Serendipity | New Glarus Brewing Company
Brewed by:
New Glarus Brewing Company
Wisconsin, United States
newglarusbrewing.com
Style: Fruit / Vegetable Beer
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 4.00%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
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.
Added by Lemke10 on 10-15-2012
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 2,845 | Reviews: 294
4/5 rDev -8.5%
zestar, Nov 20, 2013
3.57/5 rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottle generously shared by yourefragile.
Pour yields a reddish-brown colored brew with a short fizzy head that recedes somewhat quickly. The nose carries a strong bit of cherry and cranberry as well as underlying earthiness. Some tartness coming through, as well as fruit skin. Flavor is moderately tart but has far too much underlying sweetness. Body is medium and appropriate, but there's too much residual sweetness coming through. Pretty nice for a fruit beer, but pales in comparison to Belgian Red and, to a lesser degree, Raspberry Tart.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottle generously shared by yourefragile.
Pour yields a reddish-brown colored brew with a short fizzy head that recedes somewhat quickly. The nose carries a strong bit of cherry and cranberry as well as underlying earthiness. Some tartness coming through, as well as fruit skin. Flavor is moderately tart but has far too much underlying sweetness. Body is medium and appropriate, but there's too much residual sweetness coming through. Pretty nice for a fruit beer, but pales in comparison to Belgian Red and, to a lesser degree, Raspberry Tart.
547 characters
4.59/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured a lovely, sparkling clear red color with a small but moderately durable red-tan head that left the glass nicely coated when tipped.
Has a very fruity aroma; tart. Appealing yet it didn't prepare me for the magnificent taste. The flavor is loaded with mixed fruit, with both cranberries and cherries evident. Perfect TART/sweet balance. Serendipity indeed.
The medium-light body is quietly lively yet creamy smooth.
O: as good as any fruit beer I've ever had, including the finest Belgian lambics. (rating confirmed with tasting in December 2015 and December 2016).
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured a lovely, sparkling clear red color with a small but moderately durable red-tan head that left the glass nicely coated when tipped.
Has a very fruity aroma; tart. Appealing yet it didn't prepare me for the magnificent taste. The flavor is loaded with mixed fruit, with both cranberries and cherries evident. Perfect TART/sweet balance. Serendipity indeed.
The medium-light body is quietly lively yet creamy smooth.
O: as good as any fruit beer I've ever had, including the finest Belgian lambics. (rating confirmed with tasting in December 2015 and December 2016).
578 characters
4.42/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to rudzud for sharing.
Nice big creamy foamy 1 finger head adds nice rich lacing, cranberry chestnut color hazy.
Nose apple cherry juice, nice fresh mildly tart apple juice, with fresh cherry note, mild cranberry juice, pretty big sweetness on the nose, hope the taste isn't too sweet, and little tart apple flesh, hint skin, very faint vanilla oak note.
Taste start semi sweet but not too much, big acidic bite but just a little tartness, lactic acid like without sourness, nice fruit juice again, tart apple and fresh cherry again, and nice cranberry, mild skin like bitter note, little flemmy in the finish, little sweet too with more acidic bite, tons of fresh apple juice and cherry. Also a touch of vanilla oak
Mouth is med bod, little syrupy and sticky, nice acidic bite, decent carb.
Overall awesome, nice balance of sweetness and fruity juice with acid, nice sweetness to balance all the fruit juice without getting too sweet like some of hte other New Glarus beers, good apply cherry and cranberry fruits, faintest hint of oak that I kinda wish was a bit more.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to rudzud for sharing.
Nice big creamy foamy 1 finger head adds nice rich lacing, cranberry chestnut color hazy.
Nose apple cherry juice, nice fresh mildly tart apple juice, with fresh cherry note, mild cranberry juice, pretty big sweetness on the nose, hope the taste isn't too sweet, and little tart apple flesh, hint skin, very faint vanilla oak note.
Taste start semi sweet but not too much, big acidic bite but just a little tartness, lactic acid like without sourness, nice fruit juice again, tart apple and fresh cherry again, and nice cranberry, mild skin like bitter note, little flemmy in the finish, little sweet too with more acidic bite, tons of fresh apple juice and cherry. Also a touch of vanilla oak
Mouth is med bod, little syrupy and sticky, nice acidic bite, decent carb.
Overall awesome, nice balance of sweetness and fruity juice with acid, nice sweetness to balance all the fruit juice without getting too sweet like some of hte other New Glarus beers, good apply cherry and cranberry fruits, faintest hint of oak that I kinda wish was a bit more.
1,082 characters
4.15/5 rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
It's not easy to make a good apple beer without it being one-dimensional or without it just having incidental off-flavors. But as with many NG beers I've had, they definitely nailed it with this one.
Poured a clear ruby red color with tints of amber, and a small fizzy pink-white head that dissipated almost completely. Fruit juice aroma, obvious apple, lesser notes of berry / fruit punch. Taste was fresh and brilliant, apple juice, cran-razz, mostly sweet, but a bit of tartness in there as well, along with maybe a subtle touch of spice, but the apple flavor was clearly in charge here. Light-medium body, juicy, effervescent, and overall quite enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd want to take on a full bottle myself, and/or significant quantities on a regular basis, but it's definitely great in small quantities.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
It's not easy to make a good apple beer without it being one-dimensional or without it just having incidental off-flavors. But as with many NG beers I've had, they definitely nailed it with this one.
Poured a clear ruby red color with tints of amber, and a small fizzy pink-white head that dissipated almost completely. Fruit juice aroma, obvious apple, lesser notes of berry / fruit punch. Taste was fresh and brilliant, apple juice, cran-razz, mostly sweet, but a bit of tartness in there as well, along with maybe a subtle touch of spice, but the apple flavor was clearly in charge here. Light-medium body, juicy, effervescent, and overall quite enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd want to take on a full bottle myself, and/or significant quantities on a regular basis, but it's definitely great in small quantities.
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4.44/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Pours a deep ruby red color with a small off white head on top. Decent head retention, leaving a thin cap on top. Minimal lacing.
S: Getting all three fruit flavors on the aroma, with the cherries upfront, cranberries in the middle, and a really nice apple aroma on the finish. Very fruit, similar to other NG fruit beers, very inviting.
T: Again, a very nice blend of all three fruits, with a bit more of an assertive cherry flavor upfront, a bit less cranberry and a smooth apple finish, sort of a cider/apple juice blend flavor. Right after the apple is a slight mouth pucker tartness.
M: Medium bodied and smooth, extremely drinkable, just like Raspberry Tart and Belgian Red.
O: Fantastic, right up there with the other NG fruit beers.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Pours a deep ruby red color with a small off white head on top. Decent head retention, leaving a thin cap on top. Minimal lacing.
S: Getting all three fruit flavors on the aroma, with the cherries upfront, cranberries in the middle, and a really nice apple aroma on the finish. Very fruit, similar to other NG fruit beers, very inviting.
T: Again, a very nice blend of all three fruits, with a bit more of an assertive cherry flavor upfront, a bit less cranberry and a smooth apple finish, sort of a cider/apple juice blend flavor. Right after the apple is a slight mouth pucker tartness.
M: Medium bodied and smooth, extremely drinkable, just like Raspberry Tart and Belgian Red.
O: Fantastic, right up there with the other NG fruit beers.
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4.65/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.2/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.55/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
From 11/08/12 notes. Picked up two bottles of this at the brewery last weekend as they were out of Belgian Red; wish I had bought more. Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Lost Abbey stemware.
a - Pours a somewhat transparent dark ruby red color with one finger of off white head and moderate carbonation evident. Looks fantastic.
s - Smells of sweet and sour cherries, cranberries, apples, oak, dark fruits, and fruity malts. Loads of cherries up front, but the cranberries still come through a bit. A very nice mix of sweet dark fruits and lightly sour dark fruits, but definitely not very sour. Awesome nose.
t - Tastes of sweet cherries, sour cherries, tart dark fruits, cranberries, apples, fruity malts, oak, light tannic. Taste is just as awesome as the nose, and is slightly more tart than the nose. I like it a little bit better than the nose.
m - Light to medium body and moderate carbonation. Quite easy to drink beer,
o - Overall a fantastic new fruit beer from New Glarus; I don't like it quite as much as Belgian Red, but it is on par with Raspberry Tart in my opinion, having now had a lot of all three in the last week. I think the reviewer who said this seems like a blend of Belgian Red, Cranbic, and Apple Ale is spot on...tastes like 70% Belgian Red, 20% Cranbic, and 10% Apple Ale. It has a light tartness to it which I loved, though it wasn't so sour that my girlfriend who doesn't like sours couldn't drink it; in fact, she loved it. World class, worth seeking out if you like their fruit beers.
1,523 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
From 11/08/12 notes. Picked up two bottles of this at the brewery last weekend as they were out of Belgian Red; wish I had bought more. Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Lost Abbey stemware.
a - Pours a somewhat transparent dark ruby red color with one finger of off white head and moderate carbonation evident. Looks fantastic.
s - Smells of sweet and sour cherries, cranberries, apples, oak, dark fruits, and fruity malts. Loads of cherries up front, but the cranberries still come through a bit. A very nice mix of sweet dark fruits and lightly sour dark fruits, but definitely not very sour. Awesome nose.
t - Tastes of sweet cherries, sour cherries, tart dark fruits, cranberries, apples, fruity malts, oak, light tannic. Taste is just as awesome as the nose, and is slightly more tart than the nose. I like it a little bit better than the nose.
m - Light to medium body and moderate carbonation. Quite easy to drink beer,
o - Overall a fantastic new fruit beer from New Glarus; I don't like it quite as much as Belgian Red, but it is on par with Raspberry Tart in my opinion, having now had a lot of all three in the last week. I think the reviewer who said this seems like a blend of Belgian Red, Cranbic, and Apple Ale is spot on...tastes like 70% Belgian Red, 20% Cranbic, and 10% Apple Ale. It has a light tartness to it which I loved, though it wasn't so sour that my girlfriend who doesn't like sours couldn't drink it; in fact, she loved it. World class, worth seeking out if you like their fruit beers.
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4.34/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Serendipity from New Glarus Brewing Company
4.37
out of 5
based on 2,845 ratings.