New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

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

What can I say? This beer is in it’s own class. It has the fruit of a lambic laid over the rich maltiness and yeastiness of a classic belgian style ale. I even detect a bit of bitter hops to balance the cherry sweet & sour notes. This is probably the best beer brewed in Wisconsin and rivals finest from Belgium, the UK or Michigan. If I could reimagine it to my own perfection it would have a tad more alcohol kick near the finish, but that’s quibbling with perfection.

Pours out a lively ruby red. Smell of tart but sweet cherries. Tastes like cherry cider. Very tart, semi sweet with a wonderful bitter kick at the end. Enjoyed this beer with my dad on Easter morning. What a great beer.

Thanks to boboski for opening this brew. Pours a clear blood red with white head. Smells like sugar soaked sweet cherries simmering over the stove. Wow! Awesome aroma. Freshly picked perfectly ripe cherries. The flavor starts with hints of tartness and sour yeast that quickly get consumed by sweet and tart ripe cherries fresh from the cherry tree. It gets sweeter and sweeter and richer and richer before some sourness comes back into play. Great tasting brew. Wow! Thanks Jason.

I don’t even like cherries. So much like liquid candy, so easy. This is a dangerous brew, and one more reason I’m glad I don’t live in Wisconsin. Nose is ripe fruit, cherries (surprise!), and something like sour gummy bears. It’s acidic and thick in the mouth, like a soda. Flavor is tart, fruity, and wonderful. This is what fruity sodas aspire to be.

Pours a unclear murky dusty burnt faded red with a thick creamy light red froth on top, looks delicious. Aroma of very juicy cherries, similar to black cherries, simple yet fresh and enticing. First taste is acidic followed immediately by tart and ever so juicy sour cherries, this stuff is sooo tasty Im trying to gulp it. It really tastes like a cherry capri sun and the yeast adds that pie crust like effect. Long acidic finish. The body is excellent and very appropriate, not sticky nor syrupy, just enough consistency, more of a blend between soda and juice. ooo haha this might be one of the only beers Ill ever drink cold.

750ml bottle. Hugely anticipated beer for me. How exciting. Pours a sunburnt orange red color with ample carbonation and a pretty pink head. I just smiled when I smelled this. I don’t really feel the need to describe the aroma, just because it would be about 15 positive adjectives followed by the word ’cherry’. Suffice to say this is a 10 on aroma. Taste is the same. I really don’t get much more from the taste or aroma than cherry, but that does not make it any less complex or interesting than I expected. I simply cannot see how a better flavor or smell could be extracted from a fruit. Great balance between tartness and sweetness. This just goes to show how much other fruit beers suck. Amazing.

I am not usually a fan of fruit beers, however.... this is something special. The aroma quickly transports you into a cherry orchard on a perfect summer morning. pours slightly cloudy red with a thin head. Flavor is cherry of all varieties; sweet, sour, etc., but also includes the other characteristics found in good belgian ales. This was a very balanced beer. My Christmas present came early when I discovered a family member who travels to Wisconsin on a regular basis. We now have a standing order.

Tasted in tribute to the great Michael Jackson who passed on today. He was one of my greatest heros. He rated New Glarus Belgian Red as one of the top ten beers in America in 2002: http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-001726.h A great beer for a great man. Bottle from iowaherkeye in June 2007. Pours a deep cloudy red color with a hint of brown. No head, but finely carbonated with a microbubble splash eminating from the pour. Aroma is of a malted cherry cheesecake, and oak deceptively combining to allude to cinnamon. Aaah, a beer so pleasant in aroma in need not be consumed. No! It must be consumed. The taste is mild, lightly carbonated, and at the same time very flavorful. A masterfully brewed beer with high residual sweetness, so the taste of cherries is complete. Easy to drink. Perfect to pair with many foods. Aaahhh. Pleasure.