New Glarus Brewing (2019)

Didn’t someone in the 2018 thread say he was on the hard hat tour and they were all peeling peaches for a 2019 wild peach release? Maybe I’m just hopeful...

 

I found it, but I can’t quote it for some reason. Post #548 on page 14 of the 2018 New Glarus thread... they said they were “squishing peaches for a 2019 R&D release”

 

Yeah that was me. They were definitely talking about this year's GTMW R&D being a peach sour of some sort. Maybe not Wild Peach, but it'll have peaches for sure if it pans out.

 

“Break O’Day Juicy IPA explodes with unruly exuberant citrus notes. Brewed for a session or a lively break, this juice-infused Wisconsin Session IPA boasts 100% Midwestern barley malt. Complex dry hop additions of Comet, Amarillo, Chinook, Bravo, Sterling and Citra hops bring the haze to our boisterous and bright Juicy IPA party that you hold in your hand”

So it mentions terms like “juice infused” and lists a bunch of hops that “bring the haze”

Guess we will have to wait and see what it’s all about. I have no reason to expect anything less that excelllence from New Glarus but I’m extremely curious to see what this beer is all about.

 

Break O'Day hits the mark for this guy! It's a departure from anything else NG has put out for sure. Got some session IPA aspects and some radler aspects. Goes down super easy, already killed off a 4pk since yesterday's hard hat tour!

 

77apm - what fruit was used?

 

You get your Arkane btw?

 

Nope, couldn't get a deal done so I abandoned the effort.

 

Not sure what was used, probably should have asked Dan when he came out for part of the tour. My bad there.

 

Any hard hat scoops? It's required that they are posted in the thread.

 

Peaches were mentioned in the tour of the fruit cave, and that building smells beautiful. All the foedres were filled with browns and blondes for future use and the coolship was empty yesterday. The pilot system at Hilltop has been in use the past week trying some new stuff out but they wouldn't specify exactly what.

Sugar River Distilling Company is a real thing. A couple stills are in use in a portion of the old brewery. It will be some years before a final product hits bottles but it's up and running.

 

Any updates on the fruit used for Break o Day? Dare I say this is NG’s first fruit miss?

Edit: Per Untappd reviews being sub 4. I will still be trying it myself

 

Spotted Cow and Moon Man are sub 4.

 

I'm hoping to grab a 4-pack over the weekend, Untappd can suck it.

 

2 different quotes from Untappd friends regarding Break O'Day...

"NG is one of my favorites in the world. In saying that, this is the worst. Tastes like a two year old ipa blended with Aldi juice." 1 cap

"Wow, juicy is an understatement. Massive hints of orange, tangerine, grapefruit citrus. Carbonated and lively. More fruity than hoppy." 4.5 caps

Third review gave it 4.25 caps.

The second reviewer I know personally and works for New Glarus. Third reviewer works for the NG distributor and the first is some random dude who lives near me who friended me. I know the second two could be biased but I'd believe them over the first random dude.

TL/DR, I may have to take home a single tonight and find out myself.

 

Massive hints...

 

I agree with review #1. This stuff is both terribly sweet and artificial tasting. Apricot juice with no hint of IPA anywhere.

 

Break O’day is...interesting. I see both sides. The aroma comes off bitter and malty and the initial taste is artificial tang, citrus and then has a dry and lackluster finish. From beginning to end, I’m glad I only got a single. I don’t think it’s a drain pour but definitely outside of NG’s comfort zone.

 

As someone in the industry, is it your opinion that NG's sales might push them to chase such a trend, or do you think that this is simply, as the Thumbprint motto goes, Dan doing what he wants for his own reasons?

 

I think it’s a dash of both. On one hand, NG is up every year. Sales are not hurting. At least that’s what they tell us so why would they need to chase trends? They don’t really do any marketing, won’t leave the state, make solid beers and continue to thrive in this market.

On the other hand, everyone wants to make more money. Why not chase a trend and see if it pays off? Break O’day seems like a Dan beer in theory but I don’t think he nailed this one. The balance is just off.

If the numbers don’t lie, they should just stick to their M.O. and all is well. We don’t need any more haze or pastry or whatever trend in these parts but with their Brut ipa on the horizon, maybe Dan is just curious if he could compete in the market?