New Glarus Unplugged Belgian Quadruple

Formerly brewed at New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

Bottle from JCB. Hell yeah man! Incredible nose on this one. Oak, bourbon, vanilla, darker fruits, raisins, brown sugar, caramel. A hint of barrely tart too - green apple. Really fantastic aroma. Pours amber with some golden orange hues and some browns as well. Flavors of oak barrel up front followed by green apple, sweet bourbon, raisin, brown sugar, vanilla, spiced apples. Quad flavors come through in the end - light dusty/musty yeast. A hint of barrel tartness and a little alcohol. Wow. Lively carbonation. Some alcohol, but not what you’d expect from 11%. This is incredible stuff. Like an amazing liquid desert with alcohol!

A coarse yellow head with a big orange body of ale below. Big malt opening with yeast in the nose and the sweet malt keeps on giving. There is a hint of citrus and funk, a passing shadow of oak-sourness is there, but the allegation of bourbon barrel aging is lost on me. I can’t find it even when I know what I am looking for. Malt dominates from beginning to end, and alcohol makes its presence known from beginning to end in a warmth but not in taste. This beer is not too sweet and a bres of surpassing complexity. If it comes back, I’ll buy- and buy a bunch. 20 minutes later --- there is a serious alcohol kick here.

Bottle courtesy of allendodd. Cheers man! Pours a hazy darkish amber with a slight white head. Interesting aroma of dark fruits and kandi. Full bodied with creamy/frothy carbonation. Flavor is caramel with fruit. Mild spice. Think I’m getting some oak. It’s quad tending towards barley wine. Dellcious, but finishing slightly sweet. Brett? Maybe that’s what’s cutting the sweet. It’s like nothing I’ve ever had. Too bad it’s retired.

Another NG Unplugged from iowaherkeye. Pours a slightly hazy, but certainly not opaque, amber brown with a big bubbly beige head that recedes quickly and leaves no lacing and only a tiny collar. The aroma is sweet and very much like a brandy or sherry. Definitely a bit boozy in the nose with some sweet caramel malts and candi sugar. There is also a very prominant yeasty dough araoma that’s almost sour in the nose, but not quite. The taste does have a bit more sourness, especially up front, from the bready yeast presumably. The backbone is the candi sugar, toffee and dark fruits, especially raisins and figs. The finish is slightly dry. the mouthfeel is sugary sweet and medium bodied with lots of carbonation. There is the dryness that I’m not accustomed to getting in the style from the yeast or something else. It’s definitely dry and slightly tart in the finish. This is certainly a well-crafted beer, but I think it’s probably a bit past its prime, at least for my tastes. The sourness takes away from the quad character for me and the body is a little thin to be a world class quad.

12oz bottle generous gift bottle courtesy of CaptainCougar....thanks man! glowing red-brown color, looks filtered. Small foamy head that coats the edges of the snifter. Sweet buttery cognac-like aroma. Wow, this is a really great Quad. Has all the authentic thick sugar and yeast qualities of a Belgian or Dutch version, with the added complexity of some mellow Brett. Some refined vanilla oak smoothness as well. I didn’t really pick it up at first, but the bourbon barrels also shine a little. A complex awesome beer. Wow.

Bottle thanks to iowaherkeye. Another Unplugged Series beer with Brett. I am excited. Pours with a large off-white fluffy head over a hazed, pretty copper-amber hue. Aroma is sweet with pear, brett, oak tannins, vanilla, plums, tangerine, and dried milk. Taste is caramel, cotton candy, dried apricot, vanilla, dried cherries, and horseblanket. Interesting. Well hidden alcohol, thick, light bubbles. Good stuff

Bottle from iowaherkeye...great damn bonus Joey!! Pours a reddish/amber color. Caramel malt, spices and some light yeast in the aroma. Flavor is fruity and a tad of yeast. Pretty nice beer...I like the spices in this one.

12oz bottle into an abbey glass. A bit on the sweet side for me, even for the style.