New Glarus Belgian Red

Bottle shared at the CA-GA cultural beer exchange hosted by alexanderj. Nice reddish brown pour. Aroma is cherries, very nice, and mostly sweet. Flavor is the same, nice sweet cherries but also some sour cherry skins. Really good blend; I really like good fruit beers.

This beer is truly decadent. It’s like candy. Pour this into a wide-mouth glass to see how viscous it is and it’s dark ruby color. Take a big whiff - there’s no hop aroma there, but a deep, strong, dark cherry aroma. When drinking it, you’ll notice just how full bodied it is and how the cherry flavor coats your mouth. It’s almost like a sweet cherry syrup with fizzy undertones. It leaves you with a nice warm cherry flavor in your mouth. Imagine a cherry lambic without the funk aroma, flavor bite, or throaty aftertaste. This is a treat. I make special trips into Wisconsin for this.

Bottle thanks to bgramer. Thanks! Pours dark ruby amber with a big pinkish white head that fades and leaves some lacing. Smell is huge candied cherries and a slight earthy tartness. Taste is similar with a musty candied cherry flavor and a slight tartness. Really delicious fruit beer. Smooth on the palate and easy drinking.

Bottle (Thanks kosko20!) Pours a murky ruby red color topped by a fading pink film. The aroma has an extremely pungent cherry presence. Sweet candied cherries, almond paste sweetness, marzipan, subtle pastry notes, and more cherry skin character as it warms. The body is slick and creamy, yet lively. It has such a natural fruit presence in the flavor! It’s both sweet and tart simultaneously, with notes of candied cherries, sweet notes with almond-like character of marzipan. The later cherry flavors lean toward earthier notes of skin-tannins, along with a very subtle cinnamon-like spiciness when it warms, and the slightest touch of graham cracker towards the clean finish. This stuff conjures up the experience of eating freshly baked cherry pie. Rich, yet so drinkable. A fruit beer that is truly fruit-filled; complex and delicious.

So, this is the infamous Belgian Red! I’m impressed, although I knew what to expect. Very strong, sour, funky aromas and a sweet, juicy cherry flavour. Syrupy, delicious, tastes "happy" according to one of my friends. And I don’t mean as in the Wisconsin pronunciation of "hoppy" -- there’s very little of that to be found, although they’re detectable. Kind of a single-note beer, but still well done for the style.