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!
"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than selfish and worry about my liver.'" - Jack Handy