One bottle to rule them all...

The couple cans of Elevated I've had, I enjoyed quite a bit. Wouldn't mind bumping into a random sixer up here.

 

Not to derail the thread further (heh) since Seattle =/= The Couv, but I also saw a couple cases at the Whole Foods around the corner from my spot like two days ago

 

You just bring those puppies right to Bellingham, y'all hear now?

 

I love Belgian Red!! When I lived in Alaska I’d trade for a bottle of that plus another bottle...Serendipity, Raspberry Tart, etc. for Thanksgiving

 

Since I trust the taste buds of the NW forum more than most (and he's made his decision so I feel less bad about de-railing the thread) I have to ask: what am I missing about the New Glarus fruit beers?

I've had Wisconsin Red and Serendipity and thought both were awful. I got no sour or funk, no Brett, no oak... none of the complexity I would want from a sour beer. What I got was all fruit and sugar. The first taste was decent, but without anything to cut the sweetness I found it very hard to finish a small glass much less the (750) bottle. They reminded me of a sweetened lambic.

I just figured the people raving about it were people unfamiliar with sour beer. But now I'm curious: do you guys who like it also like sour beers or do these beers appeal to a different set of people? Do you actually find them to be sour?

 

I freely admit that I have the biggest sweet tooth ever. And, berries and cherries are amongst my favorite non-meat/cheese foods(The fact that Whatcom County grows 60+% of the nations raspberry crop had no influence on my decision to move here. Nope, none.), but, I have yet to have a NG brew that I thought was sweet.

Shrug .

I think the NG fruit beers are stunningly well done beers. I love them. My friend Lis, who is more of a cider/cocktail lady, only likes sour beers. The NG strawberry-rhubarb beer is her favorite beer ever, while it's not on my faves list.

Shrug.

YMMV.

 

I've got family in Duluth (right on the Wisconsin border) and in Madison, so I go to both places regularly. I always look for New Glarus beers, and regularly bring back their stuff, both the fruit beers and others. Earlier this year, we visited the NG brewery, which I thought was underwhelming and way too touristy, almost Disneyfied, but that's another story.

The NG fruit beers are almost in a world of their own. They are not sours at all, so don't look for them to fit that style. They are less sweet than most fruit beers, which is a big plus for me. Instead they are intensely fruity beverages that also happen to have a noticeable "beer" character. I happen to like both fruit and beer, so I find this a happy marriage. The different beers (Serendipity, Raspberry Tart, Wisconsin Red, etc.) each have their own character, so whether you like them may vary a bit from one to the other. I find them all a treat. A bomber of these goes particularly well at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

 

That's good. I'll be in Madison later this year and should have the chance to try some of the others.

 

I'm pretty sure the NG brewery is intentionally Disney-ified and touristy. I mean they built a mock-German village. It's not a place the locals are hanging out at, not that there are very many locals in New Glarus anyway. It's supposed to be this little Epcot-style German homage in a state with significant German roots.

You're spot on with their fruit beers. They aren't sours. They're Belgian-inspired fruit beers. I think @John_M 's comparison to Lindemans is a good one. They're also not fad beers, New Glarus has been making Belgian Red since the 90s. In a world of hazy 4-packs and pastry stouts, I'm glad a brewery like New Glarus still exists.

 

im with you man. i tried 3-4 of them and found them indistinguishable from a raspberry Crystal Geyser (or whatever fruit the beer was). i can see the appeal on a hot summer day, but its all sweetness. perhaps mixing with some gin would help ??

 

Just wait for the haikus!

 

You ain't seen nuthin' yet!

 

And yet, still beer related. Well done!

 

Terroir or harvest
local legends and their tastes
diverse bounties shared