It’s hard not to get excited by the modern craft beer industry, with thousands of breweries around the country cranking out small batches of hyperlocal, high-quality beer. This is a reality that the pioneers of the industry would’ve had a hard time imagining when they were practically begging consumers to try beers that were dark or hoppy or far too boozy when compared to mass-produced watery lagers. Yet, in the swirl of excitement that comes with being a beer lover in our current era, it’s easy to overlook the beers and brewers that made this all possible. But many of these beers are classic for a reason, and while they may not be as attention-grabbing as the latest hazy juice bomb from your local brewery, their continued availability is a testament to their influence and their timelessness. In our monthly column The Beers That Made Us, we talk with brewers about the beers that have made the biggest impact on them in terms of their personal taste and love of craft beer, as well as how it inspired their personal approach to brewing. Hopefully their perspective will inspire you to take your own trip down beer memory lane. 

Few breweries have solidified their place in the rich history of craft beer in the Pacific Northwest in such a short time as Breakside. Since being founded in 2010 by Scott Lawrence, and Tony Petraglia, Breakside has racked up an almost unfathomable amount of awards for their IPAs, lagers, sours, and pretty much everything in between. There is a good chance you remember the first time you tried Breakside IPA as it deserves credit for forging what we now call a West Coast IPA while also carrying a respectable Northwest pedigree, a near-perfect balance of modern a classic style. One of the main visionaries behind Breakside is Edmunds, who is the kind of brewer that approaches his craft with a love of scientific precision and the kind of honed skillset that athletes train for. But Edmunds is rarely cocky, and if you share a beer with him you will quickly realize how much he respects tradition while also pushing boundaries and continuing to challenge himself and his top-notch team at Breakside. Given his pedigree and willingness to tackle so many styles of beer – not to mention Breakside being mostly known for their IPAs – Edmunds’ choice for a beer that inspired his journey as a brewer may come as a surprise to some. 

Beer: 

New Belgium La Folie

Your first time:

Ben Edmunds: I moved to Colorado in 2004 and first visited New Belgium that fall, probably right around 18 years ago now! My friend Emily was living in Greeley - many years before it would be known for its own beer scene - and we drove up to Fort Collins to go on a hike and visit New Belgium and Odell. I remember the tour guide poured us each a small snifter of La Folie. Emily took a taste first and recoiled, somewhere between shock and disgust. I tasted it and was hooked. I'd never had a sour beer before, and that taste blew my mind open. Beer could contain so much!

What makes it special:

Ben Edmunds: Long before it became de rigueur for new breweries to open with a barrel program, the foudres in Fort Collins were producing iconic Belgian-style sour beers and introducing them to a curious generation of consumers and future brewers. There is no sour beer marketplace in the U.S. today without La Folie.

Why this beer is influential:

Ben Edmunds: I think it is hard to overstate how influential to me personally and the craft beer world New Belgium was in the mid 2000s. Their lineup was a murderer's row of boundary-pushing beers that inspired a generation of brewers. The portfolio ran a crazy gamut: Mothership Wit, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle, Saison Harvest, 1554, Loft, Springboard, Biere de Mars, Le Fleur Misseur, Le Terroir. But La Folie ruled them all.

Why beer drinkers should pay attention: 

Ben Edmunds: It's a great object lesson; return to the original American sour beers like La Folie and you'll find beers that are modest in acidity, driven by complex sourness, drinkable, balanced with oak, and often unfruited. It's a reminder that these types of beers can be everyday drinkers with tremendous complexity and balance. It's not - by today's standards at least - a showy beer, and it doesn't have to be.

How this beer inspired your brewery:

Ben Edmunds: Years ago, we made a beer called New World Bruin, which was our take on a Flanders red/brown ale. La Folie would definitely have been an indirect inspiration for that project. And, to the degree that La Folie spawned the wood-blending program at New Belgium, it also influenced how we established and evolved our own blending program for both mixed fermentation and strong wood-aged beers.

The Beers That Made Us is a monthly column exploring brewers favorite underappreciated or simply classic beers that they find essential drinking. Read past entries into this series with Russian River Brewing founder Vinnie Cilurzo, Chuckanut Brewing founder Will Kemper, Cloudburst Brewing brewmaster Steve Luke, Hair of the Dog Brewing founder Alan Sprints, The Alchemist founder John Kimmich, and many, many more.