New Belgium and Elysian Brewery Join Forces

I was up in Seattle visiting my friend (and itsbeer-o-clock contributor) Darren last weekend, and he took me to his favorite watering hole: Naked City.

After scanning through the tap list, I opted to skip the Naked City brews, and taste the latest Elysian and New Belgium Brewery collaboration project called Trip III.  I had no idea what this Trip III was, but I had complete faith in the two breweries to produce something special.  It arrived looking all dark brown and smelling fruity in a snifter.  It only took a few sips to realize that this was a unique beer and I felt privileged to be drinking it.  To me, it was a lot like a mellow Cascadian Dark ale, with a tad bit of souring, and a Belgian yeast.  The sour was not overpowering–it lingered but just below the flavor surface–enhancing, but not forcing itself upon the palette.  Man just thinking about this beer makes me want to go back up there and have another.  The video above is about the Golden Strong Ale they brewed, which I believe was Trip I.  Here is the Brewery’s description of Trip III:

Brewed at Elysian Capitol Hill, this sour brown comes just in time for the heat of late summer.  We blended a dark brew full of specialty malts with a wood-aged pale beer to provide a pleasantly-puckering sourness.  Enjoy another tasty trip with Trip III.