New Glarus Thumbprint Series Enigma
A few times a year, we will cut Dan loose to brew whatever he chooses, uncensored, uncut, unplugged. Always handcrafted, this beer is brewed for the adventurous soul. This is a very limited edition and we make no promises to ever brew this style again.
A complex and intriguing original. The mystery began with wild yeast spontaneously fermenting a rich treasure of malted barley and cherries. Unlined Oak casks breathe deep vanilla hues and chords of smoke into this sour brown ale. Our Master Brewer has forged a smooth garnet tapestry that defies description. Wander off the beaten path.
2006 vintage - 7%
2010 vintage - 5.5% (separate entry)
You can tell the vintages apart as the 2010 bottles have the © symbol to the left of the UNPLUGGED banner while the 2006 does not.
A complex and intriguing original. The mystery began with wild yeast spontaneously fermenting a rich treasure of malted barley and cherries. Unlined Oak casks breathe deep vanilla hues and chords of smoke into this sour brown ale. Our Master Brewer has forged a smooth garnet tapestry that defies description. Wander off the beaten path.
2006 vintage - 7%
2010 vintage - 5.5% (separate entry)
You can tell the vintages apart as the 2010 bottles have the © symbol to the left of the UNPLUGGED banner while the 2006 does not.
3.8
445 reviews
New Glarus, United States
Community reviews
A hazed dark reddish copper ale with a thin mocha head. In aroma, nice sweet cherry malt with light acidity, light funk, nice and smooth. In mouth, a nice sweet cherry malt with light butterscotch, coconut, light vanilla, light tropical fruit punch, surprisingly nice yet light bodied.
This is just simply a wonderful thing to drink. It is gently sour, it is zesty, it is a big happy spray on the palate and a big burst of bliss in the nose. Great, subtly restrained fruit; a perfect balance between evocative dryness and an unrealized hint of fruity sweetness (that thankfully never actually happens - - it remains dry and complex). This thing is just mystical. I call it a ’thing’, and not a ’beer’, because sometimes the word beer just gets in the way.
Aroma of tart cherries, barn yard funk, musty humid air, and baking spices. Deep redish brown color, with a thin off white head. Tart up front, with medium sweetness, followed by medium sour. Tart cherries, funky yeast, and candied sugar. Tart finish with a very slight bitterness....acidic. Thin mouthfeel. Finish is tart with acidic tones. Nice and complex.
July 28, 2015.Vintage 2015. Tasting at jtclockwork’s, thanks for sharing!
Hazy amber with a small frothy off-white head. Aroma is toffee, cherries, lemon and some sharp acetic notes.
Taste is light to medium sweet, with toffee, berries, tart apple skins, cherries and vinegar.Dry fruity finish with a light toffee sweetness. Medium bodied, average carbonation.
A bit too much acetic acid.
355 ml. split by 4 @ “Sir Goatie McGoat S&G Tasting”. Thank you Mathieu87 and/or PriorL! Pours bright red pomegranate with little white head. Nose is massively sour, harsh vinegar, very puckering, despite this, you get clear fruity notes, sour cherries. Taste is same, massively sour, vinegar, puckering but still big fruit qualities, sour cherries, pomegranate, sour puckering candy, sof carbonation. Interesting, rather harsh but also quite good with other qualities. Nice.
14 Mar 2016, bottle. label is red unlike the pictures. It has the copyright symbol but i think it is more recent than 2010. Got it in 2015. dark scarlet. nose is sweet, hints of balsamic, malty, sweet yeast. thin/med body and mildly fizzy. sweet, balsamic, banana yeast, faintly tart. nice.
Very nice stuff. Subtle and great balance. Apricot and plum with some tamarind. Pours maroon with decent head and lacing. Tangy finish. Nicely done. Bottle thanks to Arminjewell.
Bottle share. Tart, venous nature. Definite sour characteristics. Aroma and taste right in the wheelhouse.
12oz bottle. Pours a light mahogany with a creamy beige head that ends up in a ring around the glass. Sour cherry and unripe plums skins, slightly smokey and oaky presence mixed in with some caramel malt, bit of tartness, raisin, moderate carbonation and body, as it dries out on the palate you get more old cherry and as Calvin described "vomit". Apart from that taste at the end pretty yummy.
12oz bottle. Cloudy brownish red pour. Nice Flanders aroma, some cherries and wood. Taste follows with nice cherry finish. Really good stuff.
Bottle, with thanks to Mike. Clear ruby brown pour. Short lived brown head. Aroma reminds me of vanilla-spiked potpourri; some cherry (but strangely in an artificial cherry juice kind of way, which isn’t what I’m used to from New Glarus, even in their excellent, sweet fruit beers). Fruit leather, hints of smoke. Somewhat vegetal. Taste is moderately sweet with present but restrained tartness. Syrupy texture, medium+ body, soft carbonation. Overall: a rare miss.
Bottle shared thanks roger. Flanders red in all its glory. Cherry and or other dark fruit with some oak on the back end full sour on the nose. The flavor is amazing dark cherries dark fruit oaky wood lots of sour but not enough to pucker. Balanced so wonderfully. Could drink many of these.
355ml bottle enjoyed @ home, thanks to nofunsally. Pours murky reddish brown with an off-white head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is cherries, plums, apples, raisins, wet wood, vinegar, leather, vanilla and honey. Flavour is sour and medium sweet. Medium bodied, oily texture, fizzy carbonation. Finish is tart, light acidic, dry and dark dried fruits.
light beige head. murky red brown colour. aroma is pickles, sourish, rotten wood, glue, lactic acid. taste like aroma, quite good sweet sour balance. rather dense mouthfeel, soft carbonation. bottle
Bottle at home. Pours a murky brown, head flashes and dissipates quickly. Aroma is dried red fruits, leather, light vinegar, a bit funky. Taste is rasin, leather, dried fruits, faint vinegar, a bit of woody notes. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Decent, but not really my favorite in this style.
Deep ruby and clearish. Aroma iberry , vinegar. Flavors are rich berries, vanilla, tart, very smooth, slightly funky but s delicious beer. Thanks adam, love me some ng
12-oz, capped, foiled. Pours a murky dark brown with a creamy but thin tan head. Big sweet nose, showing a nice combination of balsamic, berries, stone fruit, and a hint of red wine vinegar. Tart, sweet, and complex. Creamy medium body with soft carb. Berries, stone fruit, and vinegars return on the mid palate, along with a bit of woodiness. Strong biting tart finish.
second time I have had this. Better than ever. Better than a flanders. Hold this up of what sour can do.
This is from a 2010 Unplugged bottle I found in the back of the fridge. Muddy dark amber color with a small beige head. Nose of tart cherries. The flavor is dominated by the tart cherries with some wet oak and a bit of moldy earth. I don’t get any smoke out of this. I’m not a fan of sour beers but this one is okay. Now I’m curious if it is any different fresh.
Draft. Opaque brown with thin light tan head and some lacing. Sour plum aroma. Sweet malt with sour apple, plum, and caramel in the finish.
Dark reddish brown with no head. The aroma is cherry, apple, smoke and Worcestershire. The flavor has got some toasty and slightly smokey malt, but turns nicely sour with some cherry and oak.
Brown, almost amber color with huge bubbles and nice effervescence. Head dissipates quickly. Smell is somewhat metallic, sour, and oak notes also. Taste initially is a great sourness that turns into a faint oak presence that could almost be seen as a sherry type taste as it lingers. 4/10
Cherry Rhubarb Barbecue sauce with a prickly terriyaki twang. Nice mouthfeel and a funkily confuzzling nose. a WTF if not an Enigma. Smoked Flanders? wut is dis. Hard to compare to anything, definitively a new glarus beer, but not as delicious as most of their standards.
Bottle from Ryan at Kickback. Pours a clear reddish brown. Holy mix of flavors. Aroma of pear and apple. Taste is cherry and raisin with sourness in there. Well balanced tartness. Really lovely beer.
Reddish brown with a light tan head. Tangy fruity aroma. Tart flavors with just a hint of cherry. Sourness is present but not overwhelming. A bit of nutty malt flavor. Lingering sourness on finish. Really nice.
Bottle to snifter (shared with the Mrs; thanks adnielsen). Looks good; a very cloudy amberish caramel with off-white head that quickly dissipates into very thin lacing. Smells semi-sweet and mildly tart with a nice cherry presence alongside mild notes of oak. Tastes like it smells with a bit more tartness and a pleasant medium-bodied mouthfeel. Enjoyable.
12oz bottle in a taster. Pours deep amber/brown with an off-white head. Aroma of sourness, some cherries, light oak, some pale and caramel malts, and some floral notes. Flavor the same with a nice blend. Average texture. A solid beer.
July 2, 2015 - bottle. Brown pour with nice head and lacing. Aroma was sour, fruity, oak and malt. Taste was a nice balance of the flavors from the aroma. Did not expect much of this and was pleasantly surprised.
Slight pickle smell. Slight apple taste almost like Serendipity and a slight sourness. It’s like a cross between their Apple Ale, their Wild Sour, and maybe Serendipity.
Bottle shared. Pours hazy red amber with a short lived tan head. Aroma of tart red fruit, soft vinegar, light vinous notes, light oak and some sweet malt. Flavour is moderate sweet and sour. Medium bodied with very soft carbonation.