We’re not done with summer yet, but we’re close enough to fall that we can start thinking. And in this changing of the guard from oppressive heat to frigid and refreshing, a transitional sip might be needed, the kind of drink that has some summer pep but still warms your bones. That intraseasonal tightrope is the gloomy sour. Whether pale or massive, gloomy sours scratch that delayed September itch in a way few beers can. And they make great coffee beers.
This is why New Belgium started cooperation with Onyx Coffee Lab for a confined modern version of their In Foil a gloomy, sour ale with the addition of coffee from the notable Costa Rican bar Las Lajas.
Posted on a beer blog Buzz of my beerLa Folie Reserve, a sour brown ale in the Flanders style, will be aged in oak barrels and will feature coffee with yellow honey from Las Lajas. Notes of peach, raw sugar, mixed berries and gloomy chocolate from the coffee will give the beer a deeper, more elaborate sweetness, with notes of plum, molasses, fresh figs and baker’s chocolate.
At a very drinkable 6.5% ABV, the confined edition Las Lajas La Folie will gain an extra layer of complexity thanks to the addition of nitro, which will add creaminess to the drink. According to MyBeer Buzz, it will also be available in 750ml bottles with a nitro boost.
A release date for the beer has yet to be announced, and what’s more, neither Fresh Belgium nor Onyx Coffee Lab have officially announced the collaboration. (Onyx’s retweet of the MyBeer Buzz announcement is the closest thing to a confirmation we have right now.) But you can’t facilitate but think the beer will be available before the upcoming seasonal change.
Almost there, can you taste it? The change of season is coming. And La Folie Reserve with the sour ale Las Lajas will be the official beer of cooler temperatures and layers.
