New Glarus 2015 R&D

To be fair though, that was during Great Taste weekend. That put's quite a few more beer geeks in the area for a special release like this. I don't think New Glarus will sell out any of the non-Great Taste R&D releases this summer in three days, regardless of the beer. I totally agree with not wanting people to get shut out, but 100 cases is a lot of beer to have left over from a release like this. That is great for people who live relatively close to the brewery (ie. Madison/Milwaukee), but I drove down from (4 hours) and getting another bottle would have been nice. Luckily my wife will be along for the next releases, and 4 bottles will be just right. I really like that they are doing Thursday releases though. it pretty much ensures anyone who is not local (like me), who is willing to take a day off, a few bottles.

 

I might be going to Madison next Saturday. If I do I might swing by New Glarus and pick up a couple of bottles if there are any left.

 

Plenty of cars in the lot now. No one but me buying WB. Time for lunch at Culvers!

 

It sounds like you are asking them to anticipate how many people are going to show up and adjust the limits based on their guess. That would create all sorts of issues and likely lead to a massive amount of neckbeard butthurt.

I'd rather they have a clear, consistent policy. Even if a R&D release hangs around for a few weeks.

Sorry you live far from the brewery. I do too.

 

I'm not asking New Glarus to to anticipate anything. It would be impossible for them to try and guess how many people are going to show up ahead of time, as proven by the leftover cases. I'm saying that based off of this release, maybe upping the limit to 3 is a possibility. I'm not complaining or anything, I think NG is absolutely doing this the right way, with the midweek release and everything. Plus, they brewed the beer they have every right to dole it out as they see fit. I'm just saying if I had the opportunity for another bottle, I would have bought one. I'm fine with 2 bottles, but 3 would have been great is all I'm saying. That and I wish NG wasn't so far away. Beautiful drive though with everything starting to green up. I can't wait for the next release when I'll actually be able to check out the grounds, as I was under time constraints for this trip.

 

FTFY. If VSB and Wild Peach are any indication, it may take a few months in the cellar for the Wild Bitter to reach its full sour potential.

 

Go to Sugar River instead they have a lot of good beer and pizza.

 

Only had 15 min. Does Brennans in NG carry any good beer?

 

Gotcha - that Brennans is only used for storage now. I've lived in New Glarus since 2005 and it's been closed at least that long.

 

Should probably try one of mine to see if it's worth heading there over lunch on Thursday.

 

Having had VSB on release day and actually just again yesterday, I'd say it hasn't soured up all that much. Became more jammy, but it was sour out the gate. WP was never very sour, maybe just a bit tart, and hasn't changed much at all either. Its possible WB will become a little tart but I dont think it'll be any significant change.

 

I guess YMMV then. I found Wild Peach noticeably sourer after a few months, across several bottles.

 

I felt the same way. Fresh it was a sweet peach bomb with a very subtle tartness. Had it again about a month ago and it was pretty acidic up front and finished strong with peach. Very different beast.

Regarding Wild Bitter, if it indeed was Brett that was used, I haven't seen many Brett beers evolve much over time. Lacto can get a hell of a lot more sour, but Brett starts funky and doesn't do much else except get malty. I had an Almanac bretted lemon sour that I had sitting for over a year and it was pretty much a drain pour. My suggestion would be to drink one now, and age one for 6 months but keep expectations low.

 

I came here to say this prior to reading Kevin's post. Wild Peach, while enjoyable, is not very sour in the least. Having had it side by side with Farm to Face, i'd take Farm 7 out of 10 times probably.

 

So you're saying that Orval doesn't change much over time?

 

Wasn't aware that Orval used that sort of yeast strain, but that's definitely not a "wild" beer in the context of this discussion. But to answer your question, I've never had an aged Orval, so I have no idea. What flavors change?

 

Orval is bottle-conditioned with Brett, which we're assuming is the case for Wild Bitter as well. Orval loses the bitterness and hoppiness and gets leathery and funky with overripe fruit flavors, then it sours up in addition to those and continues to evolve and become more complex. Honestly it's practically impossible to chart the course of the beer, so that's very general, but it's safe to say that Orval changes a ton over time. There are several threads on it on this very site. As a result, I would say it's inaccurate to say that Brett beers don't change much over time.

 

I probably should have worded what I said a little differently. What I meant was that Brett generally doesn't grow in sourness or boldness. At least in my experience, I've never tasted one that's evolved in that fashion. Brett is more "funky" and doesn't produce bold sour flavors. Hops drop off by nature and the malts come forward more over time, and that's just universal to any beer. So yeah you're right that the beer will change just like any hoppy beer does, but the hops will drop off leaving a bottle of funky malt bomb. I can't see the Brett doing anything magical with it. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I'd imagine it would taste awful.

 

was any info given about the next R&D release?

 

Wild Sour Blueberry.




In my dreams.