New Glarus Tail Wagger

Formerly brewed at New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

RBSG 07 Minneapolis Grand Tasting: Copper color, light head and lacing. Nose of bright grassy vanilla and caramel. Lots of alcohol and sweet fruity hop. The flavor is nice. Finishes balanced. Oh well.

Thanks to Lumpy for this bottle, unfortunately I can’t remember what year this one’s from. Pours a hazy reddish copper with a tiny off-white head. Aroma of caramel, plums, pears, wood and just a pinch of sherry. Sweet taste with a lot of caramel and dried fruits, some hop pungent planty hop flavor, woody on the back of the throat. Uh oh, now I’m picking up more medicinal perfumy type flavors, but they’re mild. There’s something kinda spicy about it, like cinnemon or ginger, but slightly more acidic. Finishes with a mellow roasty flavor, brown sugar, mild (but present) bitterness, and it’s pretty hot. Actually, it’s hot overall. Kind of on the lighter side for the style but still comes across as creamy and slick, slightly viscous and sticky. Pretty decent beer to me, but it doesn’t really have a strong identity.

Date: 09/04/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Roadtrip

clear amber, whispy head, rich sweet candy carmel aroma with light floral hops, sweet carmel malt flavor, starts to get a bit sticky after a while, light fruit character begins to emerge

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Wierd. Aroma is almost unpleasant and mediciny at first, and then carmel and floral notes come through as it warms. Same with the taste -- DO NOT drink this cold...you’re missing out on all of the complex flavors at work here.

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Golden brwon with a light tan head. Brown sugar, light molasses and some fruit. Caramel is bigger in the flavor than in the nose.

Thanks to Badgerben for this one, I think. Pours hazy amber with hints of caramel. Fairly thick looking. The aroma is at first smelly. Perhaps a bit vegetal. However that fades as the brew warms and it shows through with some caramel, ripe citrus fruit, orange candy and honey (maybe some kind of spiciness too). The flavor is unusual. Sweet caramel with orange. There is some sulfur or other off flavor but it is light and less noticeable as it warms. A bit of wood and some unidentifiable spice. Medium, metallic semi dry mouth feel. Hint of cardboard. Not bad, but possibly heading down hill. Hope the case I purchased holds up.

12oz bottle, courtesy of artusory (for no particular reason). Thanks, Ryan!! Pours a clear, orangish-amber color with protein aggregates out the wazoo; head quickly disappears. Dense, dried red fruit and slightly medicinal aroma; candy sugar, integrated hop presence. Very chewy, dense mouthfeel: intense candy sugar and dried fruits; full malty core with a nicely integrated citrus bitterness; red fruits show most prominently, with some oxidation present. Lengthy, candy sugar and dried red fruits in the finish.

Bottle from Styles. Tons of caramel in the aroma with some hints of raisin. Copper in color. Medium body. The taste follows the aroma with a good dose of hops--much more than I expected anyway. Good stuff.