Bought three 6-packs of New Belgium this weekend, and over the course of the week (particularly on Wednesday, when Markie and Matt came over to assist me with my Winterfest training) I've tried all of them.

I'm not a big fan of the Abbey, their dubbel. I'm generally lukewarm towards that style in general though.

Tripels are always at least "good," but their Trippel was great, very fruity. Deceptively drinkable as well.

The Sunshine Wheat beer is pretty close to a Witbier. I don't know why Beer Advocate has it as an American Pale Wheat Ale, but I tried to have this alongside pepperoni pizza and it may have been the worst beer-and-food pair I've ever made.

(Well no, the worst was when I had that Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter, usually one of my favorite beers, with my brother's famous crusted prime rib.)

By itself or with cheese, however, the Sunshine Wheat is delicious. And the bottles! The label design on New Belgium beers really classes up our fridge.

Labels: Abbey, Dubbel, New Belgium Brewing, Sunshine Wheat, Tripel, Trippel, Witbier

I was tempted to have a Colaweizen after working outside all day, but instead I had a Flying Dog Woody Creek White, which was exactly the right beer for the occasion. It was delicious: a smooth witbier with orange and coriander flavors. And it wasn't as in-your-face as I remember Hoegaarden being.

(I also really liked Flying Dog's Double Dog Double Pale Ale when I had it a few months ago. Although maybe it's the Double IPA style that I actually like. Bell's HopSlam? Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA? These are good beers.)

There was an added buttery component when I had the witbier alongside spaghetti, but then again the Rising Moon I had afterwards was the same way. In fact... that was easily the tastiest Rising Moon I've ever had. There's something to be said for a good beer pairing.

Labels: American Amber Ale, Blue Moon Brewing, Flying Dog Brewery, Rising Moon, Witbier, Woody Creek White

On my way up north this weekend I stopped at Spirits of Nisswa — possibly the last good liquor store if you're heading up north&mdash and picked up a mix-pack of New Belgium and a growler(!) of Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

The New Belgium mix-pack had 1554, Fat Tire, Mothership Wit, and Mighty Arrow. I discovered that I don't really care for Fat Tire, which I've had many times before but never been so disappointed by, and Mighty Arrow was a standard pale. There's not much those can do from what I can tell.

I enjoyed the subtlety of the 1554, which didn't destroy my taste buds with its coffee taste, and I ended up really liking the Mothership Wit, albeit not quite as much as I like Springboard.

Do not attempt to finish a growler alone on an empty stomach. I probably won't be able to have Dead Guy for a while now.

Labels: 1554, American Amber Ale, APA, Belgian Dark Ale, Dead Guy Ale, Fat Tire, Growler, Maibock, Mighty Arrow, Mothership Wit, New Belgium Brewing, Rogue Ales Brewery, Spirits of Nisswa, Witbier