New Glarus Unplugged Enigma

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

Thanks to Homerwantsbeer for sharing a bottle. This beer is a lightly hazed reddish brown-amber with a thin and filmy off-white head that diminishes to nothing fairly soon. Minimal lacing. Cider-like aroma with touches of yeast and spice. Medium-bodied with a tart fruity character and malt, nut and spice flavors. The finish is sour cherries with a lingering tart fruit aftertaste. Overall a unique and interesting beer that I would try again.

2009-04-21. Ruddy brown body witha decent beige head and lacing. (3+) aroma of sweet woody malt preceding a subtle sour fruit undertone. Cherry - both sweet and sour? Light vanilla touches? (7+) Flavour is subtly sour. Wood, fruit - both generic and cherry - mild malt, very light bitterness. Lingering tart-sour furit in the finish, tangy wood notes. (7+) Smooth average plus palate. (3+) Very unique, quite good. Only complaint is that I think the wood character would personally put me off after more than one. Bottle c/o either Cheeseman or HogTownHarry

Sampled March 2007
This beer is quite hazy and pours with a murky, dark, reddish brown color. It is topped by an initially one-finger thick, dirty tan colored head that disappears fairly quickly despite a vigorous pour. The aroma is quite tart of course, but there is a bunch of oak character here as well; adding notes of butterscotch, spicy-sharp oak notes and some vanillin. The buttery oak character actually comes to be the dominant aromatic component by far. Somehow the oak note reminds me of sweetened oatmeal, though I am not quite sure what makes me think this as I smell this beer.

The taste has that same distinct note that made me think of oatmeal, or better yet oatmeal raisin cookies. I can’t quite place it though; it is certainly not a bad thing, I just wish I could pinpoint it. It even becomes more distinctive than the oak character. The oak flavor is here as well, with some soft buttery notes, a touch of vanillin and some spicy wood character towards the end. This is not nearly as tart as it could be, but it does have a nice underlying sour character which is quite appealing without ever approaching aggressive. This beer still has a fair amount of sweetness to it as well, though it is not nearly as sticky or syrup-like as the Belgian Red or Raspberry Tart, which in my mind is certainly a good thing. Hints of tamarind, raisins, cherries, toasted grains, and brown sugar are all noticeable in the flavor. I like how the oak adds a touch of spiciness in the finish. This beer does not have the bitterness, nor a large sour presence to provide the balance that is needed for the malt character; the spicy wood character helps to provide that in conjuction with the tartness that is here.

This is quite a distinctive brew. I wonder if it is the cherries that add that sort of oatmeal raisin cookie flavor. This beer is really nice; I really like the interplay of fruit, malt and fermentation character. Really the best way I can describe it is that this beer tastes like a beery version of an oaky oatmeal raisin cookie. I love oatmeal raisin cookies and I am certainly digging this beer. If I lived in Wisconsin, I would beg for this to be a year round beer as this would be a perfect staple in the beer fridge.

at first all I could smell was some malt and a lot of cask wood,maybe some fruit but not nescessarily cherry,eventually some cherry and vanilla did come throughtaste was a light fruity sweetnesswith just a touch of cherry tartness,not that big typical N.G. cherry tartness we are used to, has an odd astringent aftertaste,a strange somewhat confusing brew,almost like the remains of two different brews were dumped together

Tastes good. Not Belgian Red good, but pretty damn good nonetheless. Its not even Cherry Stout good, but its still pretty f-ing good. There’s something about those Montmorency cherries which makes oak-aging impart a really distinct sweet, tart, nutty flavor that is just so satisfying. Belgian Red has it, Cherry Stout has it, and this has it. The Brett seems to accentuate the tartness of the cherries, and it also dovetails well with the drying sensation caused by the oak. Did I mention it was pretty good?

Bottle provided by notalush and apoptosis and shared with myself, beastiefan2k and gotmos. Deep amber colour with aromas of vanilla, toasted oak, and an unusual leather and lightly smoked aroma. Sweet grapy fruitiness over a moderate caramelly malt base. Flavour is quite lovely with more tartness than was suggested by the aroma. Sweet malt, leather and brown sugar. Toasted oak along with a lingering tannic character. Smooth woody vanilla notes set off the fruity acidity and light caramel. Great brew.

Cloudy deep reddish colour witha small tan head. Malty, cherry fruity aroma with notes of vanilla and almond. Light tart fruity flavor with some berry sweetness and notes of oak.

Poured a cloudy dark mahogany with a fizzy tan head. Aroma of wild and sundae cherries, a bit of brown sugar, vinegar, and a slight touch of old gym socks which is keeping the aroma score from breaking past 7. Flavor follows with being a good mix of sweet and sour with nice essence of cherries, both wild and sundae. Plenty of spiciness and a touch of olive with a finish that is slightly ashen and dry. Tastes like a nice tribute to the classic Alexander, though perhaps a tad harsher than its predecessor.