New Glarus Unplugged Belgian Quadruple

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

Rerate. Pours a clear orange caramel with a two finger eggshell head with pretty good retention. Aroma of cherries, banana, vanilla, brett funk, brown sugar, and a bit of oak. Flavor is sweet, acidic, and bitter all at the same time. Another update: there is quite a bit of a buttery character, but it isn’t bad. Alcohol becomes present but never boozy, but is warming in the back of the throat. Dry lightly bitter finish. Medium to full bodied with low soft carbonation. Still digging this. Old rating follows. 3rd rating again (same as Enigma). 12oz bottle, no date--though I know it was the first week of February. Pours a clear orange golden with a two finger yellowish head. Aroma of faint oaked cherries (as in the Enigma), brown sugar, light banana, some Orval characteristics most likely from the brett, though I’ve had other brett inoculated beers and I don’t think this is quite like any of those. There is also a hint of sour apples. Aroma doesn’t have as much bourbon as I thought there’d be--thank God. That changes with the flavor and there is definite bourbony tones, though not distracting and can still pick out the oak, cherries, and vanilla quite well. Semidry finish, low bitterness. Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Glad to see Dan didn’t let me down--scared me with the bourbon aging bandwagon. 8-4-8-3-17--4.0

12 ounce Bottle from pantanap, Thanks Kan! nose has a note of horseblanket, vanilla, fruits, and spices; clear copper with a small beige head; flavor shows alcohol, a smidgeon of bretty horseblanket, nutmeg, oak, light bourbon, and some pumpkin esters, in fact it tastes a lot like some type of pumpkin pie Thanksgiving drink. I guess I picked up different flavors than others and the commercial description, but I detected no cherries, just the bourbony pumpkin! Man better than any of the pumpkin ales I have rated! As Maxwell Smart would say, "Verrry interesting!"

12oz courtesy of tytoanderso - thanks, Tyler! Man, this is seriously quirky and impressive as hell. A nice russet pour, with zesty carbonation evident immediately. Fairly thin head and retention. But what a nose: the first whiff is the sugary malts you expect from a quad, but bam!, the brett comes screaming in with notes of vanilla too. As you get into it, you can taste the oak a bit more as it integrates with the vanilla. Slightly tart dark fruits in there that complement the brett, and somehow nothing is overpowering, even the traces of bourbon that come through - a subtle barrel-aged beer, praises be! Wow, I want more of this.

12oz. Bottle $8.99 4-Pack Steve’s Liquor Madison I could tell this was a unique beer as soon as I popped the cap from the aroma. Unplugged Belgian Quadruple poured clear and glowing garnet into a snifter. A 1 finger ivory head formed on the pour that receded to a thick ring around the glass and wisps of foam throughout the center. Quickly rising carboation bubbles rise to the ring some actually shoot up from the bottom of my glass. The smell of this beer is amazing! I don’t know where to begin. Rum soaked raisins mingle with earthy wood and leather but at the same time I’m picking up ripe pear. Was this beer barrel aged? Sure smells like it. Solid dose of tart and sweet cherries rise to the nose as well. Hidden in the background is that brett funkiness. Occasionally alcohol wafts through the air. Each swirl brings the beer alive. This is a complex and mind numbing beer. The flavor doesn’t quite live up to the nose but is still a very unique brew. Sweet cherries along with the woodiness from what I believe is barrel aging come through first. Slight metallic twang mid palate along with the rum soaked raisins. The flavors are much the same as in the aroma but more toned down and muddled where it’s harder to distinctively pick each one out. Very good. Much lighter bodied than I would have though before opening it. Medium bodied but with solid carbonation pushes this brew through quickly. Slightly prickly on the tongue. For a quadruple this is very easy to put away. The lighter body helps with the drinkability. This is a truly unique, interesting, delicious beer from New Glarus. I would like to find out a little more about it. There are some questions I would like answered. Ex. Barrel aged? Brett? Cherries? Notes: After checking New Glarus website I see this Quad was fermented using brett and matured in bourbon barrels. 5/19/07

bottle by way of the illustrious footy... pours a clear orange-brownish-copper-rich honey color with a small short lived beige head. smells much like reinaert amber only better... sour fruit, golden raisins, grain, grass, cinnamon/spice, red apple, wood, white mold and some earthy funk. the flavor is strange and unexpected... tart fruit/red cherries, wood, vanilla, white mold/brett/damp basement, grassy-near piney hoppiness? and a sour dry finish with some spiciness. milk chocolate shows up late in the aftertaste. medium body, smooth texture from a near lack of carbonation. very intriguing...

Pours a nice mix of red and brown. Head is huge and white to yellow and creamy, and leaves loads of lacing. Aroma is mainly yeasty. The flavor makes it obvious that it was aged in bourbon barrels, you can taste the alcohol in it on the aftertaste. There are some nice cherry like flavors in it as well as some other fruits, and maybe a hint of vanilla as the label suggests. Seems to me that the flavor improves as it warms up a little. Light to medium carbonation, and not very watery. Thanks Presario!

Pours a deep red. Slight malt, candy sweet nose. flavor is candy sugar, tart fruit and good malt balance. Hides the 11% well.

Bottle courtesy of Footy. Pours a nice copper color with a small white head. Aroma of dark fruits, cherries, spices and vanilla. Flavor is rasin, cherry, spices, a little bretty funk, brown sugar and a touch of tartness. I think I can pick out a touch of bourbon from the barrel but it is very subtle and not enough to overpower the rest of the flavors. I enjoyed this brew quite a bit. Thanks Rudy!