Yesterday I had two draft pints of fresh & delicious Castle Danger Cream Ale. While enjoying this great beer I couldn't help but think how much better it was than the infamous cream ale coming out of Packer country. The clear winner for me is Castle Cream Ale, but I'm curious what others think. I do believe there was a time when "The Cow" was the benchmark for the style, but believing the conspiracy theory of a recipe change as a real thing, I no longer feel it's a top tier beer & the fact is, just taste the same as I remember I am fully prepared to field the wraith of discontent and harsh disagreement from @GreenBayBA and the rest of the green/yellow wave coming from the East !! So, for all of you that have been able to sample both beers, what do you think?
It's not a conspiracy theory. They changed the recipe. It used to be brewed with corn (unsure if it was flaked or in what form exactly), but it isn't anymore and hasn't been for several years--probably at least five years now.
It depends which style you are referencing Spotted Cow officially is listed as a saison. I don’t anybody would call it a “benchmark” for saisons, or a cream ale for that matter. It’s just a regional beer that many people like. The rest of us know better. FWIW, the allegedly superior beer has a 3,88 score on BA. The OP has never reviewed it.
According to many sources, spotted cow is not a cream ale or a saison: “Truthfully, Spotted Cow doesn't fit neatly into one beer style. That makes sense considering the beer's origins. It's modeled after a beer that caught Carey's attention during a trip to Old World Wisconsin. While touring the German farmstead he spotted a pot of beer sitting in the corner. He wondered what type of beer would be brewed by an 1850s-era Wisconsin farmer of German heritage…” https://www.greenbaypressgazette.co...ou-can-buy-alcohol-content-taste/7445373001/# That said, it’s still a quality beer. I like it. I wouldn’t mind trying the Castle Danger cream ale, though- I’m intrigued…
It by far and away their weakest offering...OK, OK, Two Women is quite lackluster as well. Pretty nice beer to have a keg of though, if that is still an affordable thing to do.
Castle Danger Brewery Cream Ale is delicious. I understand why people would choose it over New Glarus Brewing Spotted Cow if they did not have the same emotional attachment that we do to the beer in Wisconsin.
Castle Cream is very good if fresh...not sure how true to style it is and do not know much on how they brew it but it definitely is appeasing to the palate (if not probably too sweet for a true cream ale)..
If you like a sweeter Cream Ale it's Spilled Grain Cream Ale for the win....I did a blind taster recently with my brother with Castle, Ursa, Liftbridge, Spilled Grain and both of us had Spilled Grain #1...I actually thought it was Castle when I predicted what they were..While I like Cow it would have been overshadowed in this taster...
Spotted Cow is fine...just not as sweet flavored as Castle or definitely Spilled Grain...those two aren't cloying either in my opinion...not sure how true to style they actually are...I'm not a great cream ale mind but I think it should have a touch of hoppiness to it...I just like them a little sweeter myself..
