Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado
Purchased: Single big-ass bomber (22oz) from West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable - Sour, 8.5%
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| The artwork screams trick 'r' treat |
Thank you, New Belgium Brewing.
Signed, adhdJon. Thank you for making an October/Halloween/pumpkin beer that doesn't taste like nutmeg. New Belgium's Kick is part of their Lips of Faith Series. You can find all the information about Kick on New Belgium's website, but here is the important info.
Kick is a collaboration between New Belgium and Elysian. This beer is a combination of two beers; 75% ale that is brewed using pumpkin and cranberry juice, and 25% ale aged in wooden barrels. This is a big beer clocking in at 8.5% ABV, it packs a mild 14 IBUs, and uses cranberry and pumpkin. The use of cranberry and pumpkin has relegated this beer to the "Spice/Herb/Vegetable" category, but this beer tastes quite a bit like a Belgian Sour.
Before we dive in I want to mention that the bottle work on this beer is out of this world. This is the coolest bottle artwork I have seen on a beer in a long time. This is far and away the best Halloween/October/Fall artwork I have seen. The bottle features Jack-O-Lanterns on the bottle, and looks like a brew totally appropriate for the Halloween season. Let's dive in.
This beer is lightly carbonated and not super aggressive. I was able to pour a one-finger head with thin white bubbles. The bubbles aren't soapy, they are small and tightly packed, but the head does not hang around for very long. However, the head on this beer has a great "cauldron effect." There is a thin layer of bubbles and stuff on the surface of the beer that hangs around the
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| New Belgium Kick: this is Halloween in beer form |
The aroma of this beer instantly reminds me of Jolly Pumpkin's Oro De Calabaza. I am also reminded of some Brettanamyces notes, or some Lactobacillus. I'm curious how this beer was made, and what yeasts or bacteria are used.
I am smelling big woody notes on the nose, cranberry, juice, leather and barnyard, sour or rotting pumpkin, band-aids, and other funky sour fruit manifestations (maybe pulls towards orange peel or berries, but nothing definitive).
This beer is quite complex in taste, as it should be. The 8.5% ABV virtually disappears, and is only present in the very back end of the palate as a warming sensation. There is a ton of wood, funk, and cranberry in the flavor profile. You taste lots of overripe or rotting pumpkin, especially on the back end. There is a slightly sour or tart quality riding through the whole beer, but it isn't making me pucker and it is not an extreme sour or tartness. There are some pulls towards orange and pepper in here as well, which is really surprising. The peppery note compliments the pumpkin flavors. There is pumpkin in here, but it definitely takes a back seat to the woody notes and the cranberry. There are also hints of barnyard, leather, band-aids, and other funky Bret-notes in the body. I'm also getting some berries: blackberry, raspberry, and other tart berries. Very complex, very deep, still crisp and refreshing: the alcohol disappears and this is very drinkable.
The front end is tart, woody, full of cranberry and other berries, and full of some funk: leather, band-aids, horse stable. The middle continues with the tartness, and you get some spices (cinnamon) and pumpkin, the middle remains pretty woody. The back end is slightly drying with more wood, rotting pumpkin, and some alcohol warming on the back end. This is incredibly complex. This is a medium-light beer, with a slightly juicy body.
The only thing that will deter you from drinking this beer is if you do not like sour things, tart things, or the Bret-Lacto notes.
Rating: Above-Average
This beer is quite complex in taste, as it should be. The 8.5% ABV virtually disappears, and is only present in the very back end of the palate as a warming sensation. There is a ton of wood, funk, and cranberry in the flavor profile. You taste lots of overripe or rotting pumpkin, especially on the back end. There is a slightly sour or tart quality riding through the whole beer, but it isn't making me pucker and it is not an extreme sour or tartness. There are some pulls towards orange and pepper in here as well, which is really surprising. The peppery note compliments the pumpkin flavors. There is pumpkin in here, but it definitely takes a back seat to the woody notes and the cranberry. There are also hints of barnyard, leather, band-aids, and other funky Bret-notes in the body. I'm also getting some berries: blackberry, raspberry, and other tart berries. Very complex, very deep, still crisp and refreshing: the alcohol disappears and this is very drinkable.
The front end is tart, woody, full of cranberry and other berries, and full of some funk: leather, band-aids, horse stable. The middle continues with the tartness, and you get some spices (cinnamon) and pumpkin, the middle remains pretty woody. The back end is slightly drying with more wood, rotting pumpkin, and some alcohol warming on the back end. This is incredibly complex. This is a medium-light beer, with a slightly juicy body.
The only thing that will deter you from drinking this beer is if you do not like sour things, tart things, or the Bret-Lacto notes.
Rating: Above-Average
I am absolutely floored by this beer. On the deep deep back of my palate, I am getting huge pumpkin notes. I am tasting the aftertaste of pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, and overripe pumpkin. This is a wildly complex beer that has great depth and good drinkability. The presentation of this beer is fantastic. The artwork is the coolest I have found on a fall beer. This is my new favorite October beer, and I think this may be the best beer I have had from New Belgium. This is a really decent cranberry-pumpkin beer, and a really solid sour as well.
I love everything about this beer: especially the big pumpkin in the deep palate. The back end of this beer is the most "normal pumpkin" note I have found in a beer so far. I hope that New Belgium brews this beer again next year, but in case they don't, I may need to seek out additional bottles of this stuff.
This comes highly recommended, and I would be honored to mull over it again.
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