Day 4 of the 2nd Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 4: New Belgium Accumulation White IPA
New Belgium is one of the more well-known breweries. They produce a wide variety of styles and at least a beer for every season. We are particularly fond of their Lips of Faith Series; and they also have a great website which comes in handy if you’re, say, writing a beer blog. It’s bright, accessible and the beer descriptions are really in depth. About Accumulation from their website: “Brewing a white IPA was not only a way to salute the white beauty falling from the sky, but a direct revolt to the longstanding tradition of brewing dark beers for winter and winter seasonal beers.”
REFLECTIONS
Beard & Broad
Beard: I really like this beer a lot even though it’s making me feel like garbage the more I drink it. It’s crisp and flavorful, but still very light. It also utilizes one of my favorite hops, Mosaic. These hops have a very peach/apricot/mango like taste and aroma. This is exactly how I like my IPA’s and this is a nice departure from other winter brews.
Broad: As you can see from our picture, we are not in great shape today. I’m still recovering from my cold and we drank a bit too much wine yesterday. I was excited to drink this because I love White IPA’s and I don’t think we have many more, if any, on the list. I really liked this beer. It is different from other traditional holiday and winter beers. It’s light, crisp and refreshing. I could drink this all year ’round and I will happily add this to our holiday beer mix.
Adam & Alex
Adam: Putting a holiday label on an IPA does not make it a holiday beer. I don’t mind IPAs by this is too hoppy for me. I sadly hate this beer.
Alex: This doesn’t taste like a holiday beer in my opinion. It’s just an a IPA, and is too hoppy for my taste.
Scott & Christa
Scott: I like this beer a lot. No, it’s not the super spiced, typical Christmas ale we’ve had so far, but after raking leaves for 3 hours the crispness of this pale ale is refreshing! I wouldn’t say this is a great “Christmas beer”, but I’ll happily sneak these from the fridge while everyone else is in line for their Holly Jolly or 12 Dogs.
CT: This beer excited me because I love me a some pale ale. But it had a metallic taste I couldn’t get over– the kind you notice when a beer has been on the line too long. I don’t think that’s the case here, it’s just the flavor. Dubbing it Santa piss. Not for me.
Louie & Jenny
Louie: My only experience with New Belgium beers is Fat Tire. So I didn’t know what to expect from Accumulation. Nothing about the beer screams Christmas or winter, besides the labeling. The beer has nice citrus and floral scent, but looks like a run of the mill pilsner when poured. The taste is what I expected with lots of hop and some citrus. Not a huge fan, but I’m trying to stay open minded to IPA’s. This one just doesn’t get me in the holiday spirit.
Jenny: Jen: I have to admit, I’m kind of a dark ale beer snob. IPA’s are just not my thing. This beer is definitely not bad for an Indian Ale. I liked the smell of floral citrus, but the taste hits me with a bitterness…and the hops. Oh, I’m also not a huge hoppy fan. I get the feeling that I’m chewing on a bitter orange rind. The citrus saves it for me, but the aftertaste and chalkiness reminds me why I would prefer my amber ales to a pale ale any day. This also doesn’t speak holiday beer to me. I’m sure this is because of my limited beer palette. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who enjoy this craft.