Sunday, September 14, 2014

New Belgium Tour De Fall Pale Ale


Still Cooking out here on the Left Coast, 100 degrees in the shade, as they say.  Not really ready for a Fall beer yet, but decided to take the plunge with the Autumn offering from the New Belgium folks.  This a Pale Ale.  Wait - I know you are thinking, like I was, a PALE ALE for Fall?  Not a Punkin or Oktoberfeast?  Those new Belgium lads know how to mix it up.  They are from Colorado, which recently changed some laws......

Not sure what they were roasting when they thought up this one, besides the Caramel, Chocolate Rye and Pale malts that went into the blend.  This one is malt forward and I'm liking that.  No Hop Bomb here!  There is a bit of a bite from the dry hopped Amarillo and Cascade hops, but the IBU count is just at 38, which pales in comparison to the some of the other Pale Ales out there (Dales @65 and Zombie Dust @ 60), but lines up with THE Amercian style Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada's 37 IBU).  With the malt forward style this one is a bit of a hybrid of the American and British style Pale Ale.  Quite an experiment, but this one is just not working any magic for me.  Highly drinkable and well made, a nice example of a Craft Beer is what this is.  Love the label though.

Cheers,
Jerry



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