New Belgium Lips of Faith - Coconut Curry Hefeweizen

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company (with Brewerij Boon) in Fort Collins, Colorado

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: Hefeweizen, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: 14

I'm a big fan of New Belgium's Lips of Faith beers...and I hope tonight's beer is no exception. That said, when I grabbed this bottle from my fridge, I was expecting a light weight Hefeweizen. What we have here is a hearty, American-style beer. It should be fun. About New Belgium:

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. At this point in time, New Belgium has mainstream fame from their Fat Tire, and craft beer credit for their sour beers. New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their company page, and definitely cruise their website.

The Coconut Curry Hefeweizen is a collaboration between New Belgium and homebrewer, Remi Bonnart. Described as "bold and big with coconut and curry tones and a hint of banana," this beer features a spice list of cinnamon, coriander, fenugreek, ginger, kaffir lime, and cayenne pepper. The beer supposedly carries some heat, but is tempered by some boozy coolness. Punching in at 8.0% and 14 IBUs, this beer features a malt base of Pale, Wheat, and Munich malts.

Coconut Curry Hefeweizen

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with three fingers of foamy, gold-tinted head. The head doesn't hang around at all...probably courtesy of the spice. Even agitating/swirling the beer does little to kick up some head. There is sticky lacing coating my glass...mad sticky lacing, like what your glass looks like when you finish that last pour of orange juice from concentrate. It's a frozen citrus pulp cumshot. In bright light the beer is a hazy/juicy yellow color, with fat carbonation bubbles plunking upwards. Alright.

I'm a big fan of curry. I'm a big fan of coconut. I'm an even bigger fan of coconut and curry. This beer smells like super pungent coconut and curry on top of some faint citrus and German Hefe yeast. I am getting some banana, and banana-curry on the aroma. I wouldn't call this beer's aroma subtle, but it promises everything it advertises.

This beer has super tepid carbonation, which isn't unheard of for a Hefeweizen. I prefer mine to be a bit more bubbly, but whateva. The tingly spices help move this beer along, and it is smoothed out by big banana-wheat punch, and some Doppelweizen-esque booziness. That's really what this is, a Doppelweizen. You get an assertive amount of coconut, curry, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon in the taste. There's also a pinch of the cayenne heat, which is tempered not only by the smooth wheat malts and booze, but also by the lively spices. Cinnamon and cayenne are best buds, said anyone that knows anything about cooking, ever.

This is a good beer. It would be petty to dock it for being overly spicy or too straightforward with the curry. But I insist that we call this what this is: a curry Doppelweizen. The body is medium full and surprisingly drinkable...courtesy of the smooth malt backbone and the tingly carbonation. There's some booze in this, but it's that pleasant Doppelweizen kick of banana-wheat esters that is so good. Palate depth is fantastic, and despite being spice-forward this has some layers of complexity to peel back. Up front is spice: cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, and huge coconut curry...then the cayenne heat kicks in, and you get some banana and clove, hints of ginger/orange/lemon...the back end takes you on a malty wheat ride to a spicy, slightly boozy finish. The malty wheat body is present throughout.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This beer is ballin'. It's basically a coconut-curry infused Doppelweizen. You get big coconut-curry spice in this, atop a hint of ginger/orange, banana, and a malty wheat base. I'd say the spice is too much, but it's working for me...it's not a session beer, but it would pair well with a food/dish that you have in mind. It would also be fun at a bottle share, or for those weird people that like drinking liquid coconut curry. I'd pair this beer with some chicken wings with a spicy seasoning, or with some coconut curry soup. Really, pair this beer with anything that is supposed to have coconut and curry in it. You won't be disappointed.

Random Thought: My allergies have been kicking my ass all weekend, but today things hit rock bottom. I have uncontrollable post-nasal drip, I'm coughing up mucus like Paris Hilton coughs up jizz...it's not a good time. I'm hoping that this is just sinuses, and not a cold. We'll know by Friday, I suppose.

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Saison/Fruit Beer, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: 26

Back in 2000, little known artists Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Dan the Automator got together to turn out what has become a legendary album in the underground hip hop scene: Deltron 3030. If you haven't experienced Deltron 3030, you are missing out. One of the album's most popular tracks, Positive Contact, is the name of tonight's beer. About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

Positive Contact is part of Dogfish Head's "music series," which includes their Bitches Brew (Miles Davis) and Faithful Ale (Pearl Jam). For the Positive Contact, Sam Calagione and Dan the Automator teamed up to make a beer based on Dan's favorite ingredients. The beer is named after one of the album's singles, and features a blend of cider brewed with Fuji apples, roasted farro, cayenne peppers, and a late edition of fresh cilantro (during fermentation? hmmm...). The original release of this beer was packaged in a box set with six 750ml bottles, a 10-inch vinyl EP with four new Deltron 3030 remixes, and a list of Deltron 3030-inspired recipes from a small group of chefs. Since then, this beer has become an occasional release, and will randomly show up on shelves. That's a good thing, because this beer is delicious. At 9.0% ABV and 26 IBUs, this beer screams cider or Belgian Ale or Witbier...but actually veers off in an interesting direction...

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

This beer pours a slightly hazy golden-bronze color, with three fingers of thick, foamy, white head. The head is remniscent of a Belgian Strong Ale or Tripel. In bright light, the beer is a really nice dark golden color, and the head is slightly off-white pulling some of those gold tones. The head is thick and sustaining nicely, and there's a lot of carbonation in this. This one is transparent with maybe a hint of haze. Overall, it looks like a Belgian Tripel or Belgian Strong Ale.

The aroma on this beer is off-the-charts awesome. You get huge Tripel and Witbier-esque aromas, with white sugar, Belgian funk/barnyard, wheat, cream of wheat, creamy wheat, clove, banana, grain, and light grass/citrus/apple. There's an earthy bitterness on the nose as well, likely from the cilantro, and a bit of spice. I wouldn't be able to peg cayenne on the aroma in a blind tasting, but there is some hot pepper spice on the nose.

I should probably confess that this is one of my favorite beers, and I'm very fond of what Dogfish Head has going on here. This beer is crisp and refreshing, has big Belgian Ale complexity, features a layer of cider-esque fruitiness that is reminiscent of a Witbier, and then drops some serious cilantro on your palate, and finishes with noticeable cayenne spice. You get warming alcohol and literal spicy heat on the back of this. It's fantastic. You get clove, wheat, grain, Belgian-barnyard-funk, clove, big grass, lightly bitter cilantro, fresh salad, apples and light hints at citrus, bittering cilantro that isn't bitter like hops, and a big cayenne finish. This has some wine-like qualities at times as well.

The mouthfeel is light, refreshing, attenuated, and well-carbonated, making this medium-light-bodied beer way too drinkable at 9.0%. This has great palate depth, and even better complexity. You get big clove, grains, and wheat up front; this rolls into fruits, cider, and cilantro mid-palate; the back-palate is lingering cilantro bitterness, and growing cayenne burn. The cayenne just gains momentum as you drink through this. This beer is most reminiscent to a Belgian Tripel, followed by an Imperial Witbier, followed by a Belgian Strong Ale. I wouldn't call this a Saison.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. Like I said, this is one of my favorite beers from Dogfish Head, and one of my favorite beers in general. Since this costs about 10~13 dollars a bottle, I would say it is priced reasonably. I would definitely pick this up if I saw it on the shelf. It's also an awesome collaboration...who doesn't love Dan the Automator? This might even trump the Bitches Brew in terms of coolness with respect to the music. This beer pairs great with pizza, salads, fruit salads, grilled food, strawberry bundt cake, and all things summer. 

Random Thought: Yuuuuppp. I like underground rap and hip hop. How about 'dem apples. I also like jazz. I guess we can let the battle begin. Bitches Brew vs. Deltron 3030.