Why doesn't New Glarus make a pils?

How would we know?
https://newglarusbrewing.com/general/contactus

 

Probably because they have a lineup that sells extremely well for them without a Pils, though they have brewed Pils before. A lot of breweries don't brew Pilsners... doesn't seem strange that New Glarus doesn't currently.

 

They have. Now they don't. Maybe they will again.

In the meantime, there are quite a few Illinois brewers making some pretty good Pilsners. Look for Roaring Table, Dovetail, Metropolitan, Art History... among others.

And you won't have to "smuggle."

 

One of the New Glarus year-round products is a lager: Two Woman.

On the New Glarus website they detail this beer as “Classic Country Lager” with a description of “Crisp, Well Balanced, Satisfying”.

From the BA Notes:

“The collaboration of two Craft companies both led by women, New Glarus Brewing and Weyermann Malting, is unique. You hold the result “Two Women” a Classic Country Lager brewed with Weyermann’s floor malted Bohemian malt and Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops. A tempting and graceful classic lager found…Only in Wisconsin!”

And BA categorizes this beer as being a Helles.

Unfortunately I have personally had the pleasure of drinking this beer.

I performed a quick scan of BA reviews and I found that @NeutronMan commented (with emphasis in bold by me):

“Hop bitterness hits you harder on the palate than the nose would suggest, almost more Pilsner than Helles.”

Maybe Two Women can equal Pilsner here?

Cheers!

 

It isn't, it's based on a Landbier... which in Germany is usually more Helles in style.

 

Two Women has changed a bit over the years, but it's still definitely not a pils. When they first launched it the beer was amber in color and reminiscent of what most places would just label "lagerbier" in Franconia. A little richer, a little darker, and a little more nutty than helles from in/around Munich. The current version is pale and a little crisp, but still too nutty and rustic to be a helles. Neither is hoppy or dry enough to be a pils.

Edel Pils used to be a core part of New Glarus' line-up. I haven't had it in forever, but I recall it being along the lines of Prima. With Two Women and Totally Naked (during warmer months) being popular options, they probably didn't need to have another pale lager. Especially in a state where pils is common enough and even Spotted Cow can scratch a similar itch.

 

I'm glad it's not just me who perceives the change.

 

Third New Glarus thread!! LET'S GET IT WISCONSIN!!!

 

It's not just you. I worked for a Wisconsin-based company for a while, so I bought back hundreds of bottles/cans. A friend and I both thought it had changed, so we started comparing photos of it from 2013 - 2021. It was straight-up amber/copper in 2013. Not too different from the color of Yuengling. Right now it's a pale'ish gold. Most of the nutty and sweet/caramel notes have been dialed way back, too. The change mostly seemed to occur around 2017, so I don't think it was gradual. It's still absolutely good, but it's different.

 

Typical of New Glarus, it is a very high quality offering that doesn't necessarily fit into a specific style. I thought it was more reminiscent of a Vienna Lager or Festbier the first time I had it. It was a little darker than golden. Last time I had it, it was paler and a bit hoppier, but still had a really nice malt profile. I love that New Glarus doesn't back themselves into a corner with declaring a specific style for many of their beers. They make what they envision rather than what others have declared as guidelines for a style.

 

Exactly what I thought the first (and multiple times thereafter) time I had it. A great, bready malt character very reminiscent of import Festbier or Viennas.

I didn't return to it for a couple years and wondered if I'd suffered major palate shift.

 

Well, it didn't *start* in the Midwest Forum... Mods?

 

I remember the first time I had it. A lady from Rahr Malting shared it with my brewing class and described it as a Vienna lager. That was back in 2014. I think New Glarus changed up a lot of things in the years between then and now... The first time I had Spotted Cow (2008) it was brewed with flaked maize and flaked barley. A few years ago their description changed to "only malted barley and malted wheat."

 

FWIW -- my BA rating for 2W was in 2011, when I first tried it, and I mention how it really reminded me of fresh German lagers -- Oktoberfest in particular.

@honkey

 

There is a recent podcast from December where Dan discussed, among other topics, that pilsners don't sell particularly well (~5:15). Also he discusses his preferences on the pilsner style (~36:10).
Always interesting to listen to Dan imo.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1248...8629/episode/ep-115-daniel-carey-of-90501286/