New Glarus Spotted Cow

Brewed by New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Cream Ale
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

Want to pound beer after beer after beer...This is the stuff. Nice cloudy color, excellent on a hot day. No weird flavors just good well balanced easy drinking beer And the label is great too, just as all New Glarus beers are.

Late 2005 bottle from StewardofGondor, consumed on 5/30/06.
Very fruity nose, but not your typical fruits. Here I get mainly banana, nectarine and light peach, the banana being the strongest. The fruits are smooth, probably smoothed out by the flaked barley, which creates a soothing effect on the nose, but yet keeps things dry and does have a little hint of graininess on the end. I don’t find any of the corn, at least in the nose. Some vanilla hints from yeast biproduct and a nice zesty dryness on the end, thanks to some lightly bitter hops, that add a very mild citrus. Almost feel like I find some bubble gum and other esters, but I’m not sure.
The flavor is reserved, with the smoothness from the flaked barley keeping things soft in the mouth, and dry, but still a touch of moderately chewy graham crackers, with a light drizzle of lemon-flecked honey. Corn does not seem to provide much flavor, but there is a light sharpness that could be attributed to it. Nectarine notes and pale sugars build up slightly, but the yeast is rather dull and blanding, with a fair amount of water in the wort keeping things somewhat loose.
Bottle conditioned, but attempting to leave the yeast behind provides a glowing unripened peach body with strong straw tints. Head is fizzy and fully dissipating, being composed of large bubbles, light canteloupe in color. Another session beer from New Glarus and certainly well brewed and drinkable.

Pours a hazy light golden with a small eggshell head. Aroma of sweet malts, grain, and corn. taste is more corny and grain than anything else, just a little bit of sweet malts in the finish. A little tartness halfway through. Good for what is, but cream ales just aren’t that interesting.

Thanks to TannerTavernBoys for sharing this one. Pour is hazy yellow with a white head. Not a very strong aroma, mainly light malt with some cream and something odd I can’t put my finger on. Taste has a lemon cream and is medium bodied with a frothy carbonation. There is also so pale malt husk taste in there. Fairly boring beer, but no offensive.

Pale lager flavor with the body of an ale. Somewhat grainy consistency, flavors of pale malts and corn. Unassuming hops back it up. All of this may sound like a knock on this beer, but for what this beer is, it is pretty damn good. An unassuming, easy to drink pale lager style beer with body and charachter. Solid.

Bottle... Murky, yellow ale. Citrusy, herbal nose with notes of lemon, corn and fuzzy fruits. Decently-balanced flavor... maybe a whisper on the sweet side. A tad tart. Light to medium-bodied and almost creamy with moderate carbonation. Short, crisp, clean finish. Refreshing. Thanks go out to my lifelong friend Shawn for the brew and excellent conversation.

I’m pretty sure I had this last year at Wakarusa. I got it from some hippie vendors from WI. Light gold color, plenty of floaties. Aroma is light and yeasty. Taste is light with some bitterness and/or pleasant sourness. The finish is mildly fruity. Not bad for the style, but a weak style to be sure.

I had heard of this beer often and finally tasted it. Big letdown. There was absolutely nothing special about it. Hazy amber with a weak white head, there was no appreciable aroma. Maybe some citrus, modicum of malt. Weak and watery in the mouth. The flavor was lackluster. More in the class of a PBR or BMC.