New Glarus Thumbprint Series Wild Sour Ale
Naturally soured by farm valley winds blowing wild yeast into our oak casks. Finally, after a year and a half of patient coaxing Wisconsin dark malts whirl in a kaleidoscope of cedar, caramel, and tart green plum exuberance. Available to the exclusive few who travel off the beaten paths, this is authentic Wisconsin sour brown ale. Truly unique this Sour Ale is brewed for those who live on the wild side and is suitable for laying down or consuming immediately, serve at 40-45 degrees F.
3.9
264 reviews
New Glarus, United States
Community reviews
Amber color with a modest sized beige head. Aromas abound, with light yeast, oak, hops, spices, cherries, berries and toasted malt. Hints of sweet malt in front. Middle fills with currants, oak and more toasted malt. Fairly dry in the finish, but still light flavors linger to welcome you back. 7/13
12oz bottle pours out a copper brownish topped with a sand head. Nose is sour tartness light cherries and barrel. Taste is more of the fruit sour tart notes plum and a nice sweetness.
Shared 2012 12 oz. bottle poured to a snifter showing a clear amber color, with off white/light tan foam, and dots & dashes of lacing. The nose started with a light vegetal hint, then dried fruit, a little wine, oak, and caramel sweetness. Medium bodied, with tingling carbonation, the taste was similar notes and tartness, with a finishing dryness.
2013 bottle at Muckfest VI. Pours clear amber to copper with no head. Aroma of malt, caramel and cider vinegar. Malty and caramelly flavor with tamarind character before a sour finish.
Bottle: Poured a reddish color ale with a medium size off-white foamy head with OK retention and light lacing notes. Aroma of vinous notes with some oak and sour notes also perceptible. Taste is a nice mix between some vinous notes with some oak and tart notes. Some light residual sugar notes can also be detected. Body is quite full with good carbonation. Good sour that is closer to a Flander Red that a wild ale. A bit overrated in my opinion.
[ bottle ][ 6oz ][ @tasting ][ $ ? ][ snifter ][ 10.25.15 ]
hazy chestnut with thin cream head. Lightly vanilla cream nose, brown sugar hints amid some cherry acetic and sweet oatmeal. Thin metallic front palate, more sweetness alongside the cherry acetic mid, sticky empty oak finish, lightly oily and pretty thin, light tea-leaf in the watery end.
[ 10.25 Sour Red / Brown Tasting Rankings ]
01. Tired Hands Guillemot Nebula (b1)
02. Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura
03. F&M Manu Negru
04. Tired Hands Guillemot Vanilla
05. Sante Farmhouse Noir
06. New Glarus Thumbprint Sour Wild
07. OEC Malefactus Citrus
08. Anchorage Between the staves
09. Block 15 Belmont Station 15 Anniversary
10. Night Shift Funk’d Porter
11. Block 15 Enchantment
12. OEC Malefactus Wine
13. De Garde Lee Kriek
14. De Garde Vin Lee
15. De Garde Loak
Very tasty. Pretty sweet though. Almost so sweet it is over baring to the rest of it.
Murky copper color with a medium head. Sour blackberry aroma. Kiwi. Sweet caramel, big malt flavor. Super fruit character. Dark stone fruit, cherry, kiwi. Very smooth, low carbonation, full body. Just glorious.
Bottle, from a non-ratebeerian trade. Thanks Mary!
Poured into Trillium glass, drunk at home, 14th November 2015, Danko pre-baby born bash evening one.
Looks like dark cherries complimenting dark malts. Lacing diminishes. Lovely farmyard funk barnyard aroma, wood resin, sweet ripe cherries. Taste is cherries, soft malts, treacle, acid, funk, wood resin, sweet malts, puckering sourness. It’s aged nicely and is a great way to start a special event. - Note the microbes are a bit too prominent for me and I don’t like that as much.
12oz bottle thanks to the Duke. Pours a murky red brown, minimal/no head. Aroma is tart cherry, prune, champagne yeast, grape, berry, lacto. Flavor is light vinegar, cherry, fairly heavy sour. A beauty.
Bottle. Dirty mahogany with a beige head that mostly fades. Slightly sour strawberries, grapefruit, wheat, tart cherries, slightly musky, apple skin, moderate carbonation and body, tart with a light funk, dries out on the palate as things finish up.
Smells like a sour. Medium carbonation with a semi-foamy mouthfeel. Taste is sour, green apple, and white grape. Short sour aftertaste.
Bottle. A bit hazy amber beer with an offwhite head. Sourish Woody dark fruits vanilla strawberries funky aroma. Sourish strawberries grassy sweetish vinous funky floral caramell flavour.
April 18, 2015. Bottle received in a trade with rfraga7, thanks!
Amber with a small off-white head. Aroma is tart and sweet cherries, caramel, wood, citrus, dark berries. Taste is light to medium sweet with toffee and dark berries with a dry tart woody and red berry note, finish is tart, light sweet with a dry and tart lingering note. Medium bodied, slightly dry mouthfeel, average carbonation.
How: Bottle.
Where: On a tasting 2015-04-18. From hackobock, thanks!
Appearance: Hazy golden colour with a large off-white head.
Aroma: Sour, berries, fruit, tropical fruit, citrus.
Body: Medium body, low carbonation.
Flavour: Sour, strawberries, caramel, citrus.
Bottle: Weathered & dingy copper color with decent clarity, topped with a musky, gray-tinted head that fades quickly, leaving a tiny collar behind. Aroma includes delicate, sour cherries, drying & slightly spicy oak, faint lacto sourness, moderately vinous red grapes, hints of bramble berries, acidic lemon flesh, cherry skin, & small touch of funky, musty wood on the back-end. Vibrant, fresh, & lovely tart flavor with each sip. Sour apples, tart cherries, acidic grapes, brushed with a mild coating of lactic acid & finished with sharp lemon tartness. Peripheral notes of red wine soaked oak, faint vanilla, toasted malts, a kiss of cinnamon & allspice, modest toffee, & a perfect finishing dryness. One of the best things about this brew is its ability to rub out that sour hard-on you might have, while retaining superior drinkability by delicately playing footsies with the line of "too acidic, too sour" but never fully crossing over. Grows more vinous & oaky as it warms, lovely dry fruit skin & vanillin finish. This shit is so good.
Belle présence des fruits. Chêne qui fait le style. Touche de yaourt tourné. Framboises et cerises dans une moindre mesure. Malts présentés. Caramel suret. Framboises molles. Vieille pomme en bouche. Bois tartiné de ketchup. Vinaigre de framboises. Touche douce. Bouche un peu molle. Bon corps. Finale comme un vin aigre fruité dans lequel s’évapore une petite cuillère de sucre. Agréable et facile à boire.
Une petite bouteille partagée par Patrick. Un liquide doré très foncé avec une mousse beige. Un premier nez sauvage avec du caramel. Une bouche agréable, pas trop acide, caramel, cerises. Une finale acido-sucrée parfaite. Facile à boire.
Sample tasted at Casanova Liquors. Pours amber brown with minimal head. Smell is strong sour vinegar with some grape wine. Taste is nice and tart with clean fruity finish. Really like this one. New Glarus needs to put out more sours!
Bouteille 335ml via IP trade thanks to Jeff - Bacterial.
Cuivrée, col épais crémeux blanc-cassé.
Arôme est lactique sur un bouquet sucré-caramel, rétro de boisé - cèdre? qui n’est pas forcément facile à noter.
Palais est aigrelet note fruité rouge-noire avec un fini levure sauvage lacto et une petite note de sucre brun - rappel de Sherry, Port avec un léger boisé de chêne.
Sampled at esbls. Hazed amber with a beige ring. A funky wild aroma. A funky flavor but it is gentler than the nose would suggest. Wood flavor with complex fruit. Cherry, dark fruit, and lots of subtlety. Bark, etc. Quite nice.
Bottle. Amber with light head. Nose is fruity, slightly tart. Tastes like apple cider. Period. Has not aged well.
12 oz bottle into wine glass. Park rapids, mn
Ruby in color, small rim of head. Aroma is tart, fruit, a little vinegar. Reminds me a lot if serendipity. Taste is tart. Playmate in medium body with lively carbonation. Overall this beer is classic new Glarus. Reminds me a lot of their other fruit beers. Nicely done.
Bottle shared by DrewFace. Nose is lightly tart with fresh cut herbs. Lightly malty overall with a bit of sour. As it warms it gets worse. Reveals a vegetal and earthy. Meh.
Bottle. Pours amber with an off white head. Acidic and faint rhubarb-like fruitiness, mild malty sweetness, and a sharp and tart finish. Pretty good.
Bottle, as pictured. Part of a 4-pack that I bought last year. Left it to sit for awhile and it mellowed considerably. Almost tastes like a tart apple flavor on a nice malty beer. Sour brown makes sense for a description.
Bottle, shared by Craig & Mary, thank you! Pours cloudy amber with a ruby red hue, no head. Nice soft peach aroma’s and a kind of buttery impression. The taste is nearly perfectly balanced between sweet fruits and sour and oaky flavours. Lovely!
12oz Bottle. Thanks Andy/Sean! Blossoming lilac and floral display with pungent acids right away and a really breezy, fresh quality. Tart and piquant on the tongue, keeping this sippable. Smooth, complex and an interesting balance of acids, with some sharp, brazen biters and some mellow, smooth sweet talkers. Coconut, plum, and apricot. I think this is quite good, with enough raisiny malt sugar left behind for balance. Reminds me of the old Sour Brown that New Glarus did a long time ago, giving me a nostalgic feel.
Wish lister off the books thanks to Travis: Aroma of oak and all kinds o funky fruit (apple. plum) feel is medium tingly and sour enough to get ya in the jawm just a little. Flavor is awesome. Oaky and funky as all get out while still being refreshing. Nailed another one.
Bottle. Pours red amber with small head that quickly subsides. Aroma is intensely fruity with some Flemish red notes: raspberry and sour cherry especially. Taste is fairly light bodied and crisp with sour plum, lemon, raspberry, and some herbal vermouth-like complexity and caramel. Excellent.