Thumbprint Pear 21
New Glarus Brewing Company

 

 

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Pours orange yellow with a fluffy white head. Smells of pear and other sour fruit. Tastes of sweet pear and berries. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.

If you want to read a super rare kind of review, this is your time. I'm not only going to give a lackluster New Glarus review, rare in and of itself, but for the first time ever, a lackluster New Glarus berliner weisse review. All their others have been through the roof. It would be like me complimenting the business acumen of, well, you know who.

Anyhoo, pours decent enough, golden, good clarity, 1/2" white head, this looks good, just fine. I didn't notice any unusual viscosity at this point, we'll return to that in the mouth feel discussion. The aroma, ok, some pear and apple like notes, less wheat character than usual, but we're still doing good, good smells.

The taste, the proportion of pear/fruit goes over the balance of wheat, its more sweet than sour, I thought this would be more similar to previous berliners of NG where its all pretty balanced, this is more like the sweetened Pear from Lindeman's. The mouth feel is too syrupy for a lighter style beer. Too sweet. I didn't "hate" the beer, but it fell far from so many of their others in the series. Even though it is appropriately carbonated, just sits heavier than desired in the mouthfeel.

12 ounce bottle into a goblet. Had 11/2/21.

Pours a golden color with a brownish tint, a little cloudy, with a half inch foamy head and faint specks of cling. Aromas of pear, light malt, light caramel, a little funk as it warms. Flavors of pear, light malt, a faint kiss of tartness up front and on the finish. It’s fairly sweet. Smooth, a very good lighter body, well carbonated.

Undoubtedly the biggest and best pear aroma and flavor I’ve had in a beer. Seems pretty sweet for the style. Certainly enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

Now this is a fruit beer the way I think of them. A combination of fresh and dried pear (mostly fresh) scents wafted from the bottle and into the glass. No real head, but who cares. Color of golden wheat and a taste like spiked fresh-pressed pear juice make this very drinkable. None of the excess carbonation to abrade on the way down (or on the way up), the feel also matched that of a juicy pear. I could have gone through the four-pack myself, but I was taught to share.... next time I'll buy it when I don't expect to see anyone.

 

12oz bottle coded A012 1258 poured into a perfect pint glass at 48° Fahrenheit, no ABV listed on label. The beer pours hefe-hazy in a peach colored amber with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and partial layer of tiny bubbles. The aroma is mild with sweet and tart notes of pear. The taste is semisweet pear juice with just a hint of salinity plus pale & wheat malt. Mildly tart and negligible bitterness. The mouthfeel is slick, yet thinner bodied with average carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. Overall, very well crafted Berliner Weisse.

 

Look - great very slight haze golden with a nice white head
Smell - sweet slight tart pear
Taste - pear jolly rancher
Feel - medium light body with a lighter carb
Overall - another great one!

Hazy orange with two fingers of yellowed head that leave thick webbed lacing.

Banana Runts candy dominates the nose, with a little musty yeast behind. Maybe there’s some pear in the mix there, too.

The same elements carry over to the taste, but layered beneath some strongly sweet pear cider.

Sticky feel with sharp carbonation.

Definitely one of the more interesting ones from these guys. Not a Berliner, but tasty and fun.

12 fl oz bottle courtesy of Judith - thanks!

AROMA: Easily the freshest and most authentic juicy pear aroma I've ever come across. Screams genuine orchard pear, promising a juicy yet tart ale that's ridiculously refreshing. I can't wait to try it.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Delivers on the aroma's promises. Juicy pear, pear juice, fresh orchard pear...did I mention this tastes like pear? Depth of flavour is excellent, and it's authentic in its pear flavour, tasting like actual pear not some canned pear puree or other nonsense. Juicy and slightly tart with very mild but very welcome sourness. Slightly acidic.

Smooth, wet, ridiculously refreshing, well carbonated, light-bodied.

Well balanced and built, evoking a juicy bite of pear like no other beer I've tried.

OVERALL: More superb work from what I consider the U.S.A's best brewery - or at least the best U.S. brewery for non U.S. styles. Damn near everything I wanted in a pear sour, though there are some minor nitpicks (appearance isn't great, carbonation could be toned down, bacterial flavours could be played up). Stupidly drinkable. Would be great in Summer heat.

B+ (3.85) / VERY GOOD

 

 

Received from @fbarber in the NBS BIF #14. Poured from12 oz. bottle into a Lambic style glass. It pours a cloudy, golden-honey color with a modest, creamy, bright white cap and thin sheen of lacing. I love the smell of fresh pear and this doesn't disappoint. It's sweet and fragrant. The taste is all pear; it's quite sweet - almost like canned pear. There is also a subtle tartness; which isn't surprising given that several types of pear were used. There is also subtle cracker taste from the wheat and barley in the background that helps balance the sweetness. At mid-sip there is just a hint of white wine grape. The mouth feel is terrific; it's surprisingly thick and creamy for 4% ABV. Overall, Pear 21 is a wonderful Berliner Weiss that is loaded with one of my favorite fruits. I'm grateful to have tried it.