Not too long ago, we brought word in a Q&A with wood cellar manager Eric Salazar that the highly acclaimed Lips of Faith Eric’s Ale, a wood-aged peach-spiked sour beer, was slated to return this summer. Well, the moment has finally arrived and the beer's out on shelves starting today. Now that the beer’s been blended, bottled and kegged, and shipped off, we sat down with Salazar to find out a little more about the final blend of the sour beer. Here’s what you need to know:
This is the first Lips of Faith beer to include beer from our foeder expansion
We began our foeder expansion in 2013, doubling the number of wooden vessels in our cellar to 64 (FYI: foeders are French oak vessels previously used to age wine, which we use to age our sour beers). As you know, it takes a while (sometimes years) for the rehydration, acidification and beer maturation process to get to the point where we can finally pull sour beer from the foeders. That time has arrived. After a year housing beer, a few of the new foeders are contributing to this year’s Eric’s Ale blend, offering a wealth of vinous, white grape notes reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc.
We didn’t use all the beer in the new foeders, for one very good reason
According to Salazar, “In order to preserve inoculation, we only took half of the beer and then refilled them.” The major reason for doing this is so we can use those foeders for upcoming Lips of Faith beers, like the fall release of Le Terroir. During the final tasting/blend of Eric’s Ale, some foeders were specifically earmarked for 2015 Le Terroir based on the profile the beer was exhibiting (more on that in the coming months!).
Eric Salazar and Lauren Salazar blending the final version of Eric's Ale in April.
This year’s blend? Tastes like previous versions, to Salazar’s surprise
Even with the new foeders! From Salazar: “I’m amazed. I think it’s really consistent. The process is so complicated. Each time I have little hope for consistency, but I’m always amazed at how it comes out.”
Foeders to know in this year’s blend
From the original wood cellar:
#3, #4 and #6: These contribute sour citrus, brettanomyces, and Juicyfruit gum notes (respectively) and are considered the workhorses in the wood cellar. We’ve had the first two for roughly 15 years, and #6 for 10 years.
From the foeder expansion:
#48: Oak, white grape.
#50: White grapes.#56: Very vanilla forward.
Find the Beer
Swing by our Beer Finder to locate Eric's Ale near you.For more, check out the shiny new Eric's Ale page for all the details.
Press Release:
Ft. Collins, Colo., July 6, 2015 – New Belgium Brewing is bringing back a Lips of Faith fan-favorite this summer with the latest installment of Eric’s Ale, named for long-time New Belgium brewer Eric Salazar. At its core, Eric’s Ale is a blend of multiple Felix threads and a golden strong ale, aged up to two years in oak foeders with peaches, for subtle fruity tones and a tart mouthfeel. Felix is the lighter of New Belgium’s two sour base beers. The result is the perfect fruit beer for those who don’t like “fruit beers” and the perfect sour beer for those that don’t like sours… yet.
Eric’s Ale pours a hazy golden-orange with subtle fuzzy ripe peach and vanilla aromas. It’s both sweet and tart and finishes warm and crisp. Woody notes are drawn out from the oak foeders to round out this middle-of-the-road sour.
“When I first brewed this ale in 2008, I was highly involved in the sour program and wanted to blend a sour beer,” said Eric Salazar, New Belgium’s Wood Cellar Manager. “What’s really great about it is there isn’t as much of a ‘kick-you-in-the-teeth’ sour as La Folie. I really wanted a middle ground sour that everyone could enjoy. The base beer, Felix, really lends itself to fruit, so I decided to experiment with peaches; that’s really what makes this ale shine.”
At seven percent ABV and 16 IBUs, Eric’s Ale is the perfect fruit and sour beer for those looking to explore the delicate complexities of sour ale. Eric’s Ale is now available in 22 oz. bombers and on draft. Pricing varies by location.
To find Eric’s Ale near you, use the New Belgium Libation Location tool: NewBelgium.com/Beer/Finder. To read a Q&A with Eric on his beer, check out - http://bit.ly/1HvZYbJ.
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