New Belgium – Lips of Faith – Cocoa Molé

Howdy fellow snobs!

I’m coming at ya tonight with a beer that has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Not going to lie, I’m not big on the peppery foods – jalapenos, chili peppers – anything that has the potential to set me on fire on one end or the other, ain’t my thing. I like my chicken wings naked, my chicken fingers plain, my chili sweet and savory, my ribs honey glazed, my bourbon neat, my trucks American and I am running for Preside…oh sorry…so, back to this beer.

I first had Cocoa Molé at The Pizza Kitchen a few weeks ago not really knowing what it was but seeing something new and the New Belgium name I figured why not give it a shot. What I remember about the beer was the sweet beginning, the cocoa, the caramel and just a touch of heat on the back as the last few drops lingered at the back of my throat – interesting. Reminded me of Ratchet’s Spicy Cocoa Stout – which, while it had some heat, I did like it. I picked up this bottle at McScrooge’s last week along with two other bottles for a fellow snob. He reported to me on the first bottle that he didn’t get as much of the heat on the back as I had experienced. So I figured I’d pop this bottle open and see if perhaps I had been dreaming. So here we go.

First off, this beer has cocoa and ancho, guajilo, chipotle peppers and has some chocolate malts in it – it also cranks in at 9% ABV. Now, it looks dark in the glass but it pours a dark amber and when held to the light reminds me a bit of a porter with the amber red around the edges. It did pour with a nice head – as evidenced in the picture and it has an aroma of cinnamon, spice and if you breathe deep, you get some sweet cocoa scents.

On the tongue you are immediately greeted with a complex grouping of tastes – vanilla, caramel, a sweet cocoa taste and THEN cinnamon and a little bit of that pepper heat on the back. The heat isn’t as distinctive as I recall from drinking it on tap but it’s still there, just maybe not as pronounced as I recall.

Final Snobs: This is a pretty complex and unique beer that blends sweetness and spice very well. I’d call this a memorable beer that I’d recommend to anyone – especially if they are looking for something different.

I’d also like to send a BIG shout out and thanks to the guys at Eagle who bring in products to East TN just like this. It wasn’t that long ago that to get a New Belgium beer like this we had to look outside of the state.

Cheers!