2017 New Glarus Thread

Totally spitballing here, but if they brew something in a smaller batch size than the regular seasonal releases, they probably aren't able to get the ingredients at the same prices as they would if they bought them in bulk. But who knows.

 

I love having a brewery-only beer, even if the price is off. I ended up buying two six-packs of Hometown Blond. It's not a rational decision, but then again, neither is driving two hours out in the middle of BFE to buy two bottles of R&D beer.

 

The Thumbprints are in a rut IMO, in the sense that they rarely re-made Unplugged / Thumbprints prior to a couple of years ago. I want to keep seeing new beers in that line, even if they aren't beers that get the neckbeards all hot in the nether regions. They didn't do a single new Thumbprint beer this year.

But I don't feel like any of the R&D beers made to date would sell well (from the business's standpoint) as a Thumbprint. The Sour Porter certainly didn't - the general population didn't understand it, and it hung around forever. An even better example - Wild Sour - an amazing beer, but it was too small of a run for a Thumbprint. More people clearly understood that beer - it was wiped out in like three weeks and they didn't have any Thumbprints to sell for two months.

Seems like all of the R&D beers would be in one of those two positions were they made as a Thumbprint, neither of which is really ideal from the brewery's perspective.

 

I believe it's bottles for Blacktop, but I have heard from a reputable source that when Snowshoe comes back out later this year it will be available in cans.

 

I've noted the same thing about Black Project in Denver, it seems they do not need to wait for the beer to age as long before packaging but the liquid they turn out is stellar...

 

I'm going to be in Madison next weekend. Was the R&D only available last weekend or can I expect to pick up some at the depot when I'm in town next weekend?

 

Not positive but past R & D’s have been around for a few weeks give them a call and if u get a answer post it I’m sure others would be interested. Good luck,they should just sell leftover R & D’s for drinking there. 2 days to take home and rest drank there. Let everyone buy another bottle day of release with cap taken off.

 

Sounds good, I'll give them a call when I get in. I just didn't want to sound like an idiot calling in if they were really strict on the release date. Sounds like there is a very good chance of there being some. Thanks for the response.

 

They have lied about availability in the past when people have called, just FYI.

 

I definitely see what you're saying. The last two years' R&D's definitely don't quite suit the Thumbprint series, except maybe for Pommier Sauvage which drinks like a dry cider. I'd like to see new Thumbprints, some more new and different stuff from Dan that he hasn't brewed in the past.

Interesting, I don't know much about Black Project. Just that VSB and Wild Peach were aged for quite a bit longer than the recent R&D releases, and I think there's a fair amount of complexity that comes out of that. But then again, I think neither of these came from the current coolship setup. The R&D series is good for beers like Vintage, which I do appreciate the time and work that went into.

Edit: Just to add, Wild Peach brewed Dec 2011, bottled Aug 2014. Sour Fruit brewed Nov 2010, bottled Aug 2013. Most of latest R&D's except for the Vintages have had less than a year from brew to bottle.. I think BBBB is the exception.

I think you will find the past R&D's there, but best to expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised. They probably won't release the latest R&D again for a while, but who knows?

 

Too bad he's also cut down on Vintage's time in barrels, and considering the first one was the best, I think it shows.

 

A follow up, I studied the Vintage 2014, 2015 and 2016 labels. Here they are:



Vintage 2014: Brewed 2011, 2012, 2014, bottled Aug 2014.
Vintage 2015: Brewed 2012, 2014, bottled July 2015.
Vintage 2016: Brewed 2-2014, 4-2015, bottled April 2016.
Interesting to see that Sour Ale went 3 years from brew to bottle. Not sure what the deal is with Geuze given what we would expect from the traditional definition, but it's still over a year from brew to bottle.

I agree with @THANAT0PSIS, in my experience as well, 2014 has been the best of the bunch with 2016 being my least favourite, and I think the above findings are part of the explanation. They aren't even 1, 2, and 3 year old blends in 2015 and 2016. There seems to be some sort of compromise from a brewing versus business perspective between past and present practices. I'd rather they give these beers more time and do fewer releases in one year than what they're doing now. But to be fair, these recent beers have not been bad at all. It's just that knowing that they have the ability to do even better is a bit frustrating. Then again, these R&D's aren't paying the bills, Spotted Cow is.

 

Not to "pile on" but I've had conversations with friends over the past few months about this series and it's quality and where it seems to be heading. I'm honestly a bit skeptical about the direction of it...I at times wonder if the passion isn't there and if it just isn't a priority. There are endless other reasons why this series (along with Unplugged and Thumbprint that others have mentioned as a bit lackluster over the past couple years) has maybe taken a back seat and I won't speculate here on some of my thoughts but one simple thought is maybe they're a bit put off by the beer scene these days and the crowds that are drawn to these releases (i.e. parking lot changer of clothes, beer trader groups fighting in the "garden", etc.). But being a beer blog/website I guess the conversation is going and again, I admit I'm a little worried we should truly curb expectations in regards to seeing something spectacular again in the near future in line with VSB/Wild Peach or any stone fruits or berry additions that would blow our minds.

 

Please speculate; I am curious. Obviously no one should be upset since it's just your opinion/guess.

I, too, am a bit worried about the creative rut that NG seems to be stuck in. This isn't an indictment of how good their beer is (it's excellent as ever), but rather curiosity as to why, for instance, we haven't seen any new Thumbprints in a while and why some R&Ds seem more suited for Thumbprints. They have the capacity and means, and I get that this stuff doesn't pay the bills, and they owe us nothing, so at the end of the day it's just spitballing for no reason. I would just like to know what you (and others) think of their current direction.

This is all coming from a huge NG fan and someone who is still satisfied with the R&D program regardless (though I think there's definitely room for improvement and more creativity).

 

The lack of innovation is driven by profit, IMO. Ever since they ramped up their employee ownership program, the innovation seems to have slowed to a crawl. Before, if they lost money or broke even on a thumbprint, it was money out of Dan and Deb's pocket (and a few other select owners). Now, Dan and Deb have to answer to many other owners when the profits go in the wrong direction, and so they are playing it much safer: innovation is reserved for the R&D series.

 

So why don't they stop innovating, make VSP and VSB every year and sell them for $30/ea? I don't think anyone would complain.

 

People would complain that they aren't as good as the last time they were released.

 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: a remake of VSB will never live up to the hype.

 

I'd love another release of Wild Sour Ale. One of the better thumbprints over the last few years and worthy of most R&D's of late.

 

I just had one last week and it is still tremendously delicious. I'm down to just one left now though.