Unplugged Smoked Rye Ale
New Glarus Brewing Company

 

Brown lager appearance, good clarity, almost a half inch of head, real mild notes of smoke in the aroma, even less brown malt roastness.

Taste was smooth, fractional hops, amazingly hid over 8%, wow, good at that. The usual toffee and caramel notes, executed quite smooth. Always a good beer around a fire.

an oldie but a goodie at this point. no reviews here in over two and a half years, must not have been on the cellar radar back when it came out. lucky to have had a buddy of mine save one for a special occasion. what an interesting beverage, time has taken its toll, favorable in some respects, less so in others, i would have loved to taste this side by side with a fresh one, but it appears they are done producing it. malty dark brown in color, still some patchy off white head in the glass. smells like gourmet bacon and burning oil, some good some bad. some of the most intense smoke ever in a beer, coming almost at the expense of the rye malt i wanted to be there. but its meaty and fleshy and wintery, and it works with all the grain weight quite well. it tastes a bit like a tire fire, sort of acrid for awhile, never really getting sweet with rye taking up such a good chunk of the grain bill. hints of maple and almond and oxidation as it moves along, but the smoke is the dominant flavor agent by a considerable margin. smooth in feel, less bubbly than it looks, with a well hidden abv. i really like the overall flavor profile in the end, as my palate attenuates to it, i appreciate it more and more, but its one intense brew, maybe just past its cellaring peak. still cool to get to try some of these old relics from such a prominent operation. nothing out there quite like this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 oz bottle into a teku glass. Typical unplugged appearance with the universal Unplugged label, red foil, and Smoked Rye Ale sticker on the neck. Looks like this is from early 2011.

A - Pours a clear dirty red body. The last oz. or so was pretty grimy with sediment. Fingers worth of off white foam. Really nice lacing and retention.

S - Nice balance between smoked malts and caramel sweetness. Maybe a touch of spice and fruit, but this is otherwise pretty much occupied by the smoke and its hard to pick out much more. Smells really nice though.

T - Smoked ham, BBQ sauce, alcohol, and soooome rye spice. Like drinking a beer with a shot of liquid smoke added. Its awfully tasty but holy hell does it get tiring and rich after a while. Mouth feel is rich and creamy. The alcohol creeps up in the end.

O - Not the most smokey beer I've had, but probably the richest and meatiest. This is a real winner if you liked smoked beers with notes of meat. After each sip I feel like I've been chewing on a bonfire.

 

 

 

a - poured a one finger thick bubbly and light tan head into a willi becher tumbler that settled to a thin ring of lace throughout. the body was a bright copper color.
s - very smoky but nicely done.
t - rye spice dominates but there is some balance with caramel malts too.
m - slick and slightly thin.
o - incredibly drinkable and another one of a kind winner from new glarus.

A: Pours a hazy reddish-amber. Good sized, fizzy off-white head. Fades slowly, leaving decent lacing behind. Excellent retention.

S: Smells like someone left some rye bread in the toaster too long. A little fruitiness, raisins perhaps? And some caramel to sweeten it up. Quite a bit in fact. Cuts the acrid smoke nicely.

T: Quite sweet with caramel and some smoke and rye (duh). Sweetness fades a bit exposing a more acrid, bitter smoke but still nothing overpowering. Smoke is very meaty, like drinking barbequed beef. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Very accurate perception of that flavor, however.

M: Medium bodied, a little syrupy. Touch chalky from the char in the finish, too.

O: Very interesting beer. I'm not a fan of smoked beers but this one isn't too overpowering. Sweetness helps balance the smoke and the smoke has a strong meatiness to it to keep it from being so acrid and bitter. A lot of smoked beers taste like someone just poured liquid smoke into the bottle. This one is much better balanced.

 

Bottle opened on 10.26.12.

A - Pours a very dark amber with a thin very light tan head. The head sticks around, then quickly moves to the edges.

S - Sweet, carmel, and some rubbing alcohol.

T - Sweet carmel, with a smokey finish.

D - Lower carbonation and a light body.

O - This was a sweet mess with a smoke finish.

 

 

 

 

Pours a chestnut brown, not thick, relatively good clarity going for it, considering the color is brown. Thin 1/4" head, doesn't stick around for too long. Aroma, mild smoke notes, thank you, not over the top, maybe some brown malt and cocao notes.

Taste, pretty smooth, yet has a zing to it, maybe some noble hops, maybe the better than average carbonation to help keep the beer from bogging down. Has as much bacon going for it as beers that claim to have bacon going for it, just that super mild meat aspect to it, but not big time like some traditional rauch beers I've had.

The rye doesn't have a spice component, comes off more like a more substantial wheat flavor here. Like crack'd wheat was smoked. Good mouthfeel, hides alcohol quite well, can't believe how strong this was when I read the abv here writing the review. A lot of 'thin' beers (i.e. not heavy stouts) can have troubles with hiding this amount of alcohol, not the case in this instance.

Caramel and toffee notes underneath making a smooth experience, but don't let that fool you into thinking there are no hops here, they're just in the right amount.

A favorite of mine for camping, one of my favorite smoked beers (not anywhere near a favorite style of mine).