Golden Ale - New Glarus

Vitals:

Name: Golden Ale

Style: Belgian Pale Ale

IBU: 38

ABV: 7.0%

Gravity: 15 deg. Plato

Purchased at: New Glarus Brewery

Descriptions:

Appearance: Golden honey color; translucent with a lot of carbonation and 3 (!) foamy fingers of orange-tinted head. Great retention, lacing, and cap...good looking brew has me excited to try it out.

Smell: This is the only beer I've ever had that smelled straight and away like flowers. You get some slight honey aromas but flowers totally dominate the nose...smells awesome!

Taste: You get a tiny citrus taste up front (I'm not sure what citrus, specifically) followed by a huge, lingering floral taste. You can taste the spiciness of the Belgian yeast and a peppery quality most of the way through the drink. Herbal/floral hops give it a little lingering bitterness. This is not an overly complex brew, but it IS refreshingly interesting.

Mouthfeel: This is medium bodied and creamy with ample carbonation. It leaves you a bit dried out, though. Nothing really sticks out as being too great or poor about the mouthfeel here...which is ok.

Overall Grade: B+

Comments: This is VERY interesting...it's a good brew but it doesn't seem to quite fit the mold of most Belgian pale ales that I've had. It's cool as something different because it doesn't hit you over the head with yeast/bananas/spices as many Belgian beers do. Plus, as you can ONLY get it at the brewery, this is an excellent excuse to take a little drive out to the scenic New Glarus brewery and treat yourself to some delicious beer!

Cheers,

Hurls

Moon Man - New Glarus

Vitals:

Name: Moon Man

Style: American Pale Ale

IBU: ??

ABV: 5%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: New Glarus Brewery

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a brilliant, clear gold with 1.5 fingers of bone-white head. Good retention and a nice cap; GREAT lacing on this beer, which is much appreciated. Lots of carbonation bubbles racing up through this beer.

Smell: Fruits. I'm getting big grapefruit and some orange, maybe some pineapple as well. Lots of citrus and some piney hops as well. This smells absolutely delicious to me; there is a pretty sweet smell to it, but it's not sugary.

Taste: Starts with just enough pale malts to start off with some sweetness. You get some juicy qualities up front with the grapefruit/pineapple and the pine hops cascade towards the back of your tongue (it really is a rolling sensation...pretty neat). You get a nice dry finish comprised of citrus hops and citrus rinds from maybe lemons/oranges? Grapefruit briefly strikes again to close it out.

Mouthfeel: Slightly on the light side of medium with a good amount of carbonation in there. This is a VERY drinkable beer and doesn't coat your mouth and/or stick on your palate forever.

Overall Grade: A

Comments: This is an amazing beer; it is one of my favorites and is probably the best session beer that I have ever had (apologies to Gumballhead, as it is 5.5% ABV). This is a MUST try if you like American pale ales or American pale wheat ales. Check it out locally in Wisconsin or head out to the New Glarus brewery for an even fresher look at this one! Dan Carey (Brewmaster at New Glarus) is my hero for creating this gem of a brew.

Cheers,

Hurls

Totally Naked - New Glarus

Vitals:

Name: Totally Naked

Style: Lager

IBU: ??

ABV: 4.2%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: New Glarus Brewery

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a very pale, clear, straw-yellow color with about a finger of bone white head. Decent retention and a thin cap but GREAT (and quite unexpected) lacing. Lots of active carbonation bubbles, too.

Smell: Light biscuit malt and lemony aromas here...some herbal/floral/grassy hops hanging around in the background too. The aromas are faint, but if you really concentrate it is a somewhat complex smell. Lots of lemon, though...perhaps a bit too much as it is somewhat turning me off of the smell. I think I smell a tiny bit of apple too? Weird...

Taste: You really only get a brief taste...some lemon and a tiny bit of malt...this is an extremely boring beer. This tastes like a step up from Miller Lite...not complex at all, which is disappointing considering the smell was somewhat promising.

Mouthfeel: Extremely light, with adequate carbonation and it's not quite as thin/watery as a lot of domestic lights. 

Overall Grade: C-

Comments: This is simply a very slight upgrade (in taste and experience) over domestic light macro brews...however, it comes with a corresponding jump in price. For my money, all else equal, I would buy a case of cheaper Miller Lite over this if I truly wanted something this light. The best reason to buy this is that it's a not-terrible tasting sessionable beer and it supports local business.

Cheers,

Hurls

Hatha-weizen - Ale Asylum

So, the Hatha-weizen is something I always wanted to try from Ale Asylum, since I'm a big fan of most beers that they put out. The one thing about this brew is that it's exclusively offered at the tap room at Ale Asylum's brewery (out on the East side, off Stoughton Rd.). If you love you some Ale Asylum go out there and check it out...even if you don't want to stay there you can get a nice glass growler filled with your favorite brew for about $13. The only issue I have is that the growler is clear, which is the worst possible type of glass to store brew in. At any rate, I think refills are about $8-10 bucks on the growlers, so it's definitely worth it.

Vitals:

Name: Hatha-weizen

Style: Hefeweizen

IBU: ??

ABV: 5.5%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Ale Asylum's taphouse/restaurant/brewery

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a very light gold color with billowing white head that quickly fades. Decent lacing with a very thin cap. This beer looks to be moderately carbonated and is VERY hazy (expected, given the style).

Smell: Banana all the way with some slight lemon zest and clove spiciness. You can almost make out some pale malt in the background but not quite. It's so odd to smell this beer because nearly all Ale Asylum brews are hopped to the point of it at least being noticeable on the nose, but this one is definitely not. I guess it makes sense, as most hefes are not hopped much.

Taste: Banana and malt sweetness greet you up front along with a bit of honey. The clove spiciness is very slight and leads you into the finish instead of a hop bite, which is well played. You finish out with lemon and citrus hop bitterness that is subtle but lingering. The yeast is more up front and center, as with most hefes. This is a solid but not spectacular taste...you also get some esters from the yeast.

Mouthfeel: Refreshing and crisp, though it's a bit creamier than I expected. This is a very smooth and drinkable beer for the summer. The carbonation doesn't quite come through as much as I expected it to from the look of the beer.

Overall Grade: B-

Comments: This beer is a good excuse to go to the Ale Asylum taproom, but is nothing too special. It's a solid hefe, but I'd rather have others. For my money I'll take a Hopalicious/Bedlam/Ambergeddon over this and if I want a wheat brew I'll go with Dancing Man from New Glarus or something like a Weissbier from Franziskaner. Worth a try if you want to support your local breweries and are interested in another take on a hefeweizen, but you can probably do better here.

Cheers,

Hurls

Fleur - Goose Island

Vitals:

Name: Fleur

Style: Belgian Pale Ale

IBU: 32

ABV: 5.2%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a very light, INTENSELY carbonated, amber cool. You get a finger or so of head for about 30 seconds, a sparse cap, and no lacing. I like the coloring but the rest is just blah.

Smell: Smells strongly of sour apples to me...you also get a fresh cut grass and fall leaves smell to it. This beer smells great and entirely different than anything else I've ever smelled in a beer. Floral hops are in this one for sure...smells like hibiscus. 

Taste: The taste is much less interesting than the smell. You get a little sweet malt up front and you finish with a tart sour apple taste. There is a slight hop bitterness but not too much. My biggest surprise is that this isn't really yeasty or spicy at all, as most Belgian beers are). This isn't bad, but it's just not at all what I was expecting.

Mouthfeel: Pretty light mouthfeel, with less carbonation than I thought it'd be from the appearance. No other defining features here but it is very drinkable (and is okay with 5.2% ABV). 

Overall Grade: B

Comments: This is a decent beer, but compared to the other Belgian beers I've had it is quite bland. You don't get the yeasty finish with spice that you get with most others, which is a tad disappointing. Like I said...not bad, worth a try, but nothing that's going to blow you away (in my opinion). Give it a shot if you can get it out at a bar, but I wouldn't buy another bomber of it (that's all they had where I bought it).

Cheers,

Hurls

Weissbier - Franziskaner

Vitals:

Name: Weissbier

Style: Hefeweizen

IBU: ??

ABV: 5%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Trixie's Liquor

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a cloudy honey/straw color, with about 2.5 fingers of billowing white head. Low retention and barely any lacing on this one, with a very thin cap left over. Looks to have a good amount of carbonation and is pretty hazy.

Smell: Somewhat typical hefe smell...bananas, yeast, lemon, clove. Much less typical is some very faint (but present) scents of apple and grape. This is, as I said, a fairly typical hefe...but the extras that are thrown in there make it a slightly better smelling hefe than most.

Taste: Immediately you get wheat and yeast up front and slowly the banana, clove and spice work their way into the taste. You actually get more of a fruity finish with apple and grape to pair with the typical banana and other citrus taste. I absolutely love the complexity of this beer and how the taste shifts across the tasting. This is how a hefeweizen should taste.

Mouthfeel: This brew is creamy as hell, but also gives you a little bit of a juicy feel and some definite thirst-quenching drinkability. Not too much carbonation, which is nice...just a great overall mouthfeel for the style.

Overall Grade: A

Comments: This is everything a hefe should be. If you want a hefeweizen and this is available then this should be your choice. End of story. Get out and find it!

Cheers,

Hurls

Cran-bic Ale - New Glarus (Thumbprint Series)

Vitals:

Name: Cran-bic Ale

Style: Lambic/Fruit

IBU: ??

ABV: 4.8%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a very light, pale reddish (almost pink), with zero head (thus no lacing or cap). Carbonation bubbles drift lazily upward, but there aren't a ton of them. Looks like a blush wine with a slight tinge of brown to it. Very clear with no haze at all.

Smell: Smells like a dry champagne, to be honest. You get a big whiff of sour cranberries and a faint (odd) yeasty funk to it that actually fits well with the beer.

Taste: You get a very sour taste of cranberry, which is partially balanced by a fruity sweetness. It doesn't entirely even out, but it's nice that it has some balance. The taste is quite acidic and you only get a little of the funk/spiciness towards the back end of the drink. It's simple (relatively to many New Glarus brews) but very effective...the taste hangs with you a while and you get a bit of a sugary aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: There is more carbonation to this one than meets the eye...VERY light mouthfeel and a bit dry (champagne-like in that respect). You get a little bit of puckering from the sourness but it's very drinkable in general.

Overall Grade: B+

Comments: So, to explain my grade...this isn't a B+ signifying that it's something I'd regularly want to drink, but it's a great take on the style. It's definitely not my cup of tea, but is quite solid...my wife loves it, so if you like fruity beers then this one is for you. It's a little sugary for me (compared to most beers I have) so I would likely go another direction for something on a regular basis but it's definitely worth a try. It's worth noting that, as New Glarus uses natural products in their brews, this doesn't taste like a manufactured sugary/sour cranberry taste...it's a nice, natural taste that you can enjoy...so go grab a four pack and check it out with some friends!

Cheers,

Hurls

Uff-da - New Glarus

I always find it hilarious to figure out the local sayings when you move to someplace new. Wisconsin has been no exception. While hanging out with our friends Greg and Em, somebody said something and they said "uff-da!" Being from Virginia, I have no idea what this means, and am informed that it's an exclamation of surprise (good or bad) for something that is not too serious. At any rate, New Glarus has used the colloquialism to name one of their brews.

Vitals:

Name: Uff-da

Style: Bock

IBU: ??

ABV: 6.7%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Trixie's Liquor

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a deep brown with about a finger of milk-chocolate colored head. The head is foamy with decent retention, good lacing and a quality cap. There are tons of carbonation bubbles clinging to the side of the glass (as can be seen in the picture).

Smell: This brew has a wonderful roasted caramelized malt smell to it but there is also an interesting vanilla undertone that is nice (and unique). Finally, there is a slight (just barely noticeable) coffee-ish smell to it, but nothing too overwhelming.

Taste: You get a sweet malt flavor that is almost immediately cut by the bitterness of the chocolate/coffee tastes (the chocolate is more noticeable as you allow the beer to warm). You get some barely noticeable hop flavor but it's so muted that it's nearly impossible to tell what it is exactly...maybe piney? You also get a tiny alcohol twinge that isn't enough to hint at the high ABV.

Mouthfeel: Heavier side of medium, even a bit chewy. The carbonation is definitely not what I thought it'd be from the look of it, but that was actually a very good thing...it just wouldn't fit with this type of beer to be a huge carbonation bomb.

Overall Grade: B-

Comments: Eh, you can find better New Glarus brews and (though my experience with them is limited) better dark beers. This is only OK...definitely a solid beer, but nothing that is going to really "wow" you and is not quite good enough to further sway me towards dark beers. Definitely worth a try but I would try to order it somewhere or build your own six pack with it as a component. Personally a six pack would be too much for me.

Cheers,

Hurls