New Glarus sour

We've now made more posts about people who got back in line than people who actually did it. Let it go, guys. Drink your beer.

 

I went on Saturday, and it goes without saying that Dan and Deb did an amazing job organizing this event. I don't think there is much else they could do to make this a smoother and more laid back weekend. I got there around 7:30 and was probably around the 400-500 mark. The line proceeded to wrap down the hill and around the corner, so I'd have to imagine it was damn near 700 by the time sales started at 9:30. I did see Deb at the bottom of the stairs handing out tickets, but I really can't imagine there was much left. I also can't see how too many people would end up getting 2 tickets, but I'm sure if there's a will there's a way. I talked to Deb a few hours later at the Fruit Cave, and she said she turned away a lot of people she recognized trying to get extras, so she was absolutely doing as much as she could to keep it fair. Huge amount of praise for that.

I know this has been discussed in the past, but maybe not confirmed, but Deb said the BB Kriek will be a Thumbprint next year. Not sure when or how much will be available, but we can confirm it will be in 4-packs at some point. The blonde gueuze will also be ready when it's ready. Potentially an early winter release, but she doesn't want people to freeze in line, so maybe spring.

One of my bottles is going in the cellar for 6 months or so, and the other is getting shipped to San Antonio. Really excited I could take part in this event and meet a lot of people passionate about beer. Till next year!

 

And I'm eternally grateful for that, my friend. Sincerely! I know you sent that in a trade before people really even knew how good it was and well before they knew it would trade for crazy stuff. I'm still sitting on that bottle and just waiting for the right time to share it. Would be cool to meet up with you sometime and crack it with you!

 

That would be cool, since I managed to get one bottle of Wild Peach. Drink em side by side.

 

I was there at 8:45am & got ticket 576
At 9:30 once people started going in to get their bottles, I saw Deb standing out front doing the wristbands & tickets for those people just walking that weren't in the initial line. Some people went in, got their allotment then came out to put then in their car & cut off the wristband so they could go to Deb to get another wristband/ticket

 

That's trading really well.. For anyone that has had it is it worth giving your left nut over ?

 

This was addressed on Sunday - they had you get a band and they marked your hand with a sharpie. Yes, you could have washed it off, I suppose.

I was there all three days, and thought it got exponentially better each day. Glad to see that they were able to identify and resolve the kinks in the system (though they could have used more people to hand out the beer once they added the additional cashiers).

Dan was humble and sweet - he seemed thrilled at the turn out he had for the beer. It was pretty awesome to see.

Bottle sharing was fantastic as well - thanks to all those generous folks who showed up with such wonderful things! (Yes, even all you FIBs.) 10/10, would go again.

 

Not quite regretting NOT making the 3-hour drive...but still.....*sigh*

Enjoy the beer all!

 

I don't understand the increasing activity of picking something up to immediately turn around and trade it. Seems like this is more the norm now, and I hope that for the next release, as Dan stated over the course of the weekend, the very large quantities of great stuff that he will be producing will completely take away any potential for trades or black market opportunities going forward. I would have loved to have stopped in sometime over the weekend and just picked up a case, as opposed to having to take over 10 hours over the course of the weekend driving to and from NG, waiting in line (though it was certainly a very fun time with bottle sharing, hanging out with great folks, and seeing a lot of familiar faces), and getting just 2 bottles per day.

As for the brew itself, I opened a bottle last night. The correct term should not be 'VSP' but SSP (Slightly Sour Peach). This is a brew that when drank is best close to or at room temperature. Dan recommended refrigerating the bottle prior to opening (to reduce the carb), and letting it get back to room temperature when finally enjoyed. He, of course, was absolutely correct. The peach really pops as the bottle warms, with sour up front followed by a very nice peach finish. This will likely dry out with time, and this isn't VSB, Blueberry Flanders, or Fuzzy (aka, like biting into a Blackberry, Blueberry, or Peach) but this is a fantastic beer that is exceptionally well crafted and a great brew on a warm evening.

Just my opinion- trade for it if you must, but don't feed the market by giving up a ton for it (a la Assassin). Make friends, attend events, keep your eyes peeled, and you'll be able to try one of the 4,499 bottles left that I hope are shared at releases and events for many years to come.

 

^
For anybody that drank the R&D Sour Fruit fresh last year, it was not very tart at all. Lots of jam/jelly...much like the Wild Peach this year. (Which I do think tastes like your biting into a Peach)

It took a few months for the tartness to really come out....expecting Wild Peach to go through a similar maturation process. Still too young to draw any conclusions, imo.

Excited to find out!

 

LOL You drank this beer??? WHAT AN IDIOT!!! Do you know what it trades for? Do you know the amount of street cred one gains when a NG sour is in your cellar????

Why the hell would I waste the beer drinking it??? That's just stupid.

 

I've only had one of my two bottles of VSB, which I drank in early Oct of last year. The jam/jelly is what I remember about it, not any sort of mouth-puckering sourness.

 

While I wouldn't call it "mouth-puckering", it certainly became very tart....at least by February (Valentine's Day), which is the last time I cracked one. Jam/jelly was still very present, none-the-less.

But, hey, every palate for themselves!

 

This is a rare beer that, for me, is untouchable. This is the Greg Maddux of sours- steady, consistent, and going to last for years. A real cornerstone for anyone who cellars sours.

 

Well....so much for that.

 

I believe the message you were responding to was in sarcasm font.

 

That's a bold statement.

 

I think New Glarus is going to be the most important American brewery putting out sour beers over the next 10-15 years. Dan's advantage is his ability to work with fruit, not to mention his ridiculous commitment to the craft. You'd have to pry these early cave batches out of my dead hands to get them out of my cellar. I've already told my beer buddies, "If you want to try it, you've got to come visit Wisconsin and crack open a bottle with me."

 

THIS is a bold statement.

 

I thought it was crazy sour last October 20th. I really wouldn't want it to be too much more sour.