New Glarus Berliner Weisse

A few breweries have some new beers out, so over the next few weeks or so we'll actually do some reviews here. What!? Crazy. I know. But, honest-to-goodness reviews. First on the list is the New Glarus Berliner Weisse.

The first question you might have is "What the heck is a Berliner Weisse?" Would you be surprised to hear it is a wheat beer from Berlin? No. That probably wouldn't be too surprising.

Would you be surprised to learn that it is on the verge of extinction as a beer style? Would you be surprised to learn that they are routinely supplemented with woodruff, or raspberry syrups? Would you be surprised that it is often the base of a beer cocktail to be combined with sherry or flavored liquors like Kummel.

So, then, what is a berliner weisse? The BJCP classifies the Berliner Weisse as a sour ale in Style 17a and notes that only two traditional breweries remain in production. A berliner weisse should be very pale in color, with active bubbling and carbonation. It will pour a huge foamy, loose head that will disspipate quickly. It will look and act much like champagne. While traditionally served in very large bowled stemware, it could also be served in a champagne flute.

The flavor is what makes the berliner weisse unmistakable. Distantly related to both pilsners and wild fermentation beers such as the Belgian lambic and geuze and the Leipzig-ian Gose, the first tastes are sour and sharp. Like the similar styles, some can be fruitier than others. And, much like the others, it will age very well. The body is very light and effevescent and the under 5% ABV should not be noticeable. It can be blended or unblended with aged and is sometimes made with lactic sugars or yeasts.

There you have it. The technical details on the style of berliner weisse. Its sharp flavors and history make it acceptable to be mixed with anything from pilsners, to liquors, to flavored syrups. Its sophistication and complexity and high carbonation also make it an appropriate celebratory beer (getting married soon? try it for a toast at your rehearsal dinner or even, gasp, your reception). Also, interestingly, it is a great beer to make in the current materials shortage: it is a very low-hopped beer and has a high percentage of wheat (not exactly difficult to get a hold of) in the grain bill.

New Glarus' Unplugged Berliner Weisse is barrel fermented, and aged over Reisling and Pinot Grigio grapes. The neck label reports that it is bottle conditioned with a blend of five yeasts.

New Glarus Berliner Weisse

Appearance: Poured into a tulip glass, the white head came quickly, though a careful pour kept it from growing too large; what head did form fell away quickly. The body is straw colored and highly carbonated with fine bubbling.
Aroma: It immediately smells of grapes with the aroma, almost, of a white wine. Eventually some maltiness comes through and faint yeastiness.
Flavor: sour and intensely tart; the first taste is all sour with a fast finish of grape juice; once you are over the sour and tart, a mellow grainy maltiness is clearly discernible; as it warms up the sourness dissipates some and some sweetness comes through
Body: light bodied, but very soft
Drinkability: a very nice beer that would hold up well to repeated drinking; its flavors prevent sessionability, but is one that I would look forward to have another
Summary: Sour beers are right up my alley (to get the personal biases out of the way), so I was really looking forward to this one; right now, it is a good, unique, summer beer, with an amped up grape-juice-like quenching freshness to it; dissapointingly, unlike the best geuzes and lambics, it seems a bit one-note and further warming or repeated drinking doesn't seem to reveal anything other than sour and grapes and pilsner; the pilsner base seems overwhelmed; the lack of complexity makes me think that this is an unblended, young beer. Knowing its pedigree gives me hope that time will treat this beer very well and in 4 or 5 years from now some (but not all) of the sourness will mellow out and the grapes and grains, already present, will assert themselves.

If some of you out there are brave enough to mix the Berliner Weisse with syrups, liquors or beers, perhaps you would be kind enough to post the results of said tasting here on the site. We have some raspberry syrup and some liquors on the MBR liquor shelf, maybe we'll comment on it sooner or later.

Enjoy it now and stock up for the future!

Some Things To Look Forward To

Most immediately (and this is the last time I mention this, I promise): Tonight (Wednesday) is the Stone Crawl in Milwaukee. Starts at 7pm at Sugar Maple, The Stone, Lulu's, and Roman's in BayView. There will be a bus going between each of these so you can get to the bars that are a little further away.

Thursday is the Stone Release Party at Maduro in Downtown Madison. Starts around 6pm.

OK, so that's it for Stone for a while.

Some upcoming new releases:

Tyranena Brewers Gone Wild: Scurvy Orange-Peel IPA; a 6.5% ABV Extra IPA brewed with orange peels – should be on shelves in Madison, but I haven't seen it and Woodman's on the west side does not have it.

"The orange comes through in the aroma and a bit in the flavor and contributed somewhat to the bitterness. I am now debating whether to dry hop the beer at all for fear that the orange character will be overwhelmed... but what the heck... it's not an IPA from us unless it has been dry-hopped. For those that are interested, we used Summit as our bittering hop, Simcoe as a flavor hop, added both Summit and Simcoe in the whirlpool and will be dry-hopping with Summit and Simcoe. May add some orange peel to the fermenter to enhance the aroma and flavor"

New Glarus Unplugged: Berliner Weiss – should be available sometime in July. I'm super excited about this beer. The Berliner Weiss is a rare style of wheat beer (typically more than 50% of the grain bill is wheat), and is sour, similar to open-fermentation Belgian beers. It is typically served, in Berlin, with various flavor syrups to compliment the sourness.

Ale Asylum: The Tripel Nova Belgian Tripel is available at the brewpub, and you can now sit outside in their beer garden.

Capital: The website now lists a "Rustic Ale", an unfiltered amber ale, as a year-round beer; yet to see this one in the wild, but we'll keep an eye out – made with grain from Washington Island (apparently, they are going to milk that one for all it's worth); how it will fit with their very popular Amber offering is yet to be seen.

Furthermore: Will be unveiling a new beer on June 28^th at their barn party in Spring Green (party starts at 5pm – if you don't know where the Furthermore Sh*##y Barn is, just ask someone in Spring Green).

Lakefront: The White (wit) should be out soon.

Rush River: Small Axe Golden Ale, a quasi-hefe-weizen, should be out, if you live in an area where Rush River is available.

Stevens Point: Nude Beach is out and lightening up the summer.

Sand Creek: One of these days I'll have to review the Hard Lemonade.

Viking: Queen Victoria's Secret IPA is out, the Dim Whit is out in July.

It Was Such A Beautiful Day on Tuesday

It was 70 degrees. Sunny. A crisp spring breeze was blowing through. After two straight weeks of hot and/or humid and/or torrential downpours, it was a welcome respite to segue into summer. And what better way to celebrate than with a couple of uber-hoppy India Pale Ales.

Of course, the big news this week is that Stone Brewing Company is coming to town. But they aren't here yet, so the Stone IPA, a 77 IBU Magnum and Centennial hop-cicle, will have to wait a few weeks. In the meantime, we can enjoy some great beers purchased over at Star Liquor on Willy Street: the New Holland Existential Ale and the New Glarus Hop Hearty IPA.

New Glarus Hop Hearty IPA
6-pack purchased for $7.99 + tax, 6.10% ABV. East Kent Goldings and Cascade Hops. BA. RB.
Appearance: served at 51.5 degrees, a thick, bubbly off-white head over an opaque fine-leather body; fine bubbling
Aroma: a fresh spray of citrus and hops greats the opening of the bottle; a surprisingly strong musty, bread-like caramel malt aroma; the goldings are upfront, and the cascades come in and fade quickly, leaving the subtle, floral notes behind
Flavor: surprisingly muted; the bitterness is definitely there, but for all of the aroma, where did the flavor go? Each of the flavors hinted at in the aroma eventually come through, but you really have to look for them; repeated sips bring the flavors out more;
Body: soft and medium bodied, with a long, drying, almost peppery, finish
Drinkability: the flavors add up while you drink it, but if you let the flavors go between sips (what, are you a nursing major?), it can be hard to pick them up; while the cascades make this is a uniquely American beer, its lack of assertiveness renders it more continental; while it defies expectations, the Hop Hearty is a very subtle, well-balanced IPA

New Holland Existential Ale
Purchased for $7.49 + tax for a 22 oz, 10.5% ABV. This has been described as either an extremely hoppy barleywine or a really big IPA. It was released on April 21^st, so at this point it is about 2 months old – the hops should still be fresh. BA. RB.
Appearance: thin, off-white head; crystal-clear, no beading or bubbling; a deep golden body
Aroma: hops; that's all there is to it; hops; if you've ever opened a 1 oz package of hops and taken a deep breath while holding it up to your nose, that is what this smells like;
Flavor: thick and citrusy; I wish I could say there was some malt in there, there is, it pokes its head through every now and then; but the hops
Body: thick and syrupy, if there were such a thing as hop juice, this would be it; about the consistency of orange juice, and a very similar flavor
Drinkability: much like the Sierra Nevada Harvest, or the Dogfish Head 120, if you consider yourself a hop-head, you owe it to yourself to find a bottle; if you don't like hops, you can pass

Summary: While I had been hoping for a hop bomb to start the evening in the New Glarus Hop Hearty IPA, I was pleased to find something much more refined and complex. Typical of Wisconsin breweries; taking a style that most Americans expect to be over-the-top, and turning down the dial a little, relaxing a bit, demonstrating quality brewing skills with complexity and finesse. The Existential is a conversion beer; in other words, if I thought I knew somebody that could be convinced to drink craft beers and never look back, I could give them a bottle of this.

A Trove of New Beer - Day 2 - New Glarus Imperial Weizen

New Glarus' latest release in the Unplugged Series is upon us. Virtually every past release in this series has been fantastic, and there is little to reason to believe that this will be any different. Having said that, it falls prey to one of my biggest irritations: "imperial" versions of beer styles that are known for their subtlety. Of course, as you might expect, this phenomemon is unique to American breweries. Never content to leave well-enough alone, everything has to be bigger, and bolder, and more upfront. Subtlety is not exactly our forte. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that we want to kick up the grain bill on the pilsner, double the hops on an already bitter beer, and throw in the spice rack on the wit. Where will the madness end? Not at the weizen, it appears.

Before I get the comments that say "Bah, you sourpuss, we Americans are experimenting, playing with convention, taunting and flouting the traditions that the continentalists hold so dear. In the supreme tradition of the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence, Manifest Destiny, the Industrial Revolution, WWII, the Lunar Landings, and the Fall of Communism, we are sticking up our middle fingers to those on the other side of the pond and saying 'we go where you don't have the balls to go'!" I understand that. Heck, I can get behind that. But what I think is silly is retaining the naming conventions and simply pre-pending "Imperial" to the front of it. In the first place, an "imperial" hefeweizen is not a hefeweizen; the additional alcohol, hops and flavor would destroy the whole, refreshing point. In the second place, it's just childish and uncreative. Show some gumption and come up with a new style; or, if it's a one-off development, be creative and use a non-style based name.

In any event, with my rant out of the way, let's get on to the tasting. By the way, you can read Nick's awesome review of the Imperial Weizen at his blog, Pint and Fork (he takes much better pictures than we ever do).

New Glarus Imperial Weizen

Appearance: A huge and rapid head prevents pouring the entirety of this beer at once, even into an oversized weiss glass; the white head is as wide as the palm of my hand incredibly dense; a cloudy yellow golden body with lots of rapid carbonation
Aroma: huge aroma of citrus and spice: grapefruit, oranges, lemons, cloves, banana; each smell brings one of these aromas to the forefront
Flavor: bitterness starts and finishes this beer; in between is a smooth strong banana and clove flavor; Nick mentions cinnamon, but I'm having trouble finding that, instead I sense a rounded flavor of grapefruit, clove and orange in the long finish
Body: smooth and surprisingly full (though definitely not full-bodied), the carbonation contributes to the head, but really does not seem to have any effect on the palate.
Drinkability: of course, the "big" nature of this beer erases some of the refreshing-ness typical of the style; however, it is very pleasant and I would welcome more of these -
Summary: it's a shame that this is a limited edition released in the winter, because one of these on a warm late-spring evening might be very nice - but, as the label notes, this beer won't age very well and will dull with time; it is definitely best consumed immediately, so saving this for later is not a very good option.

Sustainable Beer Drinking

First, a note about The Grumpy Troll's Ice Maggie that I talked about last week. MBR was out at The Grumpy Troll on Saturday and we sampled the Iced Maggie and it was fantastic. The flavors were as if the beer had instantly aged; soft and hoppy without being bitter; it really hit its stride once it warmed up, though it was actually quite good at the lower, chilled temperature at which it was served.

Released in October, New Glarus introduced a pale ale called the Organic Revolution. It uses organic Hellertau hops from Germany (Hallertau is a subdued and mildly spicy all-purpose hop, used both for bittering and aroma). It also uses "Wisconsin organically malted barley" - a mildly confusing statement since it is not immediately clear exactly what "Wisconsin" refers to - the malting or the barley; we will assume it means the malting, since presumably if the barley were from Wisconsin there would have been an "Island Wheat"-sized media blitz about the ingredients being local and the phrasing would be more along the lines of "malted Wisconsin organic barley." Finally "even" the carbonation is organic, referring to the practice of using active yeast to carbonate beer - called "bottle conditioning."

However, the organic label and beer are not without controversy. The organic brewing industry is bedeviled by two antithetical views: the public and small farmers who put time and effort into growing and crafting products without tainting the final product with modern pesticides or genes against the corporate giants who want to keep standards low to allow their short-cut products to be labeled "organic."

Until recently, certified “USDA Organic” products were allowed to include up to 5% non-organic ingredients. [Hops, on the other hand provide only bittering and aroma qualities and constitute a very small percentage, by weight, of the final product.] In practical terms this has meant that many brewers have used all or mostly all non-organic hops in their certified organic beers. [cite] However, a USDA rule-change went into effect in May 2007 requiring that all ingredients in USDA Organic products must be organic – with a few exceptions.

Of course, there are always some exceptions and there we pushes by a number of brewers to allow non-organic hops to be used in certified organic beer. This push failed, and as of October 21, 2007 all certified organic beers must use organic hops. But, hold the presses, at the last minute hops were added to the exemption list and a seven day comment period was allowed. During that comment period, Russ Klisch, brewer at Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, had this scathing comment to make (on the record):

Adding hops to the National List (Section 205.606) would irreparably damage the reputation and credibility and integrity of the organic brewing industry . . . Organic hop varieties are currently available to brewers . . . beer is not beer without hops and organic beer is not organic beer without organic hops . .. Adding hops to the National List offers an unfair competitive advantage to macro-breweries, specifically, Anheuser-Busch. As the oldest continuously bottled and first certified organic beer to be bottled in the United States, Lakefront Brewery has been able to source and brew with certified organic hops for the entire production run since its first batch of Lakefront Organic ESB 12 years ago. Our commitment to the organic industry and organic farming is strong and genuine and we consider Anheuser Busch’s (among others) lobbying attempts to add hops to the National List a threat to organic certification at best and intentionally misleading to consumers at worst. To change the rules midstream to suit the shortsighted demands of a single, powerful entity can only damage the credibility of the Program.

Unfortunately, Mr. Klisch's pleas went unheeded, and the last-minute exemption is now "final" (on an "interim" basis); in other words, certified organic beers can use non-organic hops.

We agree with The Beer Activist that this seems a little strained. Reversing this decision to remove hops from the exemption list will be very difficult. Now that the cat has been let out of the bag, so to speak, the "organic" certification has been "diluted" to include non-organic hops. So, we end up with the strange situation presented by the Organic Revolution (and Lakefront's Organic ESB) - a certified organic beer that is "more organic" than it needs to be. And, if the certification is changed now, there will be "certified" organic beers that are no longer "organic" without having changed anything. FUBAR.

The Organic Revolution fermented by New Glarus Brewing Company need not worry about having its bona fides revoked; its barley and hops are both organic.
Appearance: Golden and surprisingly clear for a bottle-conditioned beer, a thick, white one-finger head form on top, while the few yeast particles aid the formation of bubbles
Aroma: lemon and grassy yeast aromas, with a slight peppery nose,
Flavor: a mix of flavors fight each other out for your attention; in one corner you have the grassy, earthy, and mild hops, in the other corner you have the fruity, lemony and bright yeast, in the other corner you have the focused malts, all of which swirl together, but never quite meld - instead keeping separate and playing off of each other.
Body: light bodied with carbonation; like typical bottle-conditioned beers, the carbonation wears off quickly, turning this from a pale ale into almost a sweet belgian ale
Drinkability: light and pleasant with no real reason not to drink it
Summary: if you like pale ales drink it quickly, if you like belgians let it sit for a bit, it's two beers in one! Inexplicably, Beer Advocate and Rate Beer both treat this one kind of badly - traditionally New Glarus fares pretty well there, even for beers which aren't so fantastic, but in this case, the BA and RB folks have chosen to rake a pretty decent (if non-descript) beer over the coals. Certainly no worse than Spotted Cow, if anything this beer's only downside is that it fails to differentiate itself. But still, a good beer and if you are in the market for making the world a better place, you can buy a six pack and rest assured that German organic hop farmers are being handsomely rewarded.

Since It's So Cold Out, Let's Talk About Snowshoes

New Glarus' Snowshoe red ale is out on the market. So, today we'll learn how to decipher a label because there is lots of great information on the label of the Snowshoe. Like reading a wine label, if you can read a beer label you can often learn quite a bit about the beer. If you are reading this without the benefit of a bottle of Snowshoe Ale in front of you, you can follow along on the New Glarus website.

So, let's start at the top and we'll make some points that you can learn by gathering information that is not on the label. First, it is called "Snowshoe ale." Because it is an ale, we know one thing already: it is made with a top-fermenting yeast, fermented at room temperatures (between 60 and 70 degrees or thereabouts). We can also make some assumptions: it probably will not be high-alcohol, it probably will not be full-bodied, it probably will not be highly hopped. Why can we make assumptions? Because of the conspicuous lack of information on the label. First, the label just says "ale", it does not say "barley wine ale", or "wine-style ale" that would indicate a barley-wine, one of the few high-alcohol styles that does not typically carry the prefix "imperial." Thus, for that matter, we can assume that it will not be very highly hopped; the term "imperial" is typically used in two instances: styles that contain a lot more hops that is typical for the style, or styles that are much higher in alcohol than is typical for the style. Because "imperial" is nowhere to be seen on this label, we can assume that it is not high-alcohol, and we can assume that it will not be very highly hopped (it may still have some hops, but it shouldn't be extraordinarily bitter). We can also assume that this is not a full-bodied ale. We can assume this because it is not a "stout" or "porter", two styles of ales are associated with being full-bodied; few other ales are full-bodied.

So, what do we know just by reading "ale"? We can safely assume that the alcohol will be between 3% and 7% alcohol, that it will be light or medium-bodied, and that it will not be overly bitter. One word down, and we haven't even started reading the fine print yet.

As we start on the side of the bottle, in the fine print, we first learn that we should "settle in" with this beer. This seems a little counter to our assumptions. We typically "settle in" with heavier beers, or beers with higher alcohol. Yet, we have already made some assumptions that run counter to this, so, we can take note of it, but frankly write it off to marketing hyperbole.

The next sentence tells us that there are American and German malts. This is not really surprising, this mixture of malts. Given the fact that we are in America, and not Germany, breweries here typically use American base malts. However, Germany makes some base malts and specialty malts that are unique to their beers such as Vienna (technically, Austrian) and Munich malts. Unlike 2-row and 6-row malts, typical American base malts that provide the generally malty flavors of beer, Vienna malts provide a stronger malty flavor and very slight "biscuity" (bright and bread-like) flavor. Munich malts are similar to Vienna, but forego the bicuit flavors in favor of a deeper coloring and an even stronger malty flavor. Both Vienna and Munich malts are typically used in German-style lagers (such as marzens, Vienna lagers, and bocks), but neither are foreign to amber-style ales. While it is possible that an American ale would use a German Pilsner malt, this is not likely without a little more fanfare as it would be unusual enough to make special note of. So, we now know that this beer likely contains some American 6-row or 2-row malts (both light malts, 6-row, having more grains is a little grainier, while 2-row is a little cleaner) and some German Vienna or Munich malts. Based on that knowledge, we can now assume that this will be a red or amber ale.

The next sentence, about a "complicated decoction mash process" requires a little knowledge about how beer is made. The first step of the brewing process is called "the mash." During the mash, malted grains and other specialty grains or adjuncts (if used) are basically steeped in hot water. This steeping process releases proteins and enzymes and sugars that are used by the yeast (added later) to ferment the beer. There are few types of ways to release these proteins and sugars: infusion, adding hot water directly to the grains, then re-adding more water to either raise or lower the temperatures as needed; or, decoction, where the grains are added to warm water, then some of the liquid is removed, brought to a boil, then added back to the liquid. Because of the boiling, "decoction mashing produces a richer malt profile with complex caramelized flavors that are the hallmarks of most continental European beer styles, particularly Pilsner, Marzen, Bock, and especially Dopplebock." [cite] So, now, after three sentences, we can start to get an idea of what we will be drinking: a richly malty beer that is much like a lager, but made with ale yeasts and a warm fermentation to add a bright flavor to it. We can legitimately think we might be drinking an alt-bier.

We are also told that this beer is made with "Yakima Golding" and "Bavarian Hellertau" hops. We know that the Yakima Valley is in Washington State, and that Bavaria is in Germany. Interestingly, both of these hops are traditionally aroma hops; thus, we can guess that this will be a lightly bittered beer, with a complex aroma profile. Goldings are stereotypical hoppy aromas, mild and slightly grassy, with some spiciness; Hellertau are also mild, with more emphasis on the spiciness and a subtle floweriness.

Of course, we could have just read the second paragraph and be told all of this. "Expect this beer to be a beautiful copper-red, with a fruity ale body and a spiced hop finish."


New Glarus Snowshoe Ale
Appearance: Poured into a willi becher pint, a large, thick two-finger bright white head forms on top of a crystal-clear deep golden-amber body; lacing is extensive and the head holds very well
Aroma: a spiciness is immediately obvious, with some strong malt aromas, and subtle earthiness, all on top of hints of freshly baked pepper and rosemary bread
Flavor: tastes exactly like its aroma, where the spiciness comes through, followed by deep malts and a light breadiness; a lingering dry earthy bitterness holds the finish, almost a cracked-pepper flavor; as the beer warms up the ale fruitiness comes through more accentuating the hoppy bitterness
Body: very soft body, that pleasantly coats and lends a thickness and mouthful without adding fullness of body
Drinkability: a great beer for winter football action, it is light enough to drink in moderation, but firm enough to provide sustenance
Summary: it would be nice to see this beer offered around town on tap at local bars, it is a good slightly different competitor to Capital's Winter Skal and provides something lighter with greater repeat drinkability than Lake Louie's porter and the stouts that are typical for the winter

Our 50th Post! (New Glarus Unplugged - Smoke on the Porter)

It seems hard to believe that not that long ago the porter was virtually extinct. Before the first American craft beer movement in the late 70s (Charlie Papazian we salute you) the style was dying a long slow centuries long death.

The porter is a classicly British style. Understated and supremely drinkable it's cousins are the bitter and the brown on the lighter and sweeter side and mild and stout on the darker side. The style itself encompasses a wide range, although the Beer Judging Guidelines recognize three classifications: the brown, the robust and the baltic. The brown porter is what we typically recognize as the classic British porter: soft, low-alcohol, medium to moderate body, low-hop, strong caramel and roastiness. The robust is the typical American porter: moderate to full body, higher alcohol, moderate to high bitterness - while very similar to a stout it can be distinguished by the lower concentration on the roasted flavors in favor of higher bitterness. The final category is the Baltic porter. I would dare anyone to effectively distinguish between a Baltic porter and a stout on something other than "it was brewed in a Baltic state." Technically it has a sweeter, fruitier profile and a lower roastiness; these typically fermented on lager yeasts giving a cleaner, sharper flavor.

New Glarus does not make a porter. Dan and Deb sometimes brew a stout. They brew a bock (a lager style similar to a porter). But no porter. To my knowledge the Smoke on the Porter (BA. RB.) is the second smoked beer they have done - they did a Smoked Rye Bock back in 2005 also as part of the Unplugged series (if there are any of these floating around, please let me know - we can work something out!). They bottle says it was cold-smoked by the brewery's neighbors at Hoesley's Meats. Cold smoking is a process whereby the smoke-ee (the unmalted barley) is held at room temperature separate from, but in the same enclosed space as, the smoke-ed (applewood in this case). This is in distinction to "hot" smoking which is what you do to smoke ribs (put it on a grill over hot, smoke-generating wood). The unmalted barley thus gains the flavor but is not cooked.

Appearance: a one-inch head of creamy off-white that dissolves quickly; dark brown to almost black where it's concentrated in the glass - looks like a dark porter, but doesn't have the viscosity associated with the heavier versions of the style

Aroma: Sweet smokiness is primary; the marketing materials says this was smoked over applewood and that sort of sweetness certainly seems presents, though I wouldn't be surprised if that's just the marketing talking; but there is definitely a distinct fruitiness that could be enhanced by some subtle aroma hopping

Taste: the sweet smokiness definitely comes through in the taste, but it isn't the first thing to hit; there is some upfront caramel and roasted malts in the backbone to give depth to the smoke. the roast from the malts follows through the finish; very low bitterness

Body: A moderate to medium body that holds up well over the fullness of the taste; in fact the long finish makes this beer seem "heavier" than I think it is as the body seems surprisingly medium-ish, but the smokiness and caramel flavors add a fullness and complexity of flavor that makes it seem richer

Drinkability: eventually the smoke would get to me, but I could really drink this beer at any point in the evening; it would be nice to have on a cold night watching television (to wit: this evening), but would also go well after a long night to unwind in front of Conan O'Brien.

Summary: A nice take on the smoked beers; hoppy beers have had their run, let's try something new - a fine rauchbier frenzy would be nice; nobody would buy them except me and the other smoked beer nuts, but it would be nice. What really makes this beer shine and separates it from the Aecht Schlenkerlas is the richness and depth present throughout the flavors. Schlenkerla is nice but it is all smoke. Smoke on the Porter presents a wide range of flavors, one of which is the fruity smokiness that wafts on top of all of the flavors.

Oktoberfest #3 - Day 2 Sample A (New Glarus)

We continue our quest to try all of the commercially available Oktoberfests from Wisconsin breweries. If we can, we will try to find Oktoberfests from some of the breweries that aren't readily available here in Madison (Viking, Central Waters, Calumet, Lakefront, etc.); but we are starting with the ones that are.

The methodology is simple: blind tasting of two different Oktoberfests. In the mbr refrigerator is all of the Oktobers. One of us sets up the glasses with two random unannounced Oktobers, and another tastes without knowing which beers have been poured. Tasting notes are taken, and guesses are made as to which Oktober is being consumed. The following is those tasting notes; unedited. We try not to "rate" the beers, just to review them. Enjoy. If you have had any of these beers, please feel free to post your review in the comments.

I'll admit, today's samples baffled me. Here's some reviews from Beer Advocate and Rate Beer of New Glarus' Oktoberfest, called Staghorn. It gets, almost exclusively, really really good reviews.

There are some theories floating around though to explain many of these glowing reviews. In talking with a lot of beer folks, most seem to agree that New Glarus has an "aura" about them that raises the reviews almost uniformly. Virtually every review is over 3.5, and many top 4 (on a scale of 5). Some of the reason for this is the general unavailability of New Glarus beers. Outside of Wisconsin New Glarus is practically impossible to get a hold of. And, New Glarus is world reknown for some of their beer (e.g., the Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart). So, people think that all of their beers must be great. Something of a "since this isn't widely available, it must be good" theory of reviewing.

So, I dare some of you reading this blog who gave the Staghorn such high reviews to subject it to a blind taste test. You might be surprised. I was. Here are the notes.

Sample A (New Glarus Staghorn)

Appearance: light amber/copper; no head; crystal clear

Aroma: very light aroma; very faint yeasty/breadlike aroma; only very slight grassy hoppiness

Flavor: very faint caramel flavor, somewhat roasted and earthy, almost nutmeg; an off metallic flavor that may be the hops trying to assert themselves; flavors are very muted, almost like they were afraid of making it too sweet; the anti-sprecher

Body: thin to medium bodied and moderately carbonated, a strange metallic flavor lingers, I think it's a faint hint of hops, but it's really hard to grasp a hold of the bitterness

Drinkability: At a crowded outdoor festival, I probably wouldn't notice the metallic flavors, and it's light enough bodied that I could definitely drink a few, I'm just not sure, if I were looking for an Oktober, that this would not my standard; it's too dialed down

Summary/Notes: it's really not that bad of a beer, but it's not a bold example of the style (ed note: after I found out this was New Glarus and was surprised: the bottle, and the marketing materials suggest that this Oktober has some spices in it, and that may be what is muting the caramel flavors so much, but it still doesn't excuse the almost complete absence of hops; the flavors asserted themselves a little more as it warmed up, but still muted; this review was poured at normal refrigerator temperatures)

Guess: Point

Recommendation: If you're stuck in a bar with nothing else except macros to drink, it wouldn't be a bad choice, but there are better examples of the style out there