Serendipity
New Glarus Brewing Company

SerendipitySerendipity
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From:
New Glarus Brewing Company
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
Ranked #3
ABV:
4%
Score:
97
Ranked #734
Avg:
4.36 | pDev: 9.4%
Ratings:
3,033 | reviews: 357
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 16, 2026
Added:
Oct 15, 2012
Wants:
  562
Gots:
  773
Severe Drought, we shared the farmer’s horror as Wisconsin’s cherry crop failed! Dan bought what cherries he could. The Apple crop fared better. Then joy! A grand Wisconsin cranberry harvest. What will Dan brew with Apples, Cranberries and Cherries? Oh my! You hold the happy accident of Wisconsin’s favorite fruit aged in oak with an almost magical wild fermentation. Serendipity is a wondrous celebration that sparkles your senses and dances across your palate. A kaleidoscope of flavor discovered by accident in a sour ale!

Cheers to the unexpected.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Blogjackets:
Photo of Blogjackets
Reviewed by Blogjackets from Ohio

4.08/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a twelve ounce can, this fruit beer is a brownish cranberry. Small head and no lacing of consequence.

Aroma is an enticing mix of berries, cherry and apple.

Taste follows nose as the berries carry the flavor with raspberry edging into the foreground. A bit of malt balances but the beer leans sweet, which is fine given the style. Upon finish there is a light lingering sour which is a satisfying conclusion.

Mouthfeel is good (medium) with light carbonation.

A super easy, refreshing and sessionable beer.
Mar 15, 2026
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.23 by Spaten454 from Texas

May 16, 2026
 
Rated: 4.34 by LunchMoney from Minnesota

Dec 03, 2025
Photo of LesDewitt4beer
Reviewed by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota

4.3/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12 oz can stamped K075 08:11 into a tulip glass.
L: Pours a half murky dark ruby & brown color with light steady carbo, a thin slightly off-white head that recedes to edge foam, almost no lacing.
S: Cherry, berries, cranberry, mainly orchard notes.
T: Cranberry, apple, cherry, a touch of yeast. Quite tart, wincing sour, lightly sharp, a touch of apple skin. It is cran-forward.
F: Lightly punchy then kind of juicy with a medium bodied mouthfeel and a medium-long drying finish. It has some snap.
O: Jazzy cranberry drink! A snappy, tart & sour wave of fruits with every sip. It does not taste fake. Leans cranberry. Totally excellent drinkability. Might even be good over ice. It is world class in its style.
Dec 02, 2025
Photo of PJRobertz
Reviewed by PJRobertz from Illinois

4.42/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12 oz. can pours a mostly clear reddish brown with small off white head that vanishes quickly before coming back as a ring around the edge of the glass. The first smell is of cherries, but the apples and cranberries are obvious, too. Aroma also has a bit of oak and hints of barnyard yeast. Taste is on the sweet side (but not cloying), despite the tart flavors. Body is medium with lively carbonation. If I had known about this beforehand, I would have picked up more than one four-pack on my last trip through Wisconsin. One of my favorites from New Glarus.
Sep 12, 2025
Photo of Braunmeister_1943
Reviewed by Braunmeister_1943 from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Sent to me from @GreenBayBA ! Pours a hazy reddish pink color. Moderate head . Fermented fruit aroma. Cranberry sauce and apple cider. Black cherry wishniak flavor with apple and cherry tartness. Moderate mouthfeel with delicate carbonation. Overall, interesting and enjoyable. I’m not a fruited beer/ sour fan, but this is something I’m glad that I tried!
Aug 06, 2025
 
Rated: 4.21 by bplabernie from Michigan

Jul 28, 2025
 
Rated: 4.17 by GreenMind from Pennsylvania

Jul 05, 2025
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

4.74/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Review: 2446
Name: Serendipity
Brewery: New Glarus Brewing Co.
Location: New Glarus, WI
Style: Fruit and Field Beer
ABV: 4%
Canned: Unknown
Date: 04 July 2025
I am excited to finally review this beer, as I have already enjoyed a draft of it from the brewery. Traveling to New Glarus has been on my bucket list ever since I tried Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart. Considering I flew to Wisconsin, I had little room to bring beer back home. I am using my New Glarus glass and serving it at 44 degrees. The pour created a two-fingered, pinkish-tan head with excellent retention. The slow dissipation left chunks of lacing on the glass. The color is deep cherry wood with reddish-brown mahogany hues, charting at SRM 16, but much redder and opaque. The overall apperance of the beer is gorgeous.
In my first whiff of beer, I smell cherries, apples, and cranberries, and that aroma, coupled with the fruity sweetness, is delightful. However, the sweetness is not cloying but fresh and tart. Nosing the glass again, I get a light note of toasted bread, oak, a hint of barnyard funk, earthiness, and grassy notes.
The first sip of Serendipity, the fruit flavors dance on my palate with notes of apple, cranberry, and cherry; the fruit is not overly sweet but tart and fresh. Other flavors include oak, grass, lemons, toasted notes, barnyard funk, and earthiness.
The mouthfeel is tart, finishing crisp and dry. The body is low and has medium-low carbonation.
Final Thought: After enjoying the draft at New Glarus and now sitting here on the cool, cloudy 4th, it makes me want more than a can. The fruit flavors are at the forefront of the palate, and the tartness balances the sweetness. The wild fermentation is perfect, with light funkiness and earthiness bringing harmony to the beer. Delicious!
Jul 04, 2025
Photo of Jazzberrio
Reviewed by Jazzberrio from Illinois

4.66/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Not a fruit beer guy as a rule, but came across it at the store and had to give it a try. Glad I did; this is one incredible beer. Gorgeous in color, mildly sweet but not cloying and the fruit fermentation is outstanding.
May 25, 2025
 
Rated: 4.35 by Bishop from Wisconsin

Feb 22, 2025
 
Rated: 4.52 by mothergoose311 from Minnesota

Jul 29, 2024
 
Rated: 4.4 by Bhubbard34 from Pennsylvania

Jan 21, 2024
Photo of dcotom
Reviewed by dcotom from Iowa

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 12-ounce bottle into a tulip glass. Deep reddish brown in color, with an off-white head that left some nice lacing. This "serendipitous" blend of spontaneously-fermented fruit juices is amazing. As this warmed toward room temperature, huge aromas amd flavors of wild cherry began to shine through. Quite sweet, with some understated wild-ale funk. Great carbonation, light bodied, and some lingering tart fruit on the finish complete the profile. I've always said that these spontaneously-fermented fruit beers really showcase the New Glarus brewers' chops. This is yet more evidence of that. Incredible beer, unquestionably world-class.
Dec 15, 2023
Photo of Bouleboubier
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

4.56/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
(12 oz bottle, no date/code; purchased single off shelf at their Beer Depot this week... poured into a plastic cup)

Could just be me, but I feel like this is arguably the unsung masterwork of their celebrated fruit collection... compared to Tart and Red and Apfel and Rhubarb, this one has the most going on, the most interest, dynamics, and complexity... fruity, yet less near-dessert like compared to the others, cidery tart and funkier... the apple seems to cut through most vibrantly, of course accented, colored, and complimented by the cranberry and cherry... what a sublime blend of these fruit additions, not to mention the base beer sitting in perfect concert with it all... another beer I wish I bought more of, had I known it's glory... as good a reason as any to go back for another visit (2200)
Aug 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by OtisCampbell007 from Tennessee

Jul 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by khargro2 from Tennessee

Jul 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.12 by SeymourDunn from Wisconsin

Apr 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.28 by DownyIsHungry from Minnesota

Dec 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by Dovers from Wisconsin

Dec 15, 2022