New Glarus Tail Wagger

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

I really don’t know what a perfect beer is but I figured this is as close to one as I’ve found. The beer is brass colored and seems to even look metallic in the glass. It forms a golden head, that lingers as a rind. The aroma starts slow but expands to plums, toffee, brandy and cognac. Vanilla is prominent. maybe even fine rum. Creamy on the palate. It languishes and loiters evolving into more complex esters of grapes and pears. This is a sipper for sure. A Bigfoot it is not. The hops are there, but balanced expertly by the caramel of the malt. Maybe it was the perfect fall day. Maybe it is the beer. I choose the latter.

Surprisingly mild sweet nose - slight head - medium carbination - dark amber color - heavy complex flavor with a slight syrupy feel (I was not expecting this due to the very mild nose). Some alchohol presence, but not overwhelming. Bitter and malty finish. Overall an excellent brew.

Pours thick syrup red with a thin gray head that rings my glass with an island of foam in the middle. There is a lot of booze in the nose, but so much else also. Apricot, cherries, chocolate, caramel, toffee, blue berries, all play together nicely. Lemon toffee flavor hit me first then a magnificent mixture of dark fruit and vanilla with a nut note. I am reminded of old numbskull as I drink this, and that is a compliment in my book. Incredible sweet flavors but not cloying, there is a fantastic bitter balance here that is citrus and floral with a touch of wood. A nice sipper to contemplate life the universe and everything with. A grape cola flavor is present in the finish. Lots of raisin in the flavor too. I need to slow down my thought process and quiet myself down and I can feel this working. Wow, this leaves some legs down the side of my glass. A nice peach flavor emerges in this the chocolate is coming through well too. This is the kind of barley wine I like. Ap-4 ar-10 tas-9 pal-5 ov-19

12 oz bottle courtesy of The_Enemy. This beer pours to a slightly hazy, deep golden to light amber color, with a tight white head that fades, and a moderate carbonation. The nose on this beer is excellent, with lots of good malt aromas of fresh baked bread, caramel, and toffee. The palate is slightly slick on the tongue with really outstanding sweet malt, toffee, and fresh bready malt flavor. This beer finishes with those fantastic malt flavors up front, then ends with enough hop bitterness to cut the sweet malt character, and some warming alcohol that lingers. Outstanding barleywine from one of Wisconsin’s elite craft brewers.

Nice fine creamy thick full head, with lots of lace. Very clear copper color. Fragrant malty hop nose. Vineous, caramely bittersweetm with no apparent alcohol except on the finish. Had it on draft at the Bodega downtown La Crosse which is gone now, but they still have bottles.

From the bottle, with many thanks to Winter Secret Santa "07, pours an opaque reddish brown with some visible sediment. Smells of deliciously sweet malts and alcohol. My rating got interrupted by too many phone calls, and this beer could not taste any sweeter. Malts abound, with a perfect balance of alcohol to even out the taste. Notes of candy sugar and brown sugar, really just about perfect for a barley wine. Thick but not too heavy, this is what a barley wine should taste like.

Enormous thanks to Cletus for reuniting me with the beer that convinced me that Barley Wines weren’t all hot alcoholic messes. This poured strangely clear with tons of floaties, a beautiful brilliant red color with a nice head. Aroma has a good caramel maltiness and a bit of alcohol, and some apple. The flavor still has some nice hops in there surprisingly enough, with a nice cherry and caramel, alcohol is there but it is very well balanced. I hope the Iced barley wine is this good aged. This stuff is exquisite.

bottle. This, to me is what a Barley wine should be. Sweet ethereal notes of vanilla, syrup, malt and alcohol. Very well-balanced brew with a rock-candy element to go with the vast malt, light hop and deep alcohol flavors. Finish lingers as a fine after-dinner port, syrupy and satisfying.