2017 New Glarus Thread

So it does look like the beer recipe has been tweaked and could be part of the reason for the price increase (in addition to the brewery-only exclusivity).

From the description listed at the 'other' beer rating site: "Embrace a classic! Home Town Blonde is an old world style pilsner, assertively hopped with four premium hop varieties. Tettninger, Saaz, Styrian Golding and Strisselspalt varieties all grace this German-style brew with the complex character you enjoy in a classic pilsner. Expect to pour an elegant blonde glass of beer, crowned with a rich head of foam that resonates with our chorus of hops..."

Here's what's listed on New Glarus' website: "Dan’s personal Reinheitsgebot Pilsner is our 2017 brewery exclusive, Hometown Blonde. Dan rescued heritage barley from the Czech Republic to grow experimentally in America and then had it malted by Briess in Chilton, WI. Czech tradition dictates a decoction mash process followed by six bold hop varieties. Hallertau, Saaz, Saphir, Styrian Golding, Spalt and French Strisselspalt all grace this brew. A long cold lager finally imparts a rare and complex character to our classic pilsner."

So it looks like better malts (and grown/malted here on a small scale) and more old world hops are used in the brewery-only version. Also note that decoction mash was used as well. I don't think the original version was brewed with using that method.

@chazmcbro

 

According to the Wild Sour description on the NG website:

I don't think they could remake this. They could try, but it would end up being a different beer. It was released in July 2013, so probably brewed in late 2011. It was brewed long before the koelschip and Wild Fruit Cave were put in place.

I agree that it would probably be promoted to the R&D series given the effort involved how quickly it sold out as a Thumbprint.

 

Great catch. I'll add this:

Seems like this year's Home Town Blond might be similar to the old Unplugged Bohemian Lager. Not exactly the same beer, but also not the same as previous iterations of Home Town Blonde.

 

Really wish they would re-brew the Bohemian Lager. Such a great beer. That would be an excellent brewery-only offering too.

Edit: And definitely worth the increased price, imho.

 

Wholeheartedly agree. I would buy cases.

 

Was at a bar in Greenfield, WI last night (watching the Cubs clinch!!), and I was very surprised to see they had of R&D bottles. I thought they were only available at the brewery? I didn't think retail shops and bars got R&D's distributed to them.

 

Brass Tap will occasionally get them for special events if that's where you're talking about.

 

Yes, that's the place. That's freaky you know where I was.

Me and my buddy went there because they were suppose to have Prop that night, but it turns out they didn't get it. So they had BCBBW instead, which was still excellent as a consolation beer!!! It was a good night...I won one of the drawings and left with a GI T-shirt and a bottle of their Test beers (I think it's a Belgian Quad).

Brass Tap was plan B that night. We originally met at Draft & Vessel to get in on their VR tastings. However, we arrived 5 minutes late and it was already gone.

 

Confirming that Wild Sour is holding on nicely. Three left in the cellar.

 

On a related yet surprising note:

Barley Wine has improved from where it was a year or two ago. Super srs. It was super hoppy on release, then it was a horrible mess through the middle there, but loads of caramel sweetness now.

 

Totally with you on that one @sherm1016. Bought a 4-pack when it dropped; had one right away and was unimpressed so threw it in the cellar to forget about it. Had another a year later and was still a mess so buried it DEEEEEP in the cellar. Had the last two a couple months ago and it was like a different beer; really enjoyed it. If I'd have known it would turn into that I would have bought more but my initial bottle convinced me not to buy anymore.

 

I've actually of the opinion that a lot of those sour thumbprints don't hold up well for some reason. Wild Sour after a year was a shadow of its former self (I felt guilty when I traded some away since he probably expected a better beer than what I was sending) and I recently had an enigma that was mediocre or worse (the first batch held up well for years though). This stuff is supposed to be pasteurized so I don't know why they're changing so much, and in the wrong direction.

 

pasteurization isn't going to stop oxygen (and neither is a bottle cap)

 

Really hoping they brew this one again. I wasn't into Barley Wines when this came out so I didn't grab any.

 

I don't --I wasn't a fan--I found the hoppiness very unpleasant.

I would rather see them re-brew Tailwagger as a Thumbprint. That was a really good beer and would be something 'new' for many drinkers.

 

Tailwagger was what I had on my mind. I'd be okay with either one.

 

I think you are in the minority because there are several posts about Wild Sour Ale still being amazing and I have had one this year that was also amazing.

I would rank Sour Fruit #1, Wild Sour Ale #2 and Wild Peach #3 as the best New Glarus beers that I've had.

 

Are any R&D's still available? Have a friend running up there and want to know if they should look for it.

 

What did they say when you called them?

 

Any word on moving the fruit beers to 4 packs?