, brewed and canned at Sly Fox in Royersford, PA
Brewer's Art Resurrection Belgian Dubbel 7%

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Lager American Amber/Red Lager 5.2%

Butternuts Beer & Ale Garrattsville, NY
Heinnieweisse Weissebier Hefeweizen 4.9%
Moo Thunder Stout Milk Stout 4.9%
Porkslap Pale Ale American Pale Ale 4.3%
Snapperhead IPA American India Pale Ale 6.8%

Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery Lyons, CO
Dale's Pale Ale American Pale Ale 6.5%
G'Knight Imperial Red Ale (formerly "Gordon") American Red 8.7% 
GUBNA Imperial IPA American Imperial India Pale Ale 10%
Mama's Little Yella Pils Czech Pilsener 5.3%
Old Chub - Scottish Style Ale Scotch Ale 8%
One Hit Wonder American Imperial India Pale Ale 9%
Ten FIDY Russian Imperial Stout 10.5%


Saranac (by The Matt Brewing Company) Utica, NY
Saranac Pale Ale English Pale Ale 5.5%

Sly Fox in Royersford, PA
Thanks to Jeff P. for these. I haven't seen them in my area.
Dunkel Lager Munich Dunkel Lage 5.3%
Oktoberfest Märzen 5.8%
Phoenix Pale American Pale Ale 5.1%

Pikeland Pils German Pilsener 4.9%

Route 113 India Pale Ale American India Pale Ale 7%
Royal Weisse Hefeweizen 5.6%

Craft Cans

I really enjoy craft beer from a can. Not that I really enjoy drinking it out of a can, but I like it's convenience for certain situations. It seems to be superior to the bottle for freshness as well. My friends and family already are sometimes baffled by my fascination with old beer. Why do I care so much about fresh beer now? Maybe that's for another blog post.

Cans don't allow any oxygen in. Cans don't allow any light in. Bottle caps, whether twist-off or pry-off, let in a small bit of oxygen. Bottles are made of transparent colored glass. Brown is best, green not so much in my opinion. So theoretically cans keep distributed beer fresher longer.

My wife and I are music fanatics. We've gotten in the habit of hitting two camping festivals in the Summer. For one of these festivals in particular no glass is allowed onsite. This used to present an unfortunate challenge. My first experience ended in a terrible debacle which included five or six 30 packs of Busch Light. Now I've been able to bring some excellent canned offerings. From Oskar Blues in Colorado we've packed Dale's Pale Ale, Mama's Little Yella Pils, Gordon, Gubna & TenFidy. Gordon has recently had a name change to "G'Knight Imperial Red Ale". Thanks BA.com for that info. From Caldera in Oregon we've brought their IPA and Pale Ale. I recall their cans being extremely brittle. Had two 'spolde on me in transit. Last Summer we fell in love with 21st Amendment Brewery's Hell or High Watermellon Wheat Beer and Brew Free! or Die IPA. They've now chopped off the "Brew Free! or Die" from the name and it's simply known as the IPA. They've got some colder weather goodies as well. So now we can bring lots of good craft beer on our music & camping weekends. There are some new (to me) canned brews I'd like to get this season. Suggestions anyone?

On to the economy of cans. I was happy to see Brewer's Art bottling some of their house specialties. Resurrection Ale is one of my very favorite beers. I like that I can travel with a bottle to share with friends and family who may not be able to get it. Priced at about $10 for a 22 oz/750ml (can't remember exactly which it was). Not terribly bad, but it breaks down to about $5 a serving. At a bar, I've got no problem paying $5+ for a craft pour. But at home? Seems a bit much. Last year they began canning Resurrection in six packs, priced at about $10. Now I can buy 72 oz.of a craft favorite in a can for the same price as about a third of that in a bottle. I certainly understand the expense that goes in to both methods and their shipping difference. So, why still buy the bottled version? Some like the mystique and romance of a pretty bottle and paper label art work I guess. I can certainly appreciate both sides here.

I guess what I'm really getting at here is to encourage people to be more adventurous when picking out beer. Don't be afraid of that colorful can over there, the one from the brewery that you've never heard of. Check the price, about the same as your six pack of your favorite go-to bottled craft ale, right? Maybe a slight difference, but nothing not worth risking. You know your "go-to" beer well, give the new one a shot. You may find a new favorite. Support those breweries that are canning. Who else is canning and needs more attention? Please share!