New Belgium La Folie 375ML

New Belgium La Folie 375ML is a Flanders-style sour brown ale aged in French oak foeders, bottled at 7% ABV in a 375ml format. Winner of a Gold Medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, La Folie draws its character from what is recognized as the oldest continuous souring culture in America — a living culture maintained at New Belgium's Colorado brewery that gives this beer its singular depth and complexity.

Quick Facts: ABV: 7%  |  Origin: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA  |  Flanders-Style Sour Brown Ale  |  Brewery: New Belgium Brewing

Production & Heritage

New Belgium Brewing was founded in 1991 in Fort Collins, Colorado, and La Folie stands as one of the brewery's most ambitious ongoing projects. The beer is built on a grain bill of Pale, Munich, C-80, Chocolate, and Special W malts with Nugget hops, then transferred into giant French oak wine barrels known as foeders where it acidifies and develops for one to three years. The souring culture living inside those foeders has been continuously maintained longer than any other in America. Former brewmaster Peter Bouckaert, who came to New Belgium from Belgium's legendary Rodenbach brewery, played a pivotal role in establishing the sour program and ensuring La Folie's Flemish pedigree was authentic from the start.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: The nose opens with ripe cherry and plum-skin tartness, followed by layers of blackberry jam and a subtle barnyard funk. Behind the fruit, gentle oak and a vinous, red wine-like quality emerge.

Taste: The entry is sharply sour and immediately puckering, dominated by green apple acidity and citric and malic acid tones reminiscent of lemon juice and sweet tarts. Mid-palate, the brown ale malt backbone surfaces — rich, slightly sweet, and chocolatey — before dark berry flavors and oak tannins take hold. The balsamic vinegar character sometimes found in earlier vintages is present but restrained, allowing the fruit and malt interplay to shine.

Finish: The finish is surprisingly smooth given the aggressive acidity up front, with lingering plum, cherry, and oak that slowly fade. A dry, tannic grip from the foeder aging keeps the palate engaged well after the last sip.

How to Drink La Folie

La Folie is best served in a tulip glass or wine glass at cellar temperature, around 50–55°F, which allows its complex aromatics to open without muting the acidity. Pouring slowly to avoid excessive foaming is recommended. For cocktail-curious drinkers, try a Flanders Spritz — La Folie topped with a splash of dry sparkling wine to amplify the vinous quality. A Sour Shandy blending La Folie with fresh lemonade and a thyme sprig tames the tartness for a refreshing summer drink. A Beer Sangria using La Folie as the base with sliced stone fruit and a touch of brandy leverages its natural cherry and plum notes beautifully.

Best For

• Gifting a craft beer enthusiast who appreciates sour and wild ales
• Pairing alongside a cheese course at a dinner party
• Cellaring for one to two additional years to observe flavor evolution
• Introducing adventurous drinkers to the Flanders sour tradition

Frequently Asked Questions

What does La Folie taste like? La Folie is sharply tart with prominent green apple, cherry, and plum-skin flavors layered over a rich brown ale malt base, accented by oak tannins and a touch of barnyard funk. The acidity is driven by citric and malic acids rather than heavy vinegar, giving it a cleaner, fruit-forward sourness.

How does La Folie compare to Rodenbach Grand Cru? Both are foeder-aged sour ales rooted in the Flemish tradition, and the connection runs deep — Peter Bouckaert brought his expertise directly from Rodenbach to New Belgium. La Folie tends to lean toward a brown ale malt profile with chocolate and dark fruit, while Rodenbach Grand Cru skews more toward a red ale character with sharper acetic acid and a more pronounced vinegar note.

Is La Folie good for sipping on its own? La Folie is an excellent sipping beer, ideally enjoyed slowly from a tulip or wine glass at cellar temperature to appreciate its layered acidity and malt depth. Its 7% ABV and 375ml format are well-suited to a single, contemplative pour.

Where is La Folie made? La Folie is brewed at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado. The brewery was founded in 1991 and houses the foeders — large French oak wine barrels — where La Folie undergoes its one-to-three-year souring and aging process.

What foods pair well with La Folie? Aged Gouda or Gruyère complement the beer's tangy acidity with nutty, caramelized richness. Duck confit mirrors its dark fruit and earthy funk. A dark chocolate dessert with cherry or berry compote echoes the dominant fruit notes. Pork rillettes or country pâté stand up well to the sharp sourness. A simple arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette creates a harmonious acid-on-acid pairing.

What sizes does La Folie come in? La Folie is commonly available in a 375ml bottle, a format typical of specialty and sour ales that encourages sharing or a single measured pour.

Is La Folie worth the price? La Folie positions as a premium craft sour ale, and its price reflects the one-to-three-year barrel aging process and the use of America's oldest continuous souring culture. Within the Flanders-style sour category, it represents strong value compared to many imported Belgian sours that carry higher price tags for a comparable aging commitment.

Why La Folie?

La Folie's defining advantage is its souring culture — the oldest continuously maintained culture of its kind in America, living inside New Belgium's French oak foeders and evolving with every batch. That biological continuity gives each vintage a depth and consistency that newer sour programs cannot replicate overnight. The 2019 GABF Gold Medal confirmed what sour ale devotees already knew: this is one of the benchmark American-made Flanders-style browns. For drinkers seeking a domestically produced sour with genuine Flemish DNA and years of barrel character in every bottle, La Folie remains a standard-bearer in the category.