Thursday, January 11, 2007

Beer Tasting: New Glarus Enigma


The Beer: New Glarus Enigma
Style: Fruit Beer
Reviews: Beer Advocate Rate Beer
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Packaging & Date Stamping: 12 oz. brown bottle; No date stamp

From where & how stored: Brought in October 2006 as a gift via airplane by good friend Mark from Madison, WI; stored at 42F ever since

Pricing: $x.xx

Availability: One-time offering in November 2006 as part of their annual "Unplugged" series; "Unplugged" releases planned in 2007 for February, June, November; Next up: Belgian Quadrupel

ABV, IBU, and Other Available Stats: N/A
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Bryan's Notes
The Look:
- murky brown
- what little head there is disappears quickly to creamy swirl

The Aroma:
- fresh cherries
- damp earthiness

The Taste:
- flavor not as intriguing as the aroma
- a quick punch of biting bitterness/sourness in the finish
- plum, too

The Verdict: This medium-bodied fruit beer is not as sprightly as the New Glarus Belgian Red. But, like the Red, this is more palatable when served colder. As it warms, it loses its appeal. Next up in the "Unplugged" series is a Belgian Quad due out in Feb. '07....can't wait!
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Adam's Notes
The Look:
- slightly murky brownish red
- big bubbles dissipating quickly

The Aroma:
- lovely sweet sticky malt nose
- wow what a figgy sweet nose
- after a taste I can detect the sour in the nose when swishing it around
- as I drink it I can detect a very faint vanilla

The Taste:
- watch out it's sour too
- don't let it warm too much
- less sweet sticky malt like the nose signals
- more of a cherry flavor
- think food pairing in a glass
- bread and cherry jam
- something softens the cherry, probably a vanilla note from the oak

The Verdict:
- an acquired taste
- one I would like to acquire
- still, this is for the adventurous soul

- lots of carbonation
- finish like rhubarb pie
- almost a pucker by the end of the bottle

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey guys.

What a co-inky dink. I had the opportunity to sample this beer recently.

All I can say is what a wonderful beer. Now I am a self described "Sour freak" so my opinion maybe jaded. This beer reminds me of De Dolle "Oerbier" cira 1996, before De dolle was forced to change yeast.
(The murkyness is hypnotic)

Anyway, I love reading your blog, I'm sure I run into you guys sometime in 2007.

Cheers,

Dell Massey
Spring City, PA

Adam said...

Heheh...awesome!

Well, I would have to say that sour is still a whole new world for me. I'm slowly getting acquainted with these styles.

Have you had the Belgian Red from New Glarus? Its more sour and straightforward. Overall easier to discuss. This one...well confuses me a bit. I'd love to try it again.

Anonymous said...

It's been a few years since I've had either the
Belgian Red
or
Raspberry Tart

But I'm hoping to sample both in the coming months.

-start rant-

I often compare the complexity of bitter vs the complexity of sour.

Un-like sweet and salt, bitter and sour have layers(like an onion).

I also like the idea that sour takes time. Sometimes it takes years to get sour "right".

-end rant-

Adam said...

I like that analogy. I'll keep it in mind the next time I taste a beer. Thanks.

If you get a chance, let us know how they taste. The raspberry sounds intriguing.