New Belgium Mothership Wit

'Our first venture into organically-produced beer, Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer elevates the zesty Wit or White beers of Belgium. Our far-flung Beer Rangers affectionately refer to our Fort Collins brewery as the Mothership, a name that conjures images of earth shot from space and the interconnectivity of it all. Mothership Wit is brewed with wheat and barley malt, as well as coriander and orange peel spicing resulting in a balance of citrus and sour flavors held in suspension by a bright burst of carbonation.'

I am one of those people that assume that organic products are A) more expensive and B) not as tasty. Mothership Wit does a lot to dispel that fallacy by being a fine beer and no more expensive than any other New Belgium beer.

There is an orchard's worth of lemon zest in this beer that would overwhelm your senses if they were not paired with and subdued by some very mild spices. I wish I knew more about spices after drinking this beer because I cannot tell you with authority what might be floating around in this brew, but I can tell you it ain't bad! Some fizzy carbonation makes a beer perfect for a lazy summer day. Too bad I can't set up a hammock in the city, huh guys?

Musical Pairing: The Byrds- Sweetheart of the Radio (another great lazy summer day record, this one a little more country)

New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

'The beer is fermented at relatively high temperatures using a European lager yeast that imparts a refreshing, zesty acidity. Based on a 16th century Belgian recipe.'

Oh 1554... Lady Jane Grey was beheaded for treason, the Conquistadors were on a rampage in South America and people were still dying of influenza. Oh yeah, some guys in Belgium decided to make a beer recipe that smells like apricots and tastes like cold dark tea.

My buddy Andy bought me the New Belgium variety pack to blog with, thanks pal. I decided to crack this one open first because, well, I can get behind a pretentious beer here and there. Nothing says 'pretense' like using a sixteenth century recipe for your beer. Read this longwinded description from the New Belgium website:

'Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.'

Thats cool and all, but does hundreds of years old recipes and imported ingredients make for a good beer? It's decent, but I'm not sure if it was worth all that effort. You could call this 'malt liquor for monks' as this has some serious malts to it. Slightly fruity, but not very sweet with a stong tea feel to it that I mentioned before. The aftertaste has a bit of chocolate and toffee to it that still don't add to the overall sweetness. Think semi-sweet baking chocolate. This stuff tastes almost as if it were healthy for you. A nice change of pace but I can't shake the feeling that I should be eating artisan cheeses with this beer, which really is not my style.

Musical Pairing: XTC- Skylarking (because no matter how good their records they always sounded like foppish sissies)

New Belgium Springboard

'Ale brewed with wormwood, goji berries, and schisandra. Deftly, this spring brewed venture lands on its feet. Springboard combines oats, ancient Chinese herbs and Mt. Hood hops to maintain a balanced equilibrium for such an exhilarating ale. This cloudy blonde has a spirited threshold, and a creamy body, followed by a refreshingly dry finish.'

Ancient Chinese herbs? Did Egg Shen pull them out of the six demon bag or something? Once again I call bullshit, but I think this was more of an attempt at humor than anything else.

Lemon oriented citrus that I would swear was a wheat beer at first. Some spices I do not recognize (maybe the schisandra? I see a wikipedia search in the future) definitely fill this beer out. The more of this I drink the more complicated the taste becomes. I think I like this more than the other New Belgium beers I have had, but it is more of a starter beer than anything. Its refreshing and invigorating just like Spring itself. Springboard has me aching for 65 degree weather so I can drink a sixer of this stuff properly. An extremely well done seasonal beer. Recommended (in a few weeks).

New Belgium 2° Below Winter Ale

This stuff tastes like Christmas. I think by this point I can spot a roasted malt rather than your every day malt, which is cool. I have learned a lot about beer since I started this blog, I am kind of scared to read my first posts over again! Anyway, I taste something like the juxtaposition of caramel and cinnamon in this beer which make it a bitter yet sweet drink. I would say this is a 'fireplace ale' for those days when the cold just won't leave your bones. I have been cranky as hell this month, mainly because its still around ten degrees in mid February, but 2° Below Winter Ale is lifting my spirits as I write this. Very recommended, it's a shame its going to be hard to come by shortly, since spring is close (everywhere except Chicago).

Someone was telling me this stuff was hard to get past the Mississippi. Any of my blog buddies want some let me know, I'm sure we can work something out. You will also have to instruct me how to ship beer without it exploding. I am a noob at this kind of thing you know!