2017 New Glarus Thread

I simply wish they would swap it for Yokel, but that won't ever happen. I think Totally Naked sells really well.

Happy to see Bubbler back. I wish Hometown Blonde just became a year round offering.

 

Hoping that's the case - IIRC they didn't have Zwickel listed on there last year. It hasn't been added to the "Specialty" page yet though: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beercategory/specialty

 

Anyone visit the brewery recently that can report whether they have a brewery only lager? Fingers crossed Hometown Blonde shows up sometime this year.

 

So has anyone been to the brewery to see if Hometown Blonde is kicking around? If so, what's the price point?

 

I was there on Monday. I don't recall seeing it, though I wasn't specifically looking for it. I made a few rounds through the beer depot, so I did get a pretty good feel of what they had.

That said, they do have a zwickel, which is very, very good. A great, balanced drinking lager.

 

Yeah, I love the Zwickel. I originally bought a case. I just know that they had posted a schedule and mentioned a couple times that Zwickel would be replaced by Hometown Blonde soon. It's been years since I've had that beer, and it blew me away even before I enjoyed lagers as much as I do now.

 

Did you buy some Zwickel? What was the bottle date on it? Thanks

 

Making plans to attend the June R&D release event in NG this year. For those that have attended it before, what should I expect? Will the same R&D beers that are released on Friday, be available on Saturday? Or do they switch it up? Also, is it just the R&D beers that will be available, or will they be releasing other NG products as well?

Since their website says they will release the beers "no later than 9:00 am", should I plan on getting there pretty early to wait in line?

Thanks

 

Same R&D beer both days. Other NG beers are available at the depot. Nothing you won't find anywhere else, at in any store in WI. Except for Maybe Zwickel/Hometown Blonde which are brewery only. Depot beers are priced slightly higher as to not undercut retailer pricing. Show up @ for 9:00 and you'll probably be good if the last few June releases are any indication.

 

Huge bottle shares before the release and after..... come prepared!!

 

Come prepared to be responsible, though. It's not like anyone is Uber-ing, taking a cab, or other public transportation to New Glarus.

 

Checked the date code on the Zwickel: 0177, which puts us at January 17, 2017.

 

Thanks

 

Emailed NG re: Hometown Blonde. Their response:

"Hometown Blonde has been delayed for a bit and right now I don’t have a date for its return. But as soon as we have it, we will post an announcement on our Facebook page. Cheers!"​

 

Given @dcw6363's post below yours, I assume that they'll keep doing Zwickel until Hometown is ready.

As a sidenote, I sort of would like them to change the name of Hometown Blonde so people know that it's a pilsner and not a blonde of any sort. Pilsners are moderately hot right now and only getting hotter, but blondes (American and Belgian) are as unpopular as ever.

 

I've seen you state this before...can't say I've seen any evidence personally.

I'm not trying to be contentious, I'm genuinely curious: what makes you say this?

 

Lots of breweries are either brewing lagers/pilsners for the first time and adding them to the main lineup or are bringing pilsners that had been seasonal/limited and either adding them to the main lineup or doing them more often.

Also, breweries that are mainly lagers have gotten a lot of buzz lately.

Suarez in New York is one of the hot up-and-comers. Von Trapp keeps getting great press and more mentions. Here in Chicago, Baderbrau and Dovetail are both EXTREMELY hot, and Metropolitan is doing as well as ever. Off Color removed Scurry for Tooth and Claw (admittedly and unfortunately, a kotbusser as a flagship was probably doomed to fail, even if it is an extremely admirable attempt on paper). Maplewood's Pulaski Pils was a huge success, and the brewer himself stated that he believed pilsners/lagers would be the next thing to really take off. Even Pipeworks, longtime extreme beer stalwarts, has spoken about their interest in doing more lagers. Lazy Monk is doing great in Wisconsin. Bauhaus and Hammerheart are some of the fastest-growing (and highest-rated) breweries in Minnesota. Urban Chestnut is as big as ever. Heater Allen and Boneyard's pilsner were extremely common and popular when I was out in Oregon recently. Deschutes added a pilsner to their year-round lineup, the first addition in a while. Firestone Walker Pivo Pils is one of their premier brands. Stone did the Wussie Pilsner. Tired Hands of all places has done a pilsner multiple times now. (For the record, I am not saying these are all good examples of the style, but it certainly shows an uptick in interest in the style). Other very popular breweries famous for IPAs and stouts are incorporating pilsners into their lineups (Russian River, Tree House, Creature Comforts). I didn't even touch on New Glarus, who created (admittedly minor) buzz on here with a Zwickel.

There has been a noticeable uptick in topics on BA about lagers. BA the magazine has run articles on the topic. Paste talks about the "resurgence...reclamation" of the pilsner in their blind pilsner tasting (the fact that such a mainstream publication would do a blind pilsner tasting with all the more popular styles that they haven't done speaks volumes). According to this article, Nielsen reports that in 2015 craft pilsners rose 76%, the largest gain of any style that wasn't hard soda/rootbeer. Serious Eats wrote this article about pilsner's new "golden age."

This is anecdotal, but I feel that lots of people in craft beer tend to do a sort of cycle in which they discover craft after knowing nothing but macros and immediately seek out the most flavorful and extreme things they can get their hands on because it's the opposite of the "flavorless" macros. Slowly, their palates begin to crave subtlety, and they move through the styles, from IIPA and RIS to Quad and Lambic, to Porter and Pale Ale, to Saison, and to Pilsner (obviously this isn't exact for all drinkers, but it's a trend I've noticed in friends of mine as well as craft drinkers overall in my time in the industry). Many craft brewers have also gone on record lately saying that what they want to drink nowadays is lagers, mirroring the cycle of the craft drinkers, and it's only a matter of time for many places before they decide that's also what they want to brew (obviously I'm not suggesting that Tree House is going to decide IPAs are passe and start doing nothing but Zwickel).

Obviously, I'm a huge advocate for lagers in general on this site (let's face it, lagers need all the help they can get on BA, generally speaking), so I admit that you should take a lot of what I say with a grain of salt (even though when reviewing I always rate to style as impartially as I can manage with no bonus points given to lagers for being lagers), but there is plenty of factual evidence for pilsners (or, more broadly, lagers) really coming up right now, and I couldn't be happier.

Sorry for going on for a long time, but if you've seen my other ramblings on here, you know I'm anything but brief. I know you're not trying to be confrontational, and I hope my reply didn't come off that way either. Cheers, with whatever ale or lager you prefer.

 

Thanks for the thoughtful reply!

 

I assume Zwickel is in bottles only and not on tap in the beer garden? I would love it if they would put it (and more importantly Hometown Blonde when it comes back) on as a standard tap, along with whatever the current thumbprint is for that matter.