Lost in the Woods 2015 - New Belgium Gets Medieval

Feb 9

We attended the 2015 Lost in the Woods event at New Belgium Brewing in Ft. Collins this past weekend. Unseasonably warm weather meant standing in line with short sleeves and no jacket was no fool's errand. Still, New Belgium was prepared for the evening becoming slightly chilly, and some unique fire pits were burning brightly near the entrance. They were foreshadowing the decor for the evening to come.We were ushered inside quickly and presented with a map to beer and food stations, as well as 3 tokens for beers. We were immediately concerned that we'd be hard pressed to try all the unique beers they were pouring with only 3 tokens; but upon receiving our first pour of the evening the bartender informed us that additional pours could be had for a few dollars. Disaster averted.We joined the throng of 775 guests in the brewery. It initially seemed pretty packed, but as people dispersed into the foeder forest's larger areas it became easier to move around.The 'forest' was decorated with a medieval theme; with parapets adorning the tops of numerous vessels, and animatronic dragon heads breathing fire from on high in a couple areas.Shields hung from the sides of other foeders and suits of armor decorated the hallways and protected the band in the middle of the festival area.A massive dragon egg was perched in the 'Dragon's Lair' where a toast was held at 9pm.Wandering around the event, there were entertainers in all corners, food never far from reach, and beer stations pouring the selections of the evening. Most of the staff pouring the beers were decked out in woodsmen hats and matching garb.The spectacle was impressive, but so were the beers! Between us we sampled all of the available beer options:

2015 La Folie
2015 Transatlantique Kriek
Bourbon Barrel Aged Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout on Nitro
Le Terroir
New Belgium Brewing Love Blackberry Oscar
Oscar Worthy Coffee (La Folie base with local roasted coffee)
Garage Series Chocolate Brown
New Belgium Brewing Love Apple Oscar
New Belgium Brewing Love Cherry Felix

Also around the event were many brewers enjoying the libations and snacks. We chatted at length about the favorite beers of the evening with Sarah from Former Future, Joe from Verboten, as well as Dick Cantwell from Elysian and of course Kim Jordan from New Belgium.Lost in the Woods 2015 sold out in just over 24 hours, so if you want to attend next year, be sure to stay on top of when the tickets go on sale. You will not regret attending this event. What a fantastic evening! We certainly look forward to next year's event. Same as last year, we exited the building at the end of the evening; picking up a bottle of La Folie 2015 to take home and enjoy later.