New Belgium Lips of Faith - Clutch
Pure rock fury meets Belgian-style brewed folly in this collaboration with Maryland hard-rockers, Clutch. A pronounced bass line of dark chocolate, coffee and black malts bridge the sourness of our dark wood ale for a fluid riff.
3.5
373 reviews
Fort Collins, United States
Community reviews
Draft @ NB Asheville- Typical stout with pitch body and tan head. I let mine stouts warm up before drinking them, so It’s probably mid-50’s at this point. At a warmer temp, the sweet chocolate notes really pop and play off the sour stone fruit thing happening. So I’m getting sour peach, apricot chocolate thing, that wasn’t coming through at the colder temp. Very nice!!
Sampler at New Belgium Asheville. Pours black with a khaki head. Leaves a lot of lacing in the glass. Fairly tart on the nose and tongue. I’m not getting a lot of roasted malt action. Finished clean. Eh!
Earlier Rating: 11/26/2011 Total Score: 3.4
Draft at fireworks. Pours black with an inch of brown head. The nose is pure brown sugar. I get a bit of malt a bit of sweetness and a bit of motor oil on the tongue. This is a big beer and it hits you over the head with it’s alcohol content. Clean finisher.
Draft. This is nice, it is tart and cherry like, dark fruit, hint of cocoa, nice dark sour beer, doesn’t seem 9%.
BBD: 5/6/2018
2015 BJCP Category: 28C Wild Specialty Beer (base style: 20C Imperial Stout)
AROMA: Strong sour grape scent along with chocolate, dark malt, slight citrus. Sweet nose overall. No alcohol presence. 8/12
APPEARANCE: Dark black, nearly opaque. Large tan froth, retains and laces well. 3/3
FLAVOR: Strong malt base with notes of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. Moderately sweet palette enhanced by the sourness on finish which imparts slight fruity flavor (almost candy-like). Bitterness is low, though sour character makes up for it. Fruit punch-like flavors on the finish. Though mostly to spec, taste is surprisingly mild overall. Sourness is a little too tame. Imperial stout base is not all that imperial. 13/20
MOUTHFEEL: Medium body; medium-low carbonation. Feels a little flat and watery for an 8.5% ABV brew. No alcohol warmth. Sourness is not puckering. No astringency. 3/5
OVERALL IMPRESSION: If ever there were a pedestrian wood-aged imperial sour stout - this is it. Not bad, just far from great. 6/10
TOTAL SCORE: 34/50
Taste: Rich, dark fruit, sour, prunes, woody, coffee, chocolate notes. same with the nose. Black with reddish hue, mostly opaque, tan head with ring lace. Medium//full body. Unique, but I feel the sour is more forward than the Stout flavors more like 50/50 than 30/70
Kettle soured stout, on tap at the Griffon Gastropub, Clarence. Light brown. Acidic character is high and perhaps not well executed.
Earlier Rating: 5/2/2012 Total Score: 3.4
A good sour. More chocolate up front than neededThe sour came at the finish so was therefore not a palate eraser. Dark body with huge beige head.
Dark opaque mahogany, ample tan head. Dark cherry, berries, leather, some coffee, some dark chocolate. Somewhat sweet, though significantly dryer than the average imperial stout. Touch of bitterness, quite sour. Long oily finish, heavier body. Fair bit of carbonation. Understated alcohol. Quite good.
Poured from bottle into stout glass. Pours a very dark brown with khaki head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, and a touch of lactic acid. Taste is smooth with initial tartness then coffee, then fading into dark red fruit.
Tap at Watering Hole. Black with lace. Nose of coffee, chocolate, lactic acid, some vinegar. Vinous flavor, chocolate, cherry, vinegar, a bit of coffee. Decent enough, though basically I hate coffee and vinegar flavors mixed.
Dark pour, not too much carb in there. Coffee and roast malts in the nose. Burnt caramel. Taste has roast and some sour fruits. Dark, coffee, chocolate, cherries and sour, all together, singing in unity. Tasty stuff!
C. Pours a black color with khaki head. It’s not sour enough to dump, but it does lose points because of it.
EBF 2017. Pours a reddish brown with a small beige head that leaves spotty lacing. Nose is, well, of coffee maybe with not much hints of the sour. Roasted malt.Taste is not quite sour and even lightly sweet. More roasted malt without much chocolate and coffee. I thought this was going to be sour? Body is medium, carbonation moderate. A very faint tartness. Not bad but I feel a bit lied to.
On tap at the brewery in Asheville. Nice dark malts do well with the sour notes.
Pours a deep brownish black on tap with bubbly off-white head that dissipates to leave light lace. Aroma and taste of mild lactic acidity, musty funk, and a nice baseline of mild roasted notes. Solid, better than some of the other lips of faith beers lately.
Poured into a snifter, the appearance was a pitch black color. Thin foamy off white to almost tan sort of colored head. Quick dissipation. Sticky filmy lace.
The aroma sniffed at a blend of sour citrus rind, bitter ends of some pine, and then wraps into dark and milk chocolate that ends up drying out just a touch from the wood. Super light coffee bean. Took a while, but some raspberry/cherry/blackberry comes out.
The flavor melds the sour of the citrus to the bitter dry wood and fluffs up a bit with some sweet from the milk chocolate. Dark chocolate kicks back a bit more in this department. Pine seems barely there. Sour to blended milk chocolate aftertaste rolling on into the finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fair sipping quality about it. Good sturdy carbonation. ABV felt just a tad under than what the brewer projected. Sourness doesn’t slay my tongue too much.
Overall, nicely done imperialized dark sour stout Belgian sort of thing, oh hell, I have no idea what it’s really supposed to be. Just damn good.
Dark brown/black pour with sixteenth inch creamy khaki head. Powdery Cocoa aroma along with full bodied sour smell resembling raspberry mostly. Softer carbonation finishes a bit tingly. Sour Berry and cocoa blend in flavor more intensely than nose. Nice sour stout, straightforward.
This is the weakest of the New Belgium Lips Of Faith sour beers I’ve tasted. It just doesn’t work. It pours dark brown with very little head. The aroma is mild. There is a little bit of mild cherry and oak, and some coffee, but all of it is subtle. The taste ... well, there’s just no way around it. This beer doesn’t taste good. The front of the tongue is muted and dense, the flavor closes with a little bit of that cherry or berry sourness, but there is also an artificial, plastic kind of character throughout the whole sip. The taste reminded me of how band-aids smell. And not in a good way. No thank you. New Belgium’s Lips Of Faith sours are among my favorite examples of the style, usually. This is a rare exception.
Bomber from Whole Foods PM. Poured hazy brownish black with tan head. Some dark malt, tart cherry, cacao, coffee, oak in the nose. Came off like an oak-aged tart cherry stout, similar to the Terrapin red-waxed offering, but better.
from tap at EBF 2017, boston. unclear dark brown pour with a small light beige cap offering some retention and lacing. burnt caramel, woodsy cherries, coffee - not so fresh but not vegetal either, hint of sweetness - lactosean perhaps, spices. moderate carbonation, light body - oily; relatively dry, lightly tart and spicy finish. o-k.
I’m normally not one for sour beers, but this Clutch stout is an exception. Burly dark chocolate and roast malt aroma. Pours a pretty dark, nearly opaque, brown with a small but delicately laced tan head. Robust roast and chocolate malt with only a light lacto sourness that is very pleasant, and extracts a nice drinkability from this hefty 9% brew.
22oz bottle from Midtowne Bottle Shop. Aromas of tart cherry, vanilla, toasted oak, dark chocolate. Black with a fairly lasting tan head. Slightly sour, coffee, cocoa flavors, roasty. Full bodied.
Large Format - Super dark colored Stout with absolutely zero head. A sour and sweet smell. You can smell a slight hint of wood on the nose. As a none traditional sour beer it’s interesting. Has a slight sour taste but the Stout characteristic are pretty over powering.
Tap at Teresa’s Next Door, Wayne. Colour is deep dark brown with small brownish head. Aromas and flavours: Berries, black berries, wood, dryness, distant hints of spices and some malts.
On tap at Lunar Brewing Co., and snifter served displaying a ruby highlighted, black/brown color, with a presentable layer of brownish tan foam that reduced rather quickly to a persistent, thin ring, light film, and curtainy lacing. The nose was roasted, mocha notes, malt, and oaky tannins. The taste began with a tart sting, and a bit of dark fruit. The roasted and mocha notes then became somewhat hidden, with a touch of roasted & earthy astringency showing up for the finale. Medium bodied, with fair carbonation, and well put together, but also not a big fan of sour Stouts.
Black pour with a small light tan head. Aroma of chocolate, Belgian yeast, lightly sour, caramel, coffee, soy, light alcohol. Medium to full bodied, sour chocolate with Belgian yeast. Still not a fan of sour stouts, but this isn’t badly made for one.
Aroma of plums, coffee, spice and malt. Clear dark brown color not much of a head. A slightly tart taste with notes of chocolate, and spice like 3 styles of beer merged into one. A medium body with a sour coffee finish.
Poured from a bottle. Dark brown color, medium frothy tan head. Sweet sour malt aroma. Medium body with a very unique taste, sour malt with a sweet undertone and a medium finish.
Bomber. Roasted malt aroma with notes of dark chocolate, coffee and tart cherry. Pours dark brown with a large light brown head that has excellent retention and lacing. Starts with roasted malt and coffee flavors to go with a medium body and creamy mouthfeel. Finishes smooth and tart with tart cherry and chocolate coating the palate nicely. Quite good.
Black pour with a thin espresso head. Aroma of oak and some cherries. Medium bodied. Taste has some chocolate notes with hints of cherries as well. Finish is nice, not sour, not sweet, like a chocolate covered tart cherry. No lace present.
Tap at muddy waters with samadueche. Cola brown black with small white head. Tart nose. Taste is tart and sour, more so than any semblance of stout. Interesting, but big sour, little stout.