New Glarus Apple Ale

Brewed by New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

2005 bottle from Robertsreality, who hooked me up! Pours a thick looking orange-marmalade and light amber tinted color, with a rapidly dissipating, bubbly yellow head. Plenty of bubbles line the sides of the glass (in the liquid). Leaves a thick film as I drink (half way between lacing and cider legs). I can’t decide if I liked the aroma or the flavor better, but man were they incredible. Fresh cinnamon, wonderful, fresh ripe, juicy sweet red apple skins and pulp. Light tart notes. Fresh apple crisp baking in the oven, all the way! Flavor keeps up the cinnamon/nutmeg and huge apple flavor, though it dosent kill you with sweetness. Wheat notes help add dry balance, lightly sour and tart, moderate to low acidity and a very low carbonation for all of the bubbles in this. More mushy apples, nice and sugary but it just never gets cloying or syrupy, probably thanks to the spicy/cinnamon flavor. It almost tastes like smoke or roast for a fleeting moment. Awesome stuff. I don’t like the New Glarus Raspberry or Red, go figure.

Poured a clear reddish-brown color with a quickly diminishing head. Looked and tasted much like apple cider, and the carbonation was even similar. This hint that this is still beer is the light-to-medium malt backbone. I am not a huge fan of fruit beers, but this was a very good example of the style.

04.30.05 Thanks to Facto for this 12oz bottle. There’s something about adding apples to anything that gives it that characteristic brownish-rust color, and this one is no exception. Smaller head fades quickly. Aroma is all apples and maybe some hints of honey or maybe apples caramelized and mascerated with sugar. Whatever, it smells sweet and tastes even sweeter. Huge apple goodness with plenty of tart apple cider and even a ciderish oxidation, kind of metallic like the brown spots on a bruised fruit. It’s a bit hard for me to find the beer in this stuff, as it’s mostly fruit, but it’s so lip smacking fantastic. lighter hints of butter and white sugar, as with an apple pastry. Why is it so hard for other brewers to make a good fruit beer while New Glarus has the midas touch with the stuff? Thanks a million for this one, Matt!

Thanks to lamas (via StewardofGondor) for the bottle. 12 oz. bottle. Pours a nice copper tone; looks like apple juice. Head fizzles away very quickly leaving a tiny ring of white lace. Aroma isn’t overpowering, but there is a nice apple scent and even a touch of cinnamon. Very sweet and finishes tart. Leaves a nice apple aftertaste. I can’t imagine a better tasting apple beer, but the fact that I’m not in love with this beer makes me think that apples and beer don’t mix.

Pours a dark copper color with a ring of white lace. Good aroma of apples and bananas. Good flavor of apples, bananas, malt and barley sugar.

A warm copper pour with a small layer of off-white head. A wonderful play between carmelly sweetness and tart apple in the nose, with some wonderful forest-in-fall aromas. Remarkably nice. Sweet apple predominates in the taste, but a pleasant malty base makes it clear this is still beer. Palate is surprising and very different. In spite of the sweetness, it has a crisp enough finish to avoid cloying stickiness. The sweet Auslese of beer. Thanks hezron, for a chance to taste this before it’s all gone...

Rusty nail/copper colored with a weak head that fizzed off quickly. Banana, and appleseed aroma. Hefe yeast? I couldn’t find anything on the website about it, so who knows... Taste is like banana nut muffins with a side of apple sauce, a bit too sweet for me, I like my fruit Beers on the tangy side better. It did remind me of a defunct Québec Beer that I used to love, Hopps aux pommes from Brasal.

(Bottle) Pours a dark, cloudy amber body with a thin, almonde coloured head. Nose of apple Slush Puppy. Very pitted, banana flavour with a sweet malt base. A tad syrup and artificial. Not my style but very good none the less. Many thankis to Muzzlehatch for sharing this at the 1st Annual Ciderwinder Tasting in Ottawa...