New Belgium Shift Pale Lager

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado

Purchased: 16oz CAN (1 pint) from a 4-pack from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: American Pale Lager, 5.0% 

How about that. A pint of Pale Lager, in a can. And it has a catchy name, and features minimalistic artwork. Could this be the macro killer? Should the silver dildo train take cover? Let's find out.

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. For reference, New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their website.

If you roll over to New Belgium's Shift page, you can read all about what goes into this beer. This beer clocks in at 5% ABV, and 29 IBUs. The beer is brewed with Target (pleasant and intense), Nelson Sauvin (fruity and grape), Liberty (slightly spicy), and Cascade (flowery, spicy, citrusy, grapefruit) hops; and uses Pale, Munich, and Caramel malts. The aroma is described as hoppy with a touch of honey and toasted bread. Let's get this into a pint glass, and see how it stacks up. 

New Belgium Shift

The beer pours with 3-fingers plus of big, pillowy, fluffy head. The head is thick and creamy, and has a slightly off-white tint that is orange/yellow mirroring the color of the beer. This is a transparent, fairly carbonated, golen/yellow beer with hues of orange. When held to bright light, the head is clearly just white, but the body still has a golden/yellow/orange color. There is already some lacing on the glass as the head pulls away.

The aroma is slightly spicy and fruity. I'm getting peaches, passion fruit, and distinctive Nelson Sauvin hop aromas. There is a sweet fruity note on the nose, like peaches or strawberries or something; maybe oranges. I am getting a touch of honey on the nose. Slight earthiness and spice from the Nelson Sauvin hops. A hint of biscuit. 

Upon my first sip: biscuits, honey, lightly toasted bread, earthy hops, herbal and very spicy, and big Lager smoothness and crispness. This is going down real easy, but has a surprisingly dense quality to it with pretty big flavors. I'm getting the Nelson Sauvin in the finish, with a bit of earthy passion fruit (even a hint of wood). Up front is a flat and light kick of honey and malt. You get hops in the middle, with earthiness, spice, a hint of citrus and lemongrass, and some bitterness; the back end is light, smooth, and just a touch dry and earthy. There's some honey and biscuit in the mix in here as well. If you gave me this beer in a blind taste test, I'd have a hard time pegging it as a Lager. 

Well carbonated, this has a medium-light mouthfeel. Palate depth is wonderful, and complexity is mighty. Up front are malts that grab you; the middle rolls into hops; the back is biscuits and honey, then a hint of earthy hops. The finish is clean, maybe a touch dry. This is super easy to drink, but has some surprising density to it thanks to the biscuit/honey notes. It reminds me of the Ranger IPA and the New Belgium Dig. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew rating on this beer. I gotta rate this by the style, baby. And for an American Pale Lager, this is an excellent beer. Big flavors, excellent palate depth, and it comes in a 16oz can. Can you do wrong by this beer? A 4-pack of this is like 9 bucks. But you're getting 16oz cans. I think that makes this a worthy beer to stock in your cooler for the summer. This would be a great beer to drink as a standalone, or you could easily pair this with some chicken or fish. I'm actually a little surprised, but this is an excellent release from New Belgium. I hope they keep this one around for a while. Could this be the Coors killer? Only if you like flavor.