New Glarus Unplugged Enigma

Formerly brewed at New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

12 oz. bottle with a special thank you to Secret Santa (Christmas) for sending me this one. Pours a cloudy dark amber with a very thin off-white head that completely disappeared after the first sip. Very pleasant aroma of sour cherries, grapes, and apples. The flavor is equally enjoyable with both sweet and sour cherries in good proportion, grapes, and apples. Some oak in the flavor as well. Very mild bitterness at the finish. While I would not call myself a sourhead, I certainly enjoyed this beer.

Unplugged Enigma, released October 2, 2006. Not from the unmarked previous batches. Poured a murky reddish brown color, with a good off white colored head with surprisingly, good retention. Smell is of oak, vanilla, subdued cherries, sour apples, and a hint of bourbon. Taste starts off sour, but slowly and seamlessly transfers into an oaky, vanilla, boubon finish. There is tartness throughout the taste, but everything is blended together so nicely that there didn’t seem to be an overpowering flavor, all parts were seemingly equal. Medium bodied, lower carbonation, little bit of a dry oaky finish. Drinkability is good in the sense that it’s a pleasure to drink, but I felt this one is a sipper. Try it before it runs out again.

Bottle in trade from IowaHerkeye. Thanks dude!
Pours amber with a light beige head. Smell is sweet, cinnamony, and some cherry sourness. Taste is mildly tart, lightly sweet and bubbly with a nice lightly funky, rich brown ale maltiness underneath. Malty, lightly tart and enjoyable. Medium to thin bodied.

6-6-08 bottle
Cloudy amber brown with a thin ivory head. Smell is cinnamon apple strudel. Flavor is fruity yet vanilla big and apple like. Not very "sour" per say - but it works very well. Palate is a hint on the weird off side for me.

Pours like apple cider, thick and absolutely no head. The smell is comparable to sweet and sour pork. Tough to describe. Upon tasting it grabs you and you wonder if you’ll regret trying it but then it all smooths out, with the late burn of alcohol. Enigmatic!

Aroma is sweet and sour cherry. Pours red brown, thick and somewhat syrupy. Also has sediment floating about. I love the appearance. Taste is not too shabby. This one’s ok, not my favorite.

Bottle courtesy of kmweaver. Thanks Ken! Muddy water colored pour. Near still head. Nose smells bourbonny and tart. Vanilla, oak, bourbon, sour fruit and yeast. Some hints of candy as well. Taste is suitably tart while retaining it’s barrel-aging. Sour cherries and berries intermingling with bourbon barrels whilst some vanilla, candy, oak and sweet malts try to break through. Kind of a kriek meets bourbon barrel taste. Very yummy. Body is light with some acidic notes and some astringency. Bone dry in the finish as well. Ends with more cherry and berry, soft sourness (more lip smacking than lip puckering), oak, vanilla, candy and sweet malts. Yummy!

12oz bottle from October 2006. Consumed almost two years later. Poured into a Duvel tulip the color is a murky reddish brown. There is only a minimal head of white cream that clings to the glass. The aroma has a nice sourness that is mellow, not sharp. Its smooth through my nostrils and not hostile in any way. It also smells sweet like candy. I’m anxiously awaiting the first sip. I’m not disappointed, and I’m immediately wishing that I had more than one bottle of this to enjoy. The flavors are all smooth and well blended - if this is attributable to the age, than I’m glad I waited. The candy cherry character is nice and I like the residual sweetness. This is dessert beer, but very drinkable.