(Label from newbelgium.com)

New Belgium Brewing’s “Lips of Faith” series is about creating unique one-off beers using interesting ingredients. Many of these beers are brewed in collaboration with other breweries. In this case, New Belgium chose to make a Biere de Garde with Michigan breweryBrewery Vivant who specializes in farmhouse ales.

This beer was brewed with bergamot citrus using Brewery Vivant’s Biere de Garde yeast strain. I recommended it in my post “How to Drink a Turkey Under the Table” as an ideal choice to pair with your Thanksgiving dinner. (To see why this is such a good match and to get some other recommendations, read my article “How to Drink a Turkey Under the Table“).

Appearance: Gold with peach tones. White fluffy head with good retention. It has a slight haze.

Aroma: Grainy, citrus, bergamot, herbs, slight tart aroma, touch of funk

Taste: Herbal citrus. Spicy. Touch of acidity. Dry and crisp.

Overall Impression: This a lively, crisp beer. It’s refreshing and bold. The higher level of carbonation will help with a wide range of food pairings. The wide mix of flavors will mix with a varied range of food. Brewery Vivant’s yeast strain, apparently, ferments very dry which means this beer won’t become cloying. Overall, this continues the tradition of excellent “Lips of Faith” beers.

Availability: At better beer stores in most of the country.

9.0% ABV