New Glarus Tail Wagger

New Glarus Tail Wagger

Barley Wines are big beers! In fact this is the strongest beer we have ever brewed for our friends here in Wisconsin. This beer is "malt accented" so we searched the world and found the richest, most expensive barley varieties we could find. We bought the best barley available not only here in the United States but in Belgium, Germany and Scotland. You can thank Scottish farmers for growing Golden Promise barley because we used bushels of it in this beer to yield a full and rich flavor. We sourced hops from the United States and Germany but again turned to the UK for our signature hop, "East Kent Golding". This ale is fermented in this bottle and is suitable for laying down. It is so strong that we guess it will continue to improve for years!
3.7
184 reviews
New Glarus, United States

Community reviews

4.0 2005 bottle shared by Indra. Pours a dark golden orange with a creamy beige skin. The nose is of fruity hops over a solid malt backing: pineapple, apple and caramel malt. Medium to full-bodied with assertive carbonation and a mildly bitter finish. The flavor is a round, sweet, honey-like malt with a fruity hop backing. An interestingly different barley wine. Thanks for the opportunity to try this one, Eric.
3.7 12oz from motortoddhead. Thanks Todd! Amber color. Easy to drink. Lightly sweet. No oxidation despite being retired. Very good.
3.8 Cloudy amber with a lot of sediment, very small off-white head. Big malt nose, caramel, plum, and soft milk chocolate in the finish. Very enjoyable, a touch of alcohol shows, but very smooth all around.
3.8 Bottle shared by BrianK, thanks again brother. Pours adark brown amber body. Sweet chewy but not viscous sugarplum, orange, and a bit of saline. Scotch and raisin with a moderate warming of ethanol sugar. Solid beer that has aged well. Very smooth and warming.
3.9 12oz via trade a ways back and I put this in the fridge probably a month ago and felt like the right time to open it. Pours orange with a tan ring. Nose is sweet and restrained, but nice. Taste is sweet and hoppy and overall tasty. This is a damn nice BW, with some complexity and no ill aftertaste. They need to bring this back and make it more regularly.
3.9 Courtesy of Gillard. Pours hazy copper with thin white head. The aroma is yummy dark fruity esters along with sticky sludgy malty sweetness and a sense of alcohol. The taste is sweet and chewy maltiness to start followed by some prunes and stewed raisins. In the background I get a modest level of muted pine hop bitterness trying to be noticed over the din of malts. This has a nice mix of notes creating a pleasing barleywine.
3.3 12 oz. into Duvel tulip. Pours with a quickly dissipating head; nice amber brown with ruby highlights in the glass. Smells like brown sugar, sugar cane, and maybe some cracker (saltine) with the slightest hint of alcohol. Not as full bodied as I like my barley wines, but full flavored: some overripe prunes, syrupy golden raisin, very sweet (but not syrupy because the texture is too light). Good and enjoyable, but like many New Glarus beers, a little held-back. They are very good at lighter styles, but never go all-out enough on the bigger ones.
4.4 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.
3.5 12oz bottle. Poured an orangish/brown color, very litte head. Typical malty barlywine scent, very nice. Malty sweet flavor, smooth finish.
3.7 2 year old bottle thanks to 1faststi. Clear amber with a slight beige head. Aroma is malty oxidation, a little dough, slightly alc. Doughy flavor with a little alc, maple syrup and boozy. Medium body and syrupy. A pretty nice Barleywine.
3.4 Bottle courtesy tpd975. Pours a hazy copper with a small white head. Aroma of sweet malt, caramel, and alcohol. Taste is sweet malt, caramel, and light fruit. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Good.
3.5 12oz bottle had at last weekend’s tasting.... reddish-orange brown pour with a thin soapy white head... ripe dark fruit and an excessive amount of sweet malt. somewhat papery... biscuity malt, sweet caramel and less dark fruit flavors, and slightly spices. a little oxidized. decent mouthfeel and still pretty drinkable.
3.4 12oz bottle. forgot who brought this one. pours amber with white head. oxidized bready nose. flavor notes are bready, nutty, oxidized, caramel. a bit thin. hasn’t aged great but it is still good.
3.8 Bottle courtesy of tpa975. Pours copper, loaded with floating sediments. Taste was very sweet (malt) and little hints of hops and some fruits Abv was present but remained highly enjoyable. I am liking New Glarus more and more.
4.1 Released October 2005. This review is it with a couple years on it. I seem to have lost my original review. Nice copper color with an off-white head that retains around the glass and leaves bits of lacing. Smell is quite nice; giving me whiffs of pineapple, caramel, toffee, a little dark fruit, and perhaps some brown sugar. Some definite signs of oxidation setting in; some nice pineapple and caramel join in to keep this one enjoyable. Perhaps a bit past its prime, but definitely still good. Medium carbonation, medium-full body; slightly sticky on the tongue. This is still a good sipping beer that I’m enjoying whilst the snow is falling outside. If you have any left, I’d recommend you give a bottle a try soon to determine whether you want to age it any longer (depends on what flavors you like in your barley wines).
4.1 Clear copper body supports a small and creamy looking beige head that falls into some patchy lace. Aroma opens with malty toffee and molasses, followed up by citrusy pineapple and orange. Hoppy spruce and some herbal notes are also there. Thick and chewy on the palate. Taste has toffee, rum soaked tropical fruits, a note of Calvados, and some smooth,alcohol, yumminess. Very American in style and an absolute winner.
3.4 5-28-08 bottle thanks to Miketd! Medium amber red pour with short lived head. Floral alcohol smell. Flavor is alcohol and nearly burns the throat it is so strong. Average palate. Overall, sweet heavy alcohol but yet it isn’t too terribly offensive.
3.6 Big thanks to miketd for bringing this down for a tasting and leaving it even though we didn’t get to it. Pours a rich, thick amber with no lasting head. Smell is caramel, sweet malt, and alcohol. Some aged mellow, caramel flavor with a mild hoppiness. A bit nutty, fruity, and syrupy. Pretty good barley wine.
3.9 Thanks to Badgerben for trading me this New Glarus retired beer. Pours a hazy caramel amber brew with a thin off-white head that quickly dissipates to a fine film and thin white and bubbly ring. Aroma of powdered caramel malt, some raisin, red licorice, a touch of citrus zest and some herbal spice. Taste is semi-sweet, very light carbonation with flavors of sweet caramel, raisins, and plenty of alcohol character. Finish is semi-sweet, some citrus and brown sugar aftertaste and plenty of alcohol warmth. Nicely aged for a two year old barley wine.
4.0 Pours mahogany with a thin white head. Smells of caramel, citrus, tea, earth. Tastes of caramel, some resiny hints, lots of sweetness, some raisins. Mouthfeel is velvety with a finish that is sweet with a touch of alcohol. This has mellowed out nicely!
3.5 Thanx to JJPM for this.This was a nice above average BW.Reminded me of a more mellow OldStock.Copper color with virtually no head.Sweet nose of caramel and malts.Flavor was caramel sweet and quite easy to drink.Finished off semi sweet with a small warming.
3.4 Courtesy of Dragonstout. Pours a translucent brown with no head. Tastes of medicinal alcohol, sweet fruit, and woody notes. Finishes with a bitter alcohol bite. Palate is sweet and sticky.
3.4 Pours a pale orange with a smallish white head. Aroma is sweet orange, alcohol, caramel maltiness, somewhat floral and vegetal. Flavor is moderately sweet, maple, caramel, herbal, light metallic and a bit of alcohol. Oily slick texture, low carbonation. Long sweet finish.
3.5 On Tap at Roman’s. Poured a orange brown, with a decent tan head. Aroma of hops and malts. Taste was heavy hops and malts, leaning towards the malt sweetness. Decent on the palate, smooth and a bit thick. This is ok to have one of, but I wouldn’t drink it too often. Decent.
3.8 Had an orance color with aroma of hopps, light malt, and grass. Tastes covered most hops and had a warm sensation going down. Also a bit of citrus in the taste. Not a bad brew. Would buy again if it wasn’t retired.
2.2 The beer poured out a syrupy golden brown without a lot of head. It smelled hoppy and sweet. The flavor was very hoppy with sweet and malty aftertones. It felt syrupy and smooth in my mouth. It’s a nice beer to sip on once in a while, but isn’t one of my favorites I will try one more of the 5 or 6 I have left again for a second opinion.
3.9 12oz bottle acquired in trade with OhioDad (thanks!). Poured a deeper and lightly hazy orangish / amber color wtih a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, raisins, plums, smoke and I was getting a woody / peat as well. Tastes of dark fruits, caramel, fruity, some citrus, and some candi sugar sweetness. Smooth and creamy body. Alcohol content well hidden.
3.6 RBSG 07 Minneapolis Grand Tasting: Copper color, light head and lacing. Nose of bright grassy vanilla and caramel. Lots of alcohol and sweet fruity hop. The flavor is nice. Finishes balanced. Oh well.
3.5 Thanks to Lumpy for this bottle, unfortunately I can’t remember what year this one’s from. Pours a hazy reddish copper with a tiny off-white head. Aroma of caramel, plums, pears, wood and just a pinch of sherry. Sweet taste with a lot of caramel and dried fruits, some hop pungent planty hop flavor, woody on the back of the throat. Uh oh, now I’m picking up more medicinal perfumy type flavors, but they’re mild. There’s something kinda spicy about it, like cinnemon or ginger, but slightly more acidic. Finishes with a mellow roasty flavor, brown sugar, mild (but present) bitterness, and it’s pretty hot. Actually, it’s hot overall. Kind of on the lighter side for the style but still comes across as creamy and slick, slightly viscous and sticky. Pretty decent beer to me, but it doesn’t really have a strong identity.
3.1 Date: 09/04/2006 Mode: Bottle Source: Roadtrip clear amber, whispy head, rich sweet candy carmel aroma with light floral hops, sweet carmel malt flavor, starts to get a bit sticky after a while, light fruit character begins to emerge Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20 Rating: 3.1/5.0 Drinkability: 7/10 Score: **/4