I have been looking forward to trying this beer. I have heard good things about it. This past weekend my wife and I went to Wisconsin to visit family and I had a chance to pick up a 12 pack.
Pours a pale golden color with a cloudy haziness. Half inch head of fluffy foam head. Head dissipates quickly leaving a thin layer on top.
Nice lacing.
Aroma is nice a refreshing. I get a bit of citrus maybe lemon, and a maltiness.
Taste is really well balanced on this beer. I am getting a sweet lemon that is relatively mellow, but works well with the malts. I am also getting a bit of spice. Very subtle, but it is on the back end. This beer is really creamy. I get a bit of dryness on the backend.
The mouth feel on this beer is perfect. It has a creamy feel while still being light and refreshing. Low to medium carbonation.
Overall this beer lives up to the hype. It is really enjoyable. I would sum up this beer by saying it reminds me of a pale ale mixed with a Belgium ale. Try one, you won't be disappointed!
A week after visiting New Glarus I finally decided to crack open the first beer that I bought while on the brewery hop. This is New Glarus's flagship beer and probably my favorite of the different varieties I have tried to this point. You might think this review will be biased but the beer is good, period.
Poured the beer into my Spotted Cow glass I picked up on the brewery hop. It had a half finger white foamy head, with little retention and lacing.
The aroma hints of lemon (lemongrass?) with something sweet in there. Maybe the malts and/or the yeast.
Holy udders: surprise of creaminess, sweet malt, and a touch of hops to cut through the sweetness. Really nicely balanced beer.
The amount of carbonation in the glass seems a lot less than that to the palate. No matter, it doesn't take away from the beer. This is a light beer, some may say possibly watery, but that is what the beer is: a summer beer that just flat out is crisp, clean, and easy to swallow.
This is a refreshing beer that I could session anytime on a hot, humid summer day in Chicagoland. If you try anything from New Glarus, make sure it is Spotted Cow! Going down to the basement frig for seconds. Yum!
"Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer." - Dave Barry