New Belgium Lips of Faith - Clutch

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado 
Purchased: Single big-ass bomber (22oz) from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Stout/Sour/American Wild Ale, 9.0%

 

Clutch + Beer = Awesome

I am a huge Clutch fan. This is unfortunate, because when I found out that New Belgium did a collaborative beer with Clutch, I had to try it. I was going to drink this beer no matter how bad it might taste. Fortunately, New Belgium tend to err on the side of caution, and their Lips of Faith Series is pretty good. According to New Belgium's website, Clutch came into fruition when someone from the brewery encountered Clutch at a sandwich shop. This beer is the combination of two parts; one part chocolate and black malts, and one part dry sour. The beer is 80% stout, and 20% dark sour wood beer. I'm guessing that we can expect all sorts of complex stuff going on here, including Stout and Sour overtones.

The bottle states: "Pure rock fury meets Belgian-Style brewed folly in this collaboration with Maryland hard-rockers, Clutch. A pronounced bass line of dark chocolate, coffee, and black malts bridge the sourness of our dark wood ale for a fluid riff." 

Clocking in at 9% ABV, and proudly displaying Clutch's name and logo, this bottle looks fucking awesome. "Pure Rock Fury" is both an album and a song by Clutch, in case you missed the reference on the bottle. 

 

Arcadia: kick ass.

Before I jump into the beer itself, I want to give some props to Clutch. Clutch are one of the hardest working bands in music today, and they have a wonderful collection of albums stretching over 15+ years. Not only are they one of the most underrated bands in rock, but they are one of the best live bands out there. Clutch began as a grungy, stoner-rock band with a lot of metal elements. They have since progressed into a bluesy, jazzy, electric, and just plain southern rock band. You may have heard their song Electric Worry, but they have over a dozen catchy songs spread across their 9 main albums. If you want to get into Clutch, I recommend starting with Robot Hives/Exodus and moving forward or backwards to Blast Tyrant or From Beale Street to Oblivion. Their self-titled album and Elephant Riders are both awesome foot stompers as well. 

 

So...back to the beer. Despite being 80% Stout and 20% Sour, there is no clear consensus on what style this beer actually is. Ratebeer has dubbed this an "American Strong Ale," and BeerAdvocate has dumped this into their "American Wild Ale" category. 

 

"What the fuck is an American Wild Ale," I asked. According to BeerAdvocate, it is a sometimes Belgian influenced beer that uses wild yeast or bacteria like Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, or Lactobacillus. This is actually an innovative category, despite not being recognized by the BJCP. I guess proof that BeerAdvocate occasionally does something right.

But before I give BeerAdvocate too much credit: let us make sure this is actually a Sour and not just a Stout with some Sour notes. Semantics...how I wish you would go away.  

 

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Not a bad looking beer in any respect. The beer pours with a 4-finger, khaki/tan head that dissolves into a nice one-centimeter coating. There is nice lacing. The beer looks to be pitch black under low light, but in reality there are hints of red and brown escaping when held to a bright light. Probably more on the dark, dark brown/red side. I can't comment on carbonation, but the head sticking around is a good sign this is quite carbonated.

New Belgium "Clutch

 

The aroma is all Stout at first. You get dark chocolate, some smoke, a little tug towards meatiness and bacon, some coffee, and maybe a hint of vanilla. There is also a slightly sour or acidic note on the nose; you definitely smell some wood, some astringency, a little bit of alcohol, and maybe a touch of very sour/tart fruit like cherry or raspberry.  

 

Hmmm...I kind of like this. It isn't quite as sour as I was expecting, and there is an aftertaste of peas or vegetables on my deep back end. Quite woody, and lots of cherry notes up front. There are some big chocolate, vanilla, and wood notes following the cherry, which work well. Slightly acidic, and slightly less carbonation than I was expecting. Again, very woody. On the front of the palate is slightly acidic and carbonated sour; you get the cherry and that fruitiness. This rolls into chocolate, vanilla, dark malts, slight roast, maybe a tug towards stale coffee. The back end is very woody, slight tang, vegetables, and dry. 

 

Not quite as complex as I was expecting, and pretty medium palate depth. The balance seems to work okay, and there is nothing offensive about this brew. I think they could dial up the sour a little bit more. This is medium full, and medium-carbonated. I would guess this actually is slightly more carbonated, but the acidity gives the beer a "flat" nature that acts as a counterpoint to the carbonation. 

 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 80%

 

You know...this isn't my favorite beer, but it is pretty good. First, we have to address the style ambiguity. How the hell am I supposed to score this beer? What am I comparing this to? A stout? A sour? Frankly, this tastes very much like a Stout with some components of a Sour. I would hardly call this a Sour. I'm not 100% sure I agree with the American Wild Ale categorization. I think this is a very ambiguous beer because it is 80% Stout and really feels like a Stout from top to bottom. Having said all that: this is a stellar Stout, but an average Sour.

 

I really enjoy the woody back end of this beer. And the flow is quite nice: you get sour fruit, chocolate and vanilla, and then wood and drying. That's a pretty nice flow of flavors. 

 

On the downside, the Sour notes are a little too subdued. The body of this beer isn't quite as full as you would expect for a 9% beer, and this isn't all that complex. Clutch kicks ass. Stouts and Sours kick ass. If you make a Clutch beer that combines a Stout with a Sour, it better knock me on my ass. 

 

Having said all that...this is still quite tasty, and definitely Above-Average. If you are a fan of Clutch or New Belgium, you owe it to yourself to check this beer out. I would drink this beer again, and I hope Clutch collaborates to make more beer in the future.

 

Until next time, drink more beer, and listen to more Clutch.