New Belgium Lips of Faith Dandelion Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled on tap at 1702, July 2009
The beer arrives from the tap with a hazy yellow color; it is topped by a thin white colored head. There is a herbal spiciness to the aroma with notes of dried grass, and a touch of lemon. There is a touch of pale grain character to the nose that contributes some cracker like notes and there is also a touch of warming alchol noticed in the aroma. The nose isn’t nearly as distinct, or even characterful as I was expecting it to be. It is solid, and definitely well balanced, but I almost feel like I could have gotten the same effect with hops.

This has a soft, creamy mouthfeel to it as I take my first sip. There is a light lemon-like flavor to it up front and there is a touch of herbal character in the finish. Some sweetness makes me think of a clover honey (especially when coupled with the herbal note); much of the sweetness here though seems to be perceived (rather than actual malt sweetness), which is derived from fermentation esters and fruitiness. While this beer does have a creamy texture, there is a ood prickly carbonation to this beer that provides some little peppery notes. There is a touch of clove flavor to this beer, but it does not really have an expressive fermentation driven flavor to it.

This beer is nice and easy drinking; there is a nice balance of flavors here, but it is somehow not as distinct as I was hoping. Given that this beer was inspired by the hop shortage though, I would definitely say the dandelion has made a valiant, and even eerily exact, substitution for a herbal hop variety. This is actually quite a good beer, but for some reason I feel a bit dissapointed that it wasn't as distinct in its Dandelion character as I might have wished.