New Belgium / Perennial Lips of Faith - Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout
This collaboration with Perennial Artisan Ales pairs two favorites: chocolate and beer. Dessert is best poured. And the brewers at Perennial agree. So for our next Lips of Faith release we dreamt up a beer that would bring together chocolate sweetness, Belgian yeast, deeply roasted malts and just the right shake of salt to pour a creamy stout worthy of a cherry on top.
3.5
263 reviews
Fort Collins, United States
Community reviews
650 ml bottle, thanks to Adrien. Aroma is rather subdued. Ale yeast, mild chocolate candies and burnt grain, mild raisin.
The flavor is has a small amount of salt with old chocolate, mild roast, and some licorice which I really am not a fan of. Body is average with a soft carbonation level. It’s just ok.
Poured from bottle thanks Adrien. Chocolate pour with a nice tan head. Aromas of belgian yeast roasted malt. Taste is chocolate with notes of coffee and a hint of salt with a nice lingering balanced bitterness.
Pitch black. small head that faded fast. smells nice. a lot of roasted notes, for sure a belgian yeast aroma. Chocolate for sure, pairs well with chocolate chip cookies. Dense body. hard to get a lot out of this one it is quite cold but very roasty.
Poured into a snifter, the cocoa-brown liquid is visually creamy and covered deeply with an equally smooth, thick head. I breathe in the air above the glass, inhaling a combination of (cheap) Easter chocolate and a bit of sweet dough. I can actually smell the salt in the brew.
The first few pulls from the glass present an interesting combination of chocolate, leather and dough; the yeast a large presence and the chocolate a few steps behind. I get very little salt flavor from this, and don’t find it salty, but do feel the dryness parching my tongue, predominantly the tip and sides. I almost feel like I’ve eaten a pretzel and am currently working on a couple of those Easter chocolates.
I’m normally a gal that enjoys my stouts more as they go from chilled to warm, but this time, I’ve got to say the yeast creates a strong argument for drinking this cold. I’m glad I chilled the remainder of the bottle, because adding in a bit of the colder stuff brightens the experience. Yay for a cold stout.
The finish is fairly short, a surprise to me. The creamy brew sticks to my tongue and coats it with that rich, soft, head. Considering the yeast profile, I didn’t expect to lose the experience so quickly, but it fades out nicely and leaves me heavily considering another swallow.
I’m not half through this bottle, and I have to say that although I wasn’t impressed with the beer at the beginning, it’s grown on me a bit. Not likely to buy it again, but would certainly not turn it away if it was there and lonely.
Bomber purchased Jan. 2015 (best by 3/27/16). Smell is a familiar nose of baker’s chocolate backed by slightly roasty stout malt. Lacy, spongy head over a solid black body. Taste has chocolate to start, a bit of hot aocohol, and yes, there is some salt to it, but it may a leftover impression from a bowl of popcorn I just had. So, it does deliver on its promised taste, but I can’t see this all coming together to make a remarkable beer. Always up, though, for something slightly different in a strong stout, and this slightly salted beer is that.
quite dense beige head. coffee coloured. aroma is coffee, caramel, oxidised, nuts, hint of butter. taste like aroma, ash, bitter chocolate, caramel with a long bitter finish and a hint of salt. very smooth velvetlike mouthfeel, medium carbonation. delicious! bottle
I suggest nibbling on something salty with this one, as it brings out the rich chocolate flavor. Beautiful lacing on my snifter & such a deep aroma. The flavor lingers on the palate, need a nice Java cigar with it!
On tap at WF, dark brown with some creamy head, dense sweet chocolate cake aroma, sweet dark chocolate and port wine, good finish not salty
Pretty tasty, but no Dark Lord. Actually not even on the Yeti level, yet it is still a unique stout that’s worth a try.
Pour on tap, dark brownish black pour with off white head, aroma brought notes of cocoa, roast, anise, touch of dark fruit into a bit of slight earthy, maybe a salty note with a hint of dark chocolate as well. Taste was a mix of dark chocolate, coffee, roast, slight dark fruit, almost an anise note with some spice, touch of earth, finishing slightly dry.
(Meilleure avant le 27 mars 2016) Belle noire coulée bien avant le combat de boxe de notre Jean Pascal et du «Krusher» chez le cousin qui m’accueille pour l’occasion. Au nez, les arômes de chocolat et de sel sont bien évidents. Il faut dire que le liquide un peu chaud révèle rapidement son côté salin. J’y trouve aussi un côté suret et une touche de réglisse. Au goût, le caramel et le chocolat auraient pu être davantage développés. Ça manque un peu de profondeur et/ou de richesse et/ou d’intensité. En bouche, j’aurais aimé un corps plus riche. Le pétillement est trop poussé et cela n’aide pas vraiment la chose. En finale, le sel est chocolaté ou le chocolat est salé ou le tout est rendu suret (Levure? Sel?): anyway, difficile de faire la distinction. Pas vraiment bon ni intéressant. L’idée du départ est intéressante mais le résultat est indéniablement un n’importe quoi rendu possible par deux brasseries bien respectables. Ok, je pitonne trop sur mon téléphone, tout le monde ici parle de boxe. Voilà, j’envoie mon texte et j’ouvre une bouteille d’eau qui m’accompagnera jusqu’à la fin de cette carte.
Nitro at Bspot. Aroma of candy bar and savory malt. Taste is tangy bitter chocolate. Smooth velvet body
22 ounce bottle
A strange release pairs New Belgium with one of Missouri’s brightest and best. The result tastes like dessert in a glass. Similar beers do not quite match its overall experience. At $8.99 a bomber this offers low risk for a moderate reward.
Aroma / Appearance - The fluid black base sticks to the sides of the glass. A fast fading mocha head collapses to nothing within a minute. Salted chocolate truffles bathed in sea salt teases the air with the smell of a high end chocolate shop. It does not approach imperial stout territory but comes very close.
Flavor / Palate - Fluid salt and bittersweet chocolate quickly fill the mouth with a chewy texture. The smoky transition crawls towards a balanced dessert finish. Almost like a liquid truffle, the profile has held up well. I wouldn’t cellar this one for a long time but if you have a bottle crack it open soon.
[Tap] Jet black pour with about a half inch of dark brown head on top. Notes of bitter chocolate, ashy malts and nutmeg in the aroma. Milk chocolate, mocha, brine, molasses, brown sugar, grain husks and faint yeasty flavors. The salt comes through more in the finish. Medium bodied. A little chalky. Not bad, but not great either.
Rich chocolate and roast aroma, pours an opaque black with a full light tan head. Nice creamy mouthfeel, nice chocolate flavor, with just a hint of salt. Very nice chocolate roast finish, and a great sipping beer.
Draft at Olympic. From notes. Loads of Roasty chocolate dominate. Hint of salt in there but not getting a whole lot. Meh, coulda been better.
Big pillowy beige head. Aroma of Belgian yeast and roasted malts. Flavor is burnt toast and chocolate. Pretty decent, but I have had better brews trying to do the same thing.
From a bottle. Pours very dark brown with a bubbly beige head and decent lacing. Tastes like dark chocolate, salted cracker malt, burnt toast, some bitter coffee. Light body and low carbonation. Smells like dark chocolate, roasted malt, and salted pretzels.
22oz bottle. Medium beige head atop black body with brown edge. Aroma is moderately sweet, Belgian chocolate, some salt, plum/raisin, light alcohol. Taste is moderately sweet, bittersweet chocolate, some salt, earthy, alcohol. Medium body, some stickiness.
11/1/14. On tap at The Craft Bar in Destin. When I ordered this, I was asked if I "knew what I was getting into," so I was expecting something pretty extreme, which was not the case. Black pour with a small tan head, mild lacing. Tinny aroma, definitely Belgian yeast, esters, chocolate. Sweet chocolate in the flavor, dark chocolate, Belgian yeast, not very much salt. Eh. Disappointed.
Poured from the bomber into an English pint glass. Dark cola brown, almost black pour with a thick, creamy tan head. Aroma is very sweet and malty with chocolate and some saltiness, as well as a nice roastiness. Flavor is quite roasty with chocolate and some saltiness. Not really picking up any caramel or Belgian notes. Medium bodied. Overall this was pretty decent, but I expected a bit more.
Pours inky dark brown, black in the glass with a medium tan head, very fine lacing, good retention. Aromas of chocolate, biscuit, banana, grass, some light herbal notes, reminds me of one of NBs regular brews, I’m guessing they reused the same yeast strain. Medium body, velvety, good carbonation. Medium sweet, moderate bitter finish, very slight hint of saltiness. Not much of a stout, other than the color this is more of an interesting belgian strong ale.
Big salt like a salted chocolate toffee. Kind of light on cool beeriness. Dark beer minimal head.
Pours a deep, thick black color with a huge creamy tan head. Aroma has a belgian yeasty nose with a thick roasted malt kick, light dark chocolate, an overall great stout nose. Flavor is well balanced starting off with a modest roasted note, transitioning to a smooth dark chocolate and coffee presence with a light salty finish. A great toasted/roasted malt flavor lingers after the beer is down. Body is thick and smooth with very little carbonation making it slightly oily/syrup like. Overall a pretty tasty beer that goes down very fast and easy. Alcohol is hidden very well.
Black, thick creamy beige head. Thick lacing. Smells like chocolate ice cream. Taste is roast and chocolate with the faintest hint of salt. Creamy medium-full body.
Bottle at home. Poured black with very little foam. Aroma is dark malts and ocean breeze. The salt is immediatly apparent, but mild and not overbearing. Cocoa, malt and sweetness follow. Body is thinner than I like in a stout; creamy texture with soft carbonation. Good, but not spectacular.
Bottle from a Wild Plum shop in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Pours very dark brown with a tan creamy head. Aroma of chocolate, caramel, weirdly salted, very sugar-ish. The taste is sweet, barely any roast or hops bitterness. Nice smooth palate. Not a big fan.
Aroma: Saline apparent; caramel malts and some light cacao. Appearance: Dark garnet black with a ring of mocha head. Flavor: Big saline component; roasted malts are more apparent with some caramel; saline lingers into an unpleasant finish. Palate: Medium body, sticky texture, soft carbonation, astringent finish. Overall: Didn’t get into this too much; felt like the saline component was a bit overblown for my preference.
22 oz bottle from The Beer Store Wilson. Black hue, zero visibility with mostly lasting medium brown fizzy head. Excellent lacing. Peanut butter and malt aromas. Peanut butter nutrigran bar taste up front with more of a chocoalate malt finish. So so beer.
tap - Pours near black with a light tan head. It smells of roast malt, chocolate and toffee. The roasted malt and chocolate taste includes a little salt though maybe I imagined it. It’s definitely not strong. It’s a bit thinner than I expected for the style and there’s a slight off, medicinal taste. It’s okay, but I expected more.