The Drunken Polack

Earlier this year I got to visit the New Glarus brewery.  I’ve stated this before and my mind has not changed that this is the most beautiful brewery I’ve ever been to.  From the view on the hill, to the cleanness of the inside and the beautiful outside of the brewery, there isn’t anything that comes close.  While there I picked up some of their Unplugged beers as well as some others.  While we were there we opened up the two beers below but since I was mixing a ton of different beers I didn’t feel like I could review them until I sat down one on one and enjoyed them again.

First up is their take on an English Porter.  Now a lot of us when we think of a porter, we think of a beer that is close to a stout.  Porters most of the time have some coffee or chocolate characteristics.  But New Glarus went back to the old times and made a type of porter I have never really experienced before and it seems a lot of people hadn’t either.  When I went into the New Glarus store to pick up a bottle of this stuff there was a sign.  The sign went something like this

“There is nothing wrong with this beer.  It was supposed to taste like this”

You see, this porter or style of this porter is actually quite sour.  People bought a bottle or two and were bringing the stuff back saying it was bad when actually it was not.  Back in the old days, porters were made like this.  If I didn’t read the sign or talk to the young lady behind the counter, I might of thought the same thing.  So how is this porter?

This beer pours a mahogany brown color with a one finger tan head.  Nice lacing throughout the glass. 

The smell on this one is woody up front with toasted malt, chocolate, toffee, and some sourness.  Like sour fruit.

The sourness really kicks in a lot more with the taste.  It’s the first thing you’ll notice.  Not as sour as say a real sour ale but it’s got a bit of a vinegar like quality with some sour cherries.  The ingredients I’m used to in a porter start to come through mid palette.  Smokiness, toffee, chocolate, and some dark fruit.  It’s than all washed away by the sourness.  Definitely a different take of a porter, at least for me.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, rich, and creamy.  Goes down very easy.  The sourness doesn’t get in the way of the mouthfeel.

I love what these guys do with the Unplugged series.  They take some chances and most of the time it pans out.  Now on to the better of the two I’m reviewing.

Found: Straight from the brewery store!
Price: 2-3 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: Nothing on their site about this one
ABV%: 5.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery:New Glarus Stone Soup, New Glarus R&D Golden Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head Daily Wry
Rating: B+

Now here is a beer that I just couldn’t get enough of.  I wish I had more and more of this brew.  If you’ve had their Tart and Belgian Red brews you know they do awesome things with fruit.  This beer is no different.  While it might not be a full on stout (BA Classifies it as a Fruit/Vegetable beer) it didn’t matter to me.  The mixture of styles here is fantastic.

Cherry Stout pours a very dark brown.  It might look black in that glass but as you pour the brew you’ll notice it’s more of a brown color.  Very little head is poured and whatever is poured quickly dies.  No lacing is present. 

Like I said above, this is not really a stout.  It’s missing a lot of the stout characteristics you usually see.  No coffee, no roasted malt, etc.  It’s just straight on cherry up front.  It’s a sweet aroma.  You’ll also pick up the barrel characteristics  Oak and vanilla.  It’s lovely and something I could just sit there and smell for hours.

Taste is just as good.  With a lot of cherry beers, you might get a medicinal or cough syrup kind of taste.  Not here, it’s fresh, cherries.  They start out sweet but turn tart.  I also picked up something I didn’t pick up in the smell and that’s some chocolate.  Chocolate covered cherries anyone? Mixed in there with the oak and vanilla and you have something you just want to drink all night. 

Mouthfeel is a little lighter than you get from a traditional stout.  But it’s still smooth and goes down way to nice. 

This is such a lovely beer.  I really wish they would turn this into a seasonal or year round beer because I’d buy a ton of it.  A totally winner here.

Found: Straight from the brewery store!
Price: 2-3 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: Aged in Oak barrels to promote a spontaneous fermentation. Eight Wisconsin malted barleys combined with Wisconsin Montmorency Cherries for a complex and sublime taste experience.
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Cabin Fever, New Glarus Unplugged Cranbic Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: Founders Cerise, Weyerbacher Raspberry Imperial Stout
Rating: A

I’m about to write two New Glarus reviews but before I bore you with more reviews check this out.  Basically New Glarus is inviting us to pick their beer line up for 2011.  The list is overwhelming and I don’t know what to pick!  More breweries should do this.  Follow the link:

http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/BeerBallot.cfm

Last Thursday I started on a beer crusade that would take me from Minneapolis to Munster, Indiana in 3 days.  I woke up at 4:45am sharp knowing I would be soon meeting up with 3 guys who I have never really met but have talked to a bunch of times on their blogs, through twitter, and have traded with all of them.  You see I think the beer community is a tight knit one.  I wouldn’t meet up with just any old strangers but I felt like I knew these guys before I even really met them.  Who are these people you ask?  Aaron from The Captains Chair, Stu from Friday Night Beer, and the Vice Blogger himself, Aaron.

This just wasn’t Dark Lord Day though.  We hit up a ton of places.

Brewpubs and Bars:

Stubs and Herb’s - The first place we went to.  If this bar was by me I’d be in trouble.  It has a great atmosphere, good food, and a hell of a beer list.  I could of honestly sat there all day.  Did I mention it was located in the middle of the University of Minnesota?  That provides a whole different thing to look at if you know what I mean =)

Beers consumed at Stubs and Herb’s: Surly Abrasive Ale (Batch 1) and Surly Furious

Barley  John’s - Second stop of the beer tour was to this little brewpub off the side of the road.  If you blink you could miss it.  Stu explained to me that the deck outside is usually overgrown with hops but when we were there it was barren.  Maybe to early in the year?  They are known mostly for Rosie’s Old Ale but sadly Old Rosie wasen’t available.  So we picked up a flight of 4 of their other brews.  The Bitter being my favorite out of the four.  All really good though.  We sat outside and enjoyed the perfect weather.

Beers Consumed at Barley Johns: Little Barley Bitter, Stockyard IPA, Wild Brunette, Old 8 Porter

The Captain’s Basement Brewpub – Ok so this isn’t really an official brewpub but we did enjoy some fantastic homebrews from the Captain himself.  3 to be exact.  I really enjoyed all 3 but my favorite had to be the Hefe.  It just hit the spot.  We got to meet his lovely wife and daughter, drink some fantastic beers, and enjoy some grilled food.  Thanks for letting me stay Aaron.

Beers consumed at The Captain’s House: The Captain’s Slightly  Better IPA, The Captain’s Hefeweizen, The Captain’s Wild Rice Brown Ale, Sam Adams Utopias

Ale Asylum – We stopped by Ale Asylum on the way to New Glarus.  I didn’t know much about these guys so I was very surprised when we stepped into the brewpub.  Loved the look of the place, their food was really good (pull pork sandwich with chips and salsa was great) and I loved the samples they give you.  You can buy 10 samples of their stuff for 20 dollars.  It’s such a bargain.  Out of everything their Bedlam IPA was #1 and was simply a delight to drink.  The Citra hops used in the brew was just amazing.

Beers consumed at Ale Asylum: Bedlam IPA, Ballastic IPA, Ambergeddon, Bamboozleator, Big Slick Stout, Contorter, Gold Digger Blonde, Hopalicious, Sticky McDoogle

Minneapolis Town Hall – I wish I could write a fantastic story about this place but I can’t and it’s not because the place isn’t fantastic because well it is.  You see the trip here came on my first night.  At this point I was sorta drunk and well I had the worst headache I’ve had in a while.  The brewpub itself is awesome.  Great atmosphere, a nice selection of brews, and a nice little guest tap list.  I did get to try one of the beers I had hoped to try, Mango Masala Mama, and well it was just fantastic.  Next time I go to Minneapolis (Hello DLD 2011) I will make sure I go here first.

Beers consumed at Minneapolis Town Hall: Mango Masala Mama IPA

Flossmoor Station – Once again I was in the same boat for this visit.  It was just after DLD and I was on the verge of being to drunk.  I didn’t get to have any beers since I felt if i had just one more beer, i’d be over that limit of getting sick.  God I hate that.  But Flossmoor Station is just pure class.  It’s such a beautiful place to eat and drink.  They stuck us outside though.  Guess they didn’t want any drunkards in their place =)  I don’t blame them.  Heck I didn’t even though it was still a working station until I heard the train pull up.  I want to go back to this place so bad.  Oh and they teased me with the empty bottle of Wooden Hell in the window to the brewery.  Bastards! =)

Beers consumed at Flossmoor Station: Uhh none dammit!

Breweries:

Surly Brewing – On my first day there I got spoiled and visited Surly.  Aaron lives two miles from the brewery.  Maybe he’s more spoiled.  When we stepped in we automatically got to meet Omar the owner.  It was cool talking to him.  But it was totally great when the Brew Master, Todd Haug walked in and started pouring us some brews.  I got to try Coffee Bender which I loved just as much as the regular version but I also got to try Batch Two of Abrasive Ale.  Wow just friggin wow!!!  This beer was amazing and it totally beat the version I had earlier in the day.  Abrasive Ale is the real friggin deal!  After we bullshitted over the beers, Todd offered a private tour of the brewery.  This was amazing because this was pretty much one on one time with the guy who makes some of the best beer I’ve ever had.  He must of talked with us for a good 40 minutes about everything the brewery does, how everything works, etc.  He’s pretty much my favorite brewer right now.  He makes great stuff yes but he’s totally cool and a hell of a nice guy.

Earlier in the conversation, Aaron the Vice Blogger mentioned that he saw on twitter that Surly would be providing a firkin of Tea Bagged Furious.  Omar and Todd kind of played it off.  As we ended our tour Todd asked us officially if we would like to like to take the firkin with us to DLD and provide it for one of the guest taps.  Of course we said Hell Yes!  So on the way out we picked up the firkin and threw it in the trunk.  Wow were we really driving around with a rare beer in our trunk.  A rare beer provided by Surly themselves?  Hell yes we were.

Oh and in the fridge we spotted this box and no we didn’t get to try it.  I would of given a kidney for a bottle.

Beers consumed at Surly: Coffee Bender, Abrasive Ale (Batch 2)

Check out more pictures of Surly here

New Glarus – Wow just wow!  That’s all I can say about this brewery.  It’s nestled on a top of a hill overlooking the small town of New Glarus, population of about 2100.   This is the most beautiful brewery I’ve ever seen inside and out.  Just take a look at the outside of this place.  The inside is clean and just amazing.  What I like about it most though is that you can actually take a brewery tour yourself.  You can just walk around and see everything.  It’s cool how you can walk around while the brewers just do their work.  It’s seamless.  I also love their gift shop and tasting area.  For 7 dollars you can two tasting glasses and 6 pretty big samples.  All the beer was great.  Of course it was fresh.  I got to try their Golden Ale which is brewery only and part of their R&D line.  I’ll probably never come back to this place again since it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere but I’m so glad I got to see it.

Beers consumed at New Glarus: Golden Ale, Stone Soup, Moon Man, Belgian Red, Cabin Fever

Check out more pics of New Glarus here

Dark Lord Day:

So before I go into the actual day let me rewind to the night before.  We arrived in Chicago around 6pm.  We had every intention of going to Flossmoor Station that night but instead Aaron had the idea of dropping the firkin off at Three Floyd’s.  He gave Todd a call and Todd called back saying that it sounded like a good idea.  So we headed to Three Floyd’s instead.  We drove up and there was a huge line to get into the brewpub.  We drove right up to the doors which was a no no since their driveway was blocked off but we got around it.  Dirty looks ensued as we went into the pub.  The gentlemen that was guarding the door said we had to step back and get in line but that all changed when we said we had the firkin of Furious.  He said right this way gentlemen.  We brought the firkin through the main brewery doors and we were greeted by a few more Three Floyd’s employees who were happy to see the shiny object.  They then let us through the back doors to the brewpub and told the bartender to take care of us.  Wow what a night!  We each had a few drinks and dinner and just had an awesome time.  We felt like rockstars.  The brewpub is awesome.  The atmosphere is electric, fantastic art, weird movies projected on the wall, awesome people.

Last year Three Floyd’s released a brown ale along with Dogfish Head named Popskull.  While Popskull was good, that night they have a Barrel Aged version.  Well holy shit that beer knocked my socks off.  One of the best beers I’ve had in a long time.  It was a shell of it’s former self.  Around midnight we got out of there because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

So it was time for DLD.  I really didn’t know what to expect.  I knew it was going to be packed but I also heard they were expecting 3k more people this time around bringing the total to around 8k.  We got there around 10am and took our spot the lawn.  We didn’t get in line, we just sat there watching all the suckers get in line while we staked our piece of grass.  It was drinking time and boy was it ever.  Aaron and I jumped to the guest tap area and picked up our glasses of Tea Bagged Furious.  Fantastic stuff.  I also picked up a Apple Brandy Barrel aged Cigar City Warmer Winter, Winter Warmer which was great.  When we got back to our spot we noticed some extra people.  It happened to be Mike from Thank Heaven for Beer with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend.  He shared his homebrew which was over 40%.  Yes 40% and wow it was one of the best beers I’ve had in a while.  Mike is a hell of a guy and I’m glad I got to meet him.  Nate his partner in crime was supposed to be there with him but he had car issues.  Finally got to meet him later in the day and he was also a hell of a guy!  His homebrew ruled too.  Two standup guys.  Through out the day we got to try so many brews.  Stuff that I brought like Isabelle Proximus, CBS, BA Blackbeerd, etc.  But somehow a ton of other beers got into our stash.  Probably the worst beer of the day was a 1995 Sam Adams Triple Bock.  Holy shit, nasty!

But the MVP of the day had to be my man Stu from Friday Night Beer.  The man got us both Oaked and Vanilla Dark Lord.  That guy is magic.  I was afraid I wasn’t going to able to try those two rarities but the man came through.  Stu I salute you!  Needless to say DLD was awesome but it was also a very unorganized even  In the middle of the day the beer per ticket allotment went from 4 to 3.  That surely pissed some people off.  The lines were out of control.  A lot of cutting. I also saw some stuff I wish I didn’t see.  Like a guy sitting in a car with puke on his shirt, passed out.  I also saw some pour guy sitting in the bathroom line surrounded by cops because he couldn’t get up.  He was so drunk he was afraid he would pass out or fall if he got up.  Wow he was drunk.

So would I go again?  Oh I already plan on it next year.  I had such a good time.  I met some fantastic people and drank some legendary beers.  I just need to be more prepared to drink next time.  I was the lightweight of the group.  Oh and Stu you did order those wings and that bottle buddy =)

If I’m missing any guys, let me know =)

Surly Hell - Before I get started with any kind of reviews, I’d like to thanks Aaron over at The Captains Chair for providing both of these beers.  It’s great try beers I normally couldn’t get a hold of.  Thanks bud.

Surly Hell is one of the newest brews from Surly out of Minnesota.  The brewery who loves to can all their stuff!  Except Darkness of course.  This time around they went with a sessionable brew.  A Helles lager to be exact.  Since I’m not really a lager drinker I had to look up what to expect fromt his style of beer.  Straight from Beer Advocate I got this description.

“When the golden and clean lagers of Plzen (Bohemia) became all the rage in the mid-1800′s, München brewers feared that Germans would start drinking the Czech beer vs. their own. Munich Helles Lager was their answer to meet the demand. A bit more malty, they often share the same spicy hop characters of Czech Pils, but are a bit more subdued and in balance with malts. “Helles” is German for “bright.”

Ok so now I have an idea of what to expect?  Well what did I get?  Read on.

Surly Hell pours clear golden color.  Nice fluffy white two finger head.  Great retention and minimal lacing.  Smell is what you usually expect from a lager.  Well most lagers, Southern Tier Krampus is a exception to the rule =)  The smell is grainy, malty, and grassy.  I also picked up a bit of a fruity aroma.  Very sweet aroma and very malty.

Taste really isn’t much to write home about.  Don’t expect a huge flavorful ale kind of taste here.  Because well that’s not what they were trying to do here.  They tried to create a nice sessionable and enjoyable brew and they did a hell of a job doing so.  Up front from me what the grassy hoppy flavor followed by the nice little fruity taste.  The ending is mostly a yeasty and bready grainy taste.   The mouthfeel is light and crisp.  Like I said sessionable.  I could pound down a six pack of this stuff and not even blink.

I like what Surly did here.  They made a nice drinkable beer available during the Summer.  For those hot days.  How hot does Summer in Minnesota get anyway?

Found: Beer Trade
Price: Not to sure on this one.
Website: http://www.surlybrewing.com/
What the company says: Finally, a Surly beer my German mother will drink. She says this one tastes like a bier from back home. Not unlike a Zwickel Bier from Germany, Hell is our filtered and fermented with lager yeast, American hops takes a back seat to the Pils malt sweetness and fresh bread aroma. The color is well… hell (Deutsch for light). It’s fiendishly drinkable, and you don’t have to sell your soul to get another.
ABV%: 4.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Surly Furious, Surly Bender
Other beers to try within the same style: First time I’ve had a beer in this style
Rating: B

New Glarus Unplugged Cran-bic Ale - Oh New Glarus.  What you do with fruit just makes me a happy camper.  I was blown away by their Wisconsin Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart.  This time around they are working with Cranberries.  This time they made a Lambic that has been pitched with cranberries and aged outside in oak barrels.  It’s light, funky, tart and just a beautiful beer.

Cranic pours a mixture of light red and amber.  Really a beautiful color that you can see in the pic.  A small head forms but quickly fizzes away like a champagne.  First thing I noticed in the smell is a light fresh dose of Cranberries.  Mixed in their is a small amount of acidity and tartness that makes your nose sting just a tad.  In the end is a hint of malt and oak.  It’s just a very light smelling beer.  Heck if you can even call it a beer.  To me it’s more like a mixture of a beer and wine.

The taste came in three parts for me.  The first part was definitely tart and slightly funky on the palette.  As the ale hits the middle of your mouth it starts getting richer.  The cranberries start to really come in.  Mix that in with the oak and it’s a nice rich deep taste.  Then in the end the tartness comes back a tad mixed in with some bitterness.  Just a beautiful beer.  Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with the perfect amount of carbonation.  Just a joy to drink.  This beer blurs the line between a lambic and a wine for me.  It’s just amazing.  Pick it up soon folks, it’s a limited brew and might only be brewed once.

Found: Beer Trade
Price: No idea on this one
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: A few times a year we will cut Dan loose to brew whatever he chooses, uncensored, uncut, unplugged. Always handcrafted, the bottle you hold is brewed for the adventurous soul. This is a very limited edition and we make no promises to ever brew this style again.

Sparkling and bright this is a Wisconsin original created for you in the traditional method employed by the Lambic Brewers of Belgium including five months of outdoor resting in oak barrels. Indigenous yeast and cranberries from the “wilds” of Wisconsin flawlessly pair to dance on your palette. You have discovered a rare and delightful treasure to be served cold in a fluted glass.
ABV%: 6.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Belgian Red, New Glarus Spotted Cow
Other beers to try within the same style: First time I’ve had a beer in this style
Rating: A

Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout – I bought this brew a long long time ago and for some reason just got around to trying it.  Yeah this is the problem when you have just to much beer in your house.  Happy to say that it held up just fine.  As far as Ballast Point brews go this one is at the bottom of my list.  It didn’t wow me like Tongue Buckler, Victory at Sea, or Sculpin did but it’s still a decent Imperial Stout.

Sea Monster pours black.  Pitch black.  A small tan head forms but quickly disappears.   Right off the bat you’ll notice this beer has a really sweet nose to it.  One of the sweeter stouts I’ve smelled in a while.  It’s the dark chocolate doing it’s thing.  A decent amount of roasted malt and a smaller amount of coffee.  The taste is more of the same.  The sweetness cuts through everything else.  The coffee leaves a bit of a bitter ending that sits at the back of the throat.  Mouthfeel was really nice.  It was more towards a heavier, thicker mouthfeel.  A little bit on the flat side.  Just goes down your throat with ease.

Not a bad stout to pick up.  Would love to try it a little bit more fresher.  Maybe the coffee would of come through just a little more.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: Around 8 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.ballastpoint.com
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this brew.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Ballast Point Tongue Buckler, Ballast Point Dorado IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, Boulevard Brewing Imperial Stout
Rating: B+

New Glarus Black Wheat – A black wheat beer?  Yeah your eyes aren’t deceiving you.  A black Dunkelweizen.  Anyone know if any other brewer makes a black wheat beer?  Let me know i’d be interested in giving it a try.  This time around my buddy Jeff provided me with another New Glarus beer.  Thanks again my friend.  As many of you know New Glarus doesn’t sell their beer in any other state other then Wisconsin.  I recently heard a story that some bar in New York was serving a keg of their Spotted Cow brew.  New Glarus somehow found out about this and made them stop serving the beer.  i believe the bar actually got fined also.  Anyway there I go going off track.  This beer is being retired at the end of the year.  So if you somehow have access to a bottle make sure to pick it up.  It’s a good and unique brew.  It won’t wow you but it’s easy drinking and tasty.

Black Wheat pours very dark brown, almost black color.  Hold it up to the light and you can see little ruby highlights.  A huge head is poured.  I had to wait a bit before it calmed down to what you see above.  It’s tan, fluffy, and full of craters. The smell starts off like a lot of wheat beers do.  I picked up a little bit of a fruity aroma.  Banana.  I also picked up a good amount of spice.  As the beer warms up though, the beer changes a bit.  I got more of a roasted aroma with some chocolate and coffee thrown in.  A welcome surprise.

The taste starts off just like the smell did.  It’s a light tasting brew with the fruit and spice.  But then the beer hits the middle of your palette and the beer turns to a roasty and smokey taste.  The chocolate and coffee then linger a bit.  It’s like the beer transforms.  The mouthfeel goes more towards light then medium bodied.  Slight amount of carbonation.

It’s a shame this beer is being retired.  But you never know it could come back one day soon.

Found: From my buddy Jeff
Price: No Idea
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: Our Black Wheat arrives to relieve the bleak bore of Wisconsin’s winter. Rich and chewy this bottle conditioned weiss is bursting with Midwestern wheat, oats, rye and finished by malted barley.
ABV%: 5.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Cranbic Ale, New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Other beers to try within the same style: First time I’ve reviewed a beer of this style
Rating: B+

Firestone Walker Union Jack- Damn you West Coast IPAs!!  You make me jealous.  Living on the East Coast I can’t regularly get you!  Yeah so this is another really good West Coast IPA.  Ok almost Double IPA in my mind.   I’ve always heard great things about Union Jack.  So it was a big surprise when I opened a recent beer trade and saw this as one of my extras.  Sweet!!!

Union Jack pours a clear amber color.  A ton of bubbles rise from the bottle of the glass.  Small amount of head pours.  There is a ton of lacing as you drink this brew.  Rings left after every sip.  First whiff, yup this is definitely a West Coast IPA.  Huge amount of fruit.  Grapefruit and mango.  But there is a good enough malt background to make this a balanced IPA.  Taste is just fantastic.  There’s the fruit again.  It’s juicy and big.  Mangos and grapefruit.  In the end you get bready malt and a nice bitter ending from the hops.  While the smell and taste of this beer is good enough to make this a fantastic IPA, the mouthfeel is the crowning jewel.  The mouthfeel is sticky and thick.  It coats the mouth and throat as it goes down.  I haven’t had a IPA this thick in a while.

I would love to see this IPA come to the East Coast but I would be afraid of freshness issues.  But if you can trade for a fairly new bottled version I think you would be in for a treat.

Found: Beer trade
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.firestonewalker.com/
What the company says: The newest member of the Firestone family, Union Jack is the aggressive IPA that you’ve been searching for. Citrus, pineapple, and a full chewy malt profile finish clean on your palate. Over 70 IBUs and 7.5% alcohol by volume, Union Jack won’t have any problem competing with the big India Pale Ales. A beer true to its origins; deeply hopped and bolstered for a long voyage.
ABV%: 7.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Firestone Walker 13
Other beers to try within the same style: Alpine Duet, Russian River Blind Pig
Rating: A-

New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red – Once again thanks to my buddy Kevin for hooking me up with this brew.  Its been on my wants list for ages now and whenever I tried to trade for it I just couldn’t seem to get the deal done.  Bottom line is New Glarus makes good beer but their fruit beers are just above anything they do.  As far as I’m concerned anyway.  This brew and their Raspberry Tart are just world class.  No fruit beer I’ve had so far comes close to those two brews.  You don’t like beer you say?  Love cherries or raspberries?  Then this is right up your alley.  Yes these are beers but wow they don’t taste like beer.

This brew pours a brownish red color.  Very similar to the Raspberry Tart.  Barely any head forms on pour.  Whatever had pours fizzes away with a nice amount of carbonation.  The smell of this beer is just unbelievable.  Tart, ripe, and sweet cherries.  It’s just full of cherries.  Taste is full of sweet cherries.  It’s so hard to explain how this beer tastes because like I said above, it doesn’t taste like a beer to me.  It tastes like a different kind of cherry fruit juice.  What makes it a little different is a little bit of roastiness in the background.  But when I say a bit I  mean it.  The cherries dominate.  Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied.  Nicely carbonated and a joy to drink.

Out of the two fruit beers from these guys, The Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart, I give the upper hand to the Raspberry Tart.  Only by a hair.  Both are just amazing beers and make you wonder how they got the beer to taste like this.

Found: From my buddy Kevin!
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/
What the company says: Our International World Champion Specialty Beer is a true winner. Brewed with whole Montmorency Cherries, Wisconsin Wheat and Belgain Roasted Barleys. Over a pound of Door County cherries in each bottle. Ruby red in color, a medium body, highly carbonated and intense with cherry flavor and bouquet.
ABV%: 5.10%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Spotted Cow, New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Other beers to try within the same style: Founders Cerise, Dogfish Head Black and Blue

The Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale - What we have here was my first shipment from the 2009 Sinners Club.  I got two in the package.  I drank the first one the night I received it and thought it was an excellent beer.  I waited a while to have the other one.  Don’t know why.  I spotted it the other day and thought it was time to down the second one.  I’ll miss this beer and I hope they make it for the 2010 Sinners package.  I really enjoyed this brew.

Red Poppy pours a hazy ruby color.  No head is poured at all.  Slight ring of lacing around the glass.  A good amount of carbonation is noticeable.  The beer is classified as a Flanders Oud Bruin.  They are usually characterized by a slight vinegar or lactic sourness.  A fruity estery characteristic is also shown in this style.  The aroma on this beer definitely follows those rules.  It gives off a nice amount of a vinegar smell.  Definitely not as much as other beers of its kind but its pungent enough to knock your nose around a bit.  Overall the beer has a funky kind of smell.  A good mix of oak, tart cherries, and vinegar.  Sour and acidic.

Up top I said the sourness wasn’t that bad but in the taste it’s definitely more evident.  A great amount of sourness and tartness attack your palette.  The vinegar takes over the taste.  The cherries take a bit of a backseat here.  They show up more in the end when the vinegar dies down.  As this beer warms a little the oak starts to show.  Overall it’s a lovely taste.  Took me a bit to finish the glass though.  The sourness got to me a few times.  The sourness just sits in your mouth and on your lips.  The mouthfeel is medium bodied.  Acidic and nicely carbonated.

This is a winner from LA.  With all the talk about their flat beers it’s good to have a good brew from them.  I know all the rest of the beer from my sinners club is going to be flat.  Everyones has been.  So you won’t see any Angel Share or Cuvee De Tomme reviews just yet.  Hopefully overtime those brews carbonate a little.

Found: Sinners club selection
Price: I’ve seen these go from 20-30 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com/
What the company says: Perhaps no country embraces the use of fruit in beers more so than Belgium. Numerous traditional as well as regional specialty ales are infused with every sort of fruit imaginable. In this way, the flavor of the fruit becomes especially prominent.

Red Poppy Ale is a veritable celebration of Sour Cherries in an explosion of aromas and tastes. Brewed from a brown ale base and aged in our oak barrels for over 6 months, this beer is not for the faint of heart.

The Golden Poppy is the state flower of California and the Red Poppy is found in Flanders Fields where our inspiration for this beer comes from. This beer is 5.5% ABV and is available in 375 and 750 ml bottles and on draft at inspired locations.
ABV%: 5.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale, The Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze
Other beers to try within the same style: Deschutes The Dissident

Fruit beers aren’t really my thing.  Sure there are a few out there I’ve enjoyed but I always would rather have a good stout of IPA instead of a fruit beer.  But when my buddy Kevin mentioned that he had some extra fruit beers from New Glarus I was instantly excited.  Yeah like I said fruit beers don’t do much for me but New Glarus fruit beers are legendary.  So far I’ve only tried the Raspberry Tart but I’ll just say that this beer blew me away.  You people who live in Wisconsin are lucky.  All I’m going to say.

Raspberry Tart pours dark maroon color.  A nice sized is poured but quickly disappears in the beautful maroon color.  The aroma on this beer is just world class.  Sweet and tart raspberries with a slight and I mean slight oak smell.  Just an explosion of raspberries.

Yeah the smell on this beer was world class but the taste was even better if that’s even possible.  They don’t try to throw in a million ingredients.  Basically you get blasted with tart, fresh, juicy raspberries and man is it good.  It’s a tart and deep flavor.  It’s not a puckering tart but it’s close. Beer has a ton of flavor for 4% abv.  Just fantastic. Is this fruit juice or a beer?

The mouthfeel is medium-heavy bodied.  A little syrupy.    The only knock I had against this beer is that it’s full of so much sweet and tart it was almost to much for me.  I had no problems drinking the first glass of this stuff but by the half way point of the second glass I had to slow down.  It was a little hard to get down.  But I did it just so I wouldn’t waste this fantastic beer.

This beer is probably the best low abv raspberry beer out there.  I love DFH Fort just as much as this beer that beer is just a different animal.  You want a flavorful lower alcohol raspberry beer this is your beer.  You want a kick your ass raspberry beer with great taste try Fort.  Best of both worlds.

Found: My buddy Kevin
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com
What the company says: Treat yourself to a rare delight. The voluminous raspberry bouquet will greet you long before your lips touch your glass. Serve this Wisconsin framboise very cold in a champagne flute. Then hold your glass to a light and enjoy the jewel-like sparkle of a very special ale.

Oregon proudly shares their harvest of mouth watering berries, which we ferment spontaneously in large oak vats. Then we employ Wisconsin farmed wheat and year old Hallertau hops to round out this extravaganza of flavor.
ABV%: 4.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: New Glarus Spotted Cow, New Glarus Fat Squirrel
Other beers to try within the same style: Founders Cerise, Dogfish Head Fort
Rating: A+

Found: My buddy Jeff
Price: N/A
Website: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com
What the company says: 100% Wisconsin malt of six different varieties impart the natural toasted color to this bottle conditioned unfiltered ale. Clean hazelnut notes result from these carefully chosen barley malts.

What I say:Oh New Glarus you kill me.  While I’ve only had two of their beers, I can say that are a fantastic brewery.  Issue with them is that they only distribute to Wisconsin.  My friend Jeff picked up a few of their brews when he was in Wisconsin and I was very lucky that he saved a few for me.  New Glarus claims there is only a certain hours in the day to make beer, but come on guys get this stuff out there!!  This review is for their Fat Squirrel which is an English Brown Ale.  It’s good to get away from the hoppy stuff once and a while….

The Look: Dark amber color with very little head and a bit of carbonation.  You can tell it’s unfiltered, little stuff floating around. 

What the nose thought: God it seems nice.  Hazelnut, dark roasted malts, chocolate, coffee like notes.  Smells fantastic.

And the tastebuds?: To me it tasted like a mixture between a soda and a Hazelnut coffee.  I say soda because it was very carbonated.  It attacks your tongue.  The taste is just as good as the smell with a Hazelnut, toffee, caramel, and nutty like flavor.  Pleasure to drink.  Everything is balanced nicely here.

The feel: Medium bodied.  The beer attacks your tongue like soda fizz.

Would you drink more?: Yes. But I have a feeling it will be a very long time before I see this again.  Yeah New Glarus you here me, get your stuff out there.  I’ll tell you what, hire me and I’ll help.

Ending notes: There Edel Pils is next up!

Rating: B+