New Glarus Unplugged Sour Brown Ale
Generally available to the exclusive few who travel off the beaten path of Belgium this is truly a sour ale. A ridiculously long lager in in our oak casks elevates rich round caramel malts backed with distinctive tart notes.
3.7
206 reviews
New Glarus, United States
Community reviews
Notes from a tasting at my house a couple months ago.
Pours a Reddish brown, carbonation is farily still.
Aromas of Apple, Oak, som e brown sugar, fairly funky.
Flavor is fairly reminicent of wine, some notes of sour cherries, a light toastyness, generally dry and fairly crisp.
Thx for a great tasting, Kim Johansen... it will never be the same again :-) unclear redish brown. Malty fruity aroma of sour berries, caramel and wood. Flavour is sweet with a great sour dry finish. Gotta get more of these american sour beers!!
Cloudy mahogany with a mediumbeige head. Sour aroma with roasted malt and caramel. Flavour was sour with plenty of sour berries, roasted malt, caramel and wood. Finished sour. Lovely!
amber pour with some ruby hint, has a small fleeting white head. Aroma is sour cherry and apples, some caramel. Flavor is cherry, toffee, caramel, a hint of nail polish remover, plenty of sourness rounds it out. Great finish, refreshing with the sourness and light fruit, but nothing overpowering. Very well made and has held up very well.
bottle thanks to Brian from WLV for stumbling upon this beer in his WI travels. Hazy, dirty brown with medium, short lasting pancake, beige head. Aroma is funky red fruit with a little oxidation, sweet and a little dirty. Sour red fruit, a little acidic sour dirtiness, sweet and sour cherries, less oxidation in the flavor. Medium, almost syrupy body, though only a little. I’m surprised at how little oxidation is in this beer, if anything it really only comes out in the funkiness, this beer has held up exceptionly well. 9 4 8 4 18 = 4.3
Rerate during our First Annual Chicago Sour Tasting. My last bottle, once again thanks to Brian from WLV. Slighty cloudy red with small beige head and creamy. Aroma is slightly sour, cherry, a little alc and yeast spice. Flavor is cherry and earthy sour with a slight acidity, oaky, tannin, slight alc. Medium and light carbonation. Very good. 8 5 7 3 16 = 3.9
Bottle. Nice dark brown color, light tan head. Smells of sour apples, get my saliva flowing (literally). Nice sourness to it, but not overpowering. Pretty tasty, and i’m not a big fan of sour beer.
12 oz bottle thanks to xnoxhatex for sharing this rare beer. Pours a murky raisin brown with a beige head. Nose is sweeter than I imagined it would be. Sour cherries, oak, cinnamon, and brown sugar in the nose. Sweet smooth flavors of cherries, brown sugar, cinnamon, red apples, oak, and aged malts. A slight tartness balances out the brown sugar/cinnamon sweetness. Rich sweet and tart beer. This has aged well. I’d like to see more of the aged malts and sourness develop overtime. I’d love to try this with some serious oxidation, I think it would complement the flavors more. Thanks devon!
12oz bottle. and a big thanks to xnoxhatex for sharing this retired gem. pours hazy light brown with big creamy off white head. nose is sour, cinnamon, cherry, and very oaky. much more sour than i recall. flavors are rather sour, cherry, cinnamon, and rather oaky. i can’t help but think enigma when i drink this as if it was the stepping stone to that beer. but this has aged nicely, sour and oaky, very nice brew. thanks devon!
5-23-08 bottle shared with lb4lb thanks to Hopdog!
Dark brown color with a thin off white head. Smell is sourly sweet with some dough in there. Flavor is sweet and slightly sour as well. A hint on the funky side of sour - but not bad at all.
Big thanks to Hopdog for this bottle in trade!
Pours ruby to dark crimson with a short lived light beige head. Smell is rich tart sweetness with a light funkiness. Taste is smooth, mild and lightly sour and easy drinking. Lightly funky, but a bit mild. Interesting.
12oz bottle. Aroma of tart, yeast, cherries. Flavor is slightly tart. As FEZ says, "it tastes just like candy". Tart sourness.
Bottle. Hazy brown colour with a nice head. Sour aroma of acidity and malt. Flavour of malt, caramel little sour but not bad at all.
Pours a good head over 1/4 inch head and then falls into almost nothing. No lacing to speak of and the color is a clear dark ruby/burgundy. Taste is slightly sweet and a beautiful fruity tartness. I wish I would have had a case of this so I could drink this all the time. It’s great!
July 2, 2006
Found some more of this and thought I would give it another chance now that my palate has experienced many different beers.
Pours a pretty nice copper to brown color with a cream colored head that dissipated but left a ring around the glass and some lacing. Smells of sour and rotten fruit. Seems to have both a cherry and apple twang to it, very nice. Very complex taste with different fruits, there is definately an apple ciderish flavor in here as well, with a lingering sour apple cider finish. Medium amounts of soft carbonation trickles over the tongue paired with a light body. That seemed to be just about right for me. I’m very glad I gave this another try, I will be trying to get more if I can, I find it hard to believe I didn’t care for this before.
Original Review:
Reviewing from notes, this was my first of this style of beer, and I wish I could get more to re-review as I believe I would appreciate it much more at this time. Anyways, on to the review. Beer poured an murky brown, with a head that quickly dissipated. Smell was sour and of rotten fruit. Taste is sour, but also has a sweetness to help balance, as well as some buttery tones. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with medium carbonation. At the time of review this was of average drinkability, but I believe I would enjoy this much more now.
Aroma of cider, oxidized Burgandy, dark homemade caramel, some clean tartness and a little citrus acidity. Flavor is lemon, apple cider, some brown sugar flavor without the sweetness, oak, vanilla, mild to moderate acidity. Very apple like.
Bottle from Artusory. A good take on a real oud bruin. Brown sugar, chocolate, koji aroma. Lightly tart, full of cake. Delicious. Full and balanced flavor, tart up front with a rich, oatmeal raisin brown sugar finish. Light melon and lime. Really nice stuff.
(Bottle) Pours a clear amber body with a small white head. Aroma of sour cherry, funky berries, apple, light balsamic vinegar, and caramel. Flavor of sweet syrup, cherries, and light woodiness in the finish.
Date: 03/29/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Trade
opaque brown, whispy brown head, tart apple aroma like granny smith applesauce, robust body, sweet fruity yet tart flavor, lots of apple character, huge flavor, like a big thick tart applesauce in a bottle
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***/4
Thanks to Rob for the bottle! Shared with MoeJuck, BGburdman, and Bruno. Poured a muddled brown color with a a little bit of carbonation present developing into an off white brownish head. Really nice aroma full of woody oak present and some sour fruits including cherries and some other under ripened tart berries. The flavor is a very nice meld of sweet and sour with the a typical new glarus woody tartness coming through in a very welcoming manner. Some caramel malts makes its presence known as well. This beer is very reminiscent of the Unplugged enigma, and almost seems as if this could have been the base beer for the enigma. Very well done and highly enjoyable, and the aging has been very graceful and complimentary towards this beer. Its a damn shame I prolly will never be able to have this beer again, but oh well it was meant to be enjoyed and enjoy it I did!
12 oz’er from Styles, thanks! if more Flemish sours were like this, I’d convert my fav list in a heartbeat!!! aroma is the distinctive NG oaky tartness you have come to appreciate in the Belgian Red only just a bit milder. I was a bit undecided on how to score the appearance. ended up scoring it a 3 since after a vigorous pour there was no head and barely any lacing, but the soft, almost total lack of carbonation is what I really like about it. flavor is all New Glarus. oak, sour tartness with some caramel backbone and a lingering dry finish. the 30 months or so since the bottling has treated this brew very well! sadly, the only one I had is now history and its a retired beer :( maybe it will make another appearance in the near future with the expansion at NG.
Sampled at the RBSG ’07 Grand Tasting room. Pours a hazy brown amber brew with a thin off-white head that dissolves to a thin ring. Aroma of sour fruit, caramel malt, and some bing cherries. Taste is more fruity than sour compared to most other unplugged series brews. Palate is smooth, lightly carbonated and sour during the finish. Very dry aftertaste.
RBSG07. From 35.5 cL bottle. Pours beautiful amber. Aroma is malty, caramel, fruity and sugarish. Flavour is sour, sweet and woody. Different from unplugged enigma (this is more fruity/sour) but still with some similarities to it. Sour to dry finish. I really like this series.
This is my favorite beer, so the ratings may be a little skewed. Pours a rich amber with a thin head with an aroma of oak and fruit with lots of brett. I can’t even describe the sublime treatment my tastebuds received upon drinking my last bottle of this (vintage 2004) very smooth with lots of sour brett and smoke. left a strong sour aftertaste on the palate, begging me to drink more.
(Bottle 35,5 cl) Courtesy of JCapriotti. Hazy, dark amber golden with an off-white head. Sour aroma with lots of oak. Medium body with sweetish caramel and a tart and woody note. A bit low in carbonation. Sourish and fresh finish. Lovely. 290607
Bottle. This one was a very nice surprise. Average creamy beige head that mostly diminished. Nice display of lacework. Hazy brown color. Aroma of caramel, grain, berries, apple, raspberry, brown sugar, oak, dusty malty and vinegar notes as well. Very well blended together. Medium bodied with a sticky and light alcoholic texture and an average carbonation. Moderated sour flavor with somewhat sweet notes as well. Sour berries and light dry finish. I wish that I could get some more of this. Very nice!
RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Cloudy brown body with a small white head. Sour cherry aroma with some light molassas. Sour cherry flavor with some molassas and spice.
12oz bottle, courtesy of artusory (for no particular reason, except that it was on my wantlist). Thanks, Ryan!! Pours a dark reddish-brown; off-white head that fades to almost nothing; slightly viscous and oily appearance in the glass. Very pleasant aroma, reminiscent of some of the other unplugged beers: dense, overripe cherries and strawberries, toasty oak and vanilla; light caramel. Mellow, velvety mouthfeel: definitely some tartness upfront, but not a lot by any means; dense, tart cherries and red fruits, with a warming oak presence; generous, complex, and very tasty flemish sour ale. Medium, dried fruit and cherry finish; slightest lingering tartness.
This was quite tasty...I wish it was brewed again so I could get some more. Brown colour with a fizzy head that disappeared almost immediately. cherry and sour nose. Lost of complexity, caramel, fruitynes, a bit of spice and sour cherries.There is more of a tartnes than sour. Quite good!
12 oz bottle via trade with motortoddhead. Todd thanks for getting me this, I’ve been wanting it for a really long time. Popped this brew late in the night because I used it as a motivation to get some work done. Pours apple cider brown with a half finger tan head that turns into islands of swirls. Nose has light apple cider notes also, lots of caramel, like a candy apple. The nose makes me think of something thick and gooey and sticky. The aroma is really spectacular. The taste is very complex and completely different from almost anything i’ve ever had before. The taste is tart funky and has cherry notes throughout. There is so much here so many flavors so much yum, and a great full mouth coating, a feeling that the beer is all over my mouth. Wow, this is a wonderful brew, really wowza. Thank you Todd.
Soft and mild balsamic nose woth some mild indistinct dark fruit. Wonderful mouthfeel that leads to a ver refreshing tart finish. Thtis a Wonderful Flemish with training wheels.