New Glarus Unplugged Enigma 7.0% (2006)
A Complex and intriguing original. The mystery began with wild yeast spontaneously fermenting a rich treasure of malted barley and whole 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 beathen 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.
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.
3.9
437 reviews
New Glarus, United States
Community reviews
Bottle @ home, courtesy of Glouglouburp. Very cloudy, red-brown appearance with a tan head. Spicy, almost cinnamon-like, moderately sour, bready brown ale nose. Really an intriguing, inviting aroma. Silky, velvety mouth feel. Moderately tart, oaky, light vanilla, cherry-cranberry-raspberry, somewhat spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon), brown ale flavor. Mostly a tart, fruity brown ale with some sourness on the finish. Excellent beer and very smooth. Very similar to the 2010 version but a touch stronger of flavor.
trade with madvike&hbmason-12oz bottle-pours a thin retaining tan head with trailing lace and hazy copper color. Aroma is rich medium malt-caramel, secondary spice hops, some raisin. Taste is tart cherry/raisin, secondary medium malt-caramel, spice hops. Slightly syrupy mouth feel.
12 oz bottle shared by Matt. Thanks! Pours a murky dark brownish pour, with a small tannish red head, stays as a loose bubbly head, laces small. Aromas still preach some sweet malts, toffee, with some tart red fruit, oak tannins. Crisp biscuits, with touches of vinegar, faint metallic twang. Initial is medium bodied, still preaching some sour red fruit, touches of cranberries, cherries, touches of acidic vinegar, wet oak and crisp cereal grains, toffee, and biscuits. Some lactic acid grows, some cool mellow yogurt. The acidity is in check with a nice red fruit sourness, lingering wet oak and the malt base still sticks around into the middle. Some decent sourness lingers, sweeter malts, lactic acid. Nice beer that definitely has held up, some inevitable wet cardboardy oxidation but much more fruity than the new version.
Cinnamon, floral, cranberries, brown sugar, very strange, not sure if it is desirable.
Bottle courtesy jtclockwork. Cloudy, muddy brown pour with a small fuzzy head that’s gone fast. Very unique aroma with dark fruits, wood, and a lot of spice - almost minty. Slightly sour flavor loaded with black cherries and pie spices. This is very reminiscent of their Belgian red, and quite tasty.
Bottle shared with drowland. Pours dark deep muddy brown. Nose of plum, wet wood, sour fruit and raisin. Taste of caramelized spiced candy apple, cherry tart, pie crust, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bottle shared by FooFaa. Thanks again Dan!
Pours a deep, dark ruby red color with mahogany edges and a two finger frothy beige head that slowly fades into a lasting ring. Sporadic streaks of lacing left behind.
Sweet fruit aroma with tons of tart dark cherry along with subtle chocolate, sweet caramel malt and rye. The rye is prominent and compliments the tart sweet smell of the cherries and other vinous dark fruits. The malt profile is slightly toasty and gives off hints of caramel, biscuit and toffee.
Medium bodied and sweet with lots of dark fruit complimeted by slightly toasted caramel malt and sweet rye. Hints of caramel, toffee, biscuit and rye provide complexity and balance to the sweet vinous dark fruit notes. The most prominent fruit flavor is tart dark cherry but there is also subtle grape and plum but this beer is not cloying or too sweet. The malt backbone is stronger than expected and really helps this beer from becoming a cloying mess. Well balanced and easy to drink with a lingering dry, tart finish.
shared with Rudolf, dirty, murky burnt orange pour. Aroma is light cherry, apple juice, fruit forward, quite acidic, with a wood presence increasing as the beer warms. Flavor is tart, sour, funky apple juice, wood, light bourbon, highly acidic, very light smoke burn on the palate. Sort of jumbled, sweet & tart. Ok
bottle thanks to northernbrews. poured cloudy amber with a beige head. aroma was caramel, cinnamon, and cherry. flavor was cherry, caramel, and brett? light and sticky body with low carbonation.
Pours a transparent medium mahogany and presents a bit of a lacquerish aroma as well. I can’t quite decide if the taste of of rotten, sour cherries or sour, rotten cherries, but it doesn’t matter--this is one fine beer!!!
12 oz. bottle from dbsdelight- thanks, Dan! Pours a muddy brown color with some reddish tints and a small off-white head that leaves a ring. Aroma of vanilla, caramel malts, coconut, oak, cherries, funk, and grapes. Flavor of caramel malts, vanilla, oak, tart cherries, grape skins, and funk. Medium-bodied, with a sweet vanilla, semi-tart mouthfeel and minimal carbonation. Dry finish. Good balance of vanilla sweetness and fruit tartness. The sourness is so subtle. This goes down very easily.
bottle shared by phaleslu. Thanks! really excited to try this beer! looks like muddy, murky pond water with practically no head. aroma chocolate covered cherries, cocoa dust, vanilla beans, and some light balsamic. taste is pie crust, cherry cough medicine, vanilla, fruit rollups, and creamy, earthy dough. leaves a chocolate laced balsamic tinge on the tongue. also a light cherry coke. Neat beer, that seems to have held up particularly well. more doughy cocoa, and much more mellow and blended together than the new versionl. edge taken off. creamy, sweet cherry balsamic cocoa beer. enjoyed. drink with a pie and icecream. thanks again peter!
Big thanks to Sean for cracking this! Poured a cloudy light red with a near white head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma had a nice sour cherry note with a strong backing of biscuit and sweet grains. Flavor began sour with cherries with a growing biscuit and cereal note that leads to a sweet finish.
Bottle enjoyed side by side with the 2010. Pour is dark cloudy brown with minimal head. This in notably darker and cloudier than the 2010 with much less head. Neither has much head, but this is almost still. Aroma is lightly tart, light vanilla, light coconut, light mixed berries, and light christmas spice. Flavor is lightly tart, deep wood, light vanilla, faint berry, and a dry finish with hints of vanilla and fruit persisting. Interesting. Not much oxidation. Certainly this is great stuff, but I guess I was hoping for more. The 2010 is lighter in aroma and flavor but it is quite a bit smoother with the same vanilla-berry finish. The 2010 is an easier drink for sure. I like the 2010 a little better to be honest. It’s more cohesive and smooth while still being complex.
(12oz bottle thanks to northernbrews) murky brown pour with oily tan bubbles. Nose of oak, funky, cinnamon, moss, diaper plastic, and brown sugar. Taste is also funky, brown sugar, cinnamon, mild but very acceptable oxidation given the age, oily and brown sugar linger. Age has started to take its toll on this, but it’s still good.
Aged bottle shared from a local tasting. Murkier than the new stuff which I like. More malt in this too. Again a very complex and great brew. I would drink this again any time.
Bottle, thanks to northernbrews, reddish brown colored pour with brown sugar and sour cherries in the aroma,flavors of brown sugar, malty swwet and sour mix, cherry pie filling
A complex brew indeed. Light oak and vanilla aromas. Flavor is tart cherry vanilla. Very enjoyable stuff!
Bottle from JCapriotti...thanks Jason! - Pours murky reddish-brown with a small foamy off-white head. Lots of oak and vanilla, a touch of heat, and a nice light sour funk. Taste is cherries and balsamic vinegar with a nice bitter snap on the finish. A lot fuller and bolder than the new version. Tastes ripe and pungent where the new tastes a little new and young. Slick, with a nice medium body. I could definitely drink more of this.
Tried two different bottles of this at the Shenandoah Throwdown. One courtesy of Trevor which was a batch one and accounts for the bulk of my notes. The second is whatever the most recent batch was. Pours a clear ruby copper brown with a thin white head. Medium bodied, cherries, hints of sourness. Smooth and sweet. Light sweetness and a nice tang. The newer bottle was nice, but lacked the complexity of the older one. Not sure if that’s a recipe change, or just the fact that the age on the old one added some deep fruit and velvety mouthfeel.
bottle pours light amber with a medium off white head. Aroma is sour apple and vinegar. Flavor is nice and tart with lemon juice and apple peel ending with light barrel notes.
12oz bottle, Batch 1. Pours a translucent copper amber with a spitty, beige head. Nose is cherry juice, yeast, malt, sweet dough. Flavor is more cherry, sweet, a little light oak, yeast, spice. Finish is full bodied, fruity but amped up on the sweetness.
12oz. Bottle: Aroma of tart fruit, cherries, oak, and slight vanilla. Poured very deep orange/very deep amber/ brown in color with a tiny, off-white head that barely lasted on top. Clear. Sparkling. Flavor is medium sweet and light to medium tart. Tastes of tart fruit, cherries, oak, vanilla, slight alcohol, light Bourbon, and a hint of malt. Medium body. Slick, oily texture. Soft to average carbonation. Tart cherry, oak, bourbon, and vanilla finish is a bit dry.
From trade with KButler1. Aroma is tart cherries, oak, vinegar/sour. The sourness is not overwhelming, but just right. the appearance is a russet/red/brown, almost the color of iced tea, off-white head. very attractive. The flavor is oak, vinegar, cherries, other fruit. Perfect. Nice balance. The finish is tart fruit, cherry, sour, drying. Medium in body, smooth mouthfeel. Nearly perfect sour wals the line just right between fruity/tart/sour. Excellent and enjoyable. Thanks, Kevin.
ORIGINAL BATCH
Appearance: Murky dark iced tea like red brown with a nice 1 finger off white head that shows a touch of retention and leaves some lace.
Smell: cherries, cherries, and cherries! also notes of oak and a touch of iron.
Taste: tart cherries, iron, a light caramel sweetness, a hint of vanilla, and oak. Lots going on here, but very well balanced.
Mouthfeel: Light with a fairly aggressive carbonation.
Drinkability: A touch tart, but otherwise a very drinkable oud bruin type beverage.
Wasn’t what I was expecting, but still very nice. Get one while you still can!
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 08-01-2009
2006 Botte? - From the original batch, thanks buckybeer!! - Pours a murky amber with a tiny off white head...aroma is like other NG fruits, tart cherry, lemon, massive vanilla, oak, lightly vegetal apples...flavour is a bit confusing at first, is it a flemish, sour, brune??...kinda a compilation, brown sugar, apple skins, tart cherries and very light vinegar...very soft carbonation and plenty of vanilla and wood...kinda different, but definitely true to NG style...
Traded 12oz bottle. Pours a murky brown colour with some ruby -orange highlights. Small tan head that disappears quickly with just a little lacing. Big aroma that hits heavy with cherries, oak and creamy vanilla. Very smooth sour flavour that waits just until the end to bring in a tart funk. Very well done.
Pours the color of swamp water with some lacing in the middle of the glass that is either swirling around like a damn astronomical cluster of stars in the galaxy with nothing but the power of gravity or this valium is effecting me more than I thought. Smells like red vines aged in oak sugar tanks, iced mole asses, cherry-bourbon popsicles, and salt water taffy...the red one. Tasty beer. Lots of diazepam, oak, dried fruits, cherries, kind of a bourbon quality hidden under the sweet strong mole asses. Aftertaste is bitter sweet cherries and grass. I might need an intervention soon.
Thanks Ughsmash. Pours a very murky brown/ muddy water color, with no head. The aroma consists of apple and vanilla with a "nostril puckering" sourness". This beer smells phenomenal. There are some really funky aromas here, but they are blended by fruity scents. Wow the flavor behind this is an amazing combo of sweet and sour with a noticeable oak presence. The texture is a little thin, but other than that this brew is positively Amazing. Each sip gets more complex as the beer warms up. The closer this beer gets to room temp, the more I notice the sweetness from the malt. The flavor stemming from the cherries is there, but it’s not in your face as one might expect. My new favorite beer from New Glarus.
Bottle via trade thanks to badbeer, shared at a small tasting. I believe this was brewed in 2005 or 2006, making it a pretty damned old beer. Pours a murky reddish-brown color with a small off-white head. Aroma is sherry oxidation - not surprising given the age - caramel, oak, and tart cherries. Smells excellent. Flavor is even better, with loads of fresh sweet and tart cherries, a little reminiscent of Wisconsin Belgian Red, which if you haven’t read my review of that beer, is a very good thing. Tastes a little aged, but not really in a bad way, with strong sherry notes. Sweet caramel and toffee, oak, vanilla, and leather round out the flavor. Amazingly smooth on the palate with an extremely long finish and soft yet lively carbonation. Acidity is very restrained for a beer that I expected to be pretty sour. This is just excellent overall. I hope New Glarus brews this again, and from what I hear, it looks like they might.