Scholarship table
When you drink from a can you will smell metal which will give beer a metal taste. Aroma is a HUGE part of beer. Also, beer in a bottle or can is at a higher CO2 than draft and needs to be poured out in order to release some excess carbonation. That is why canned and bottle beer makes you feel more bloated if you drink it without pouring it in a glass.
While I can appreciate what New Glarus does, it is over saturation for me. I see it all the time, and everyone has it on tap. It isn't special. Sure they make a lot of great beers, but they're established and haven't done a whole lot of experimentation lately. Their thumbprint stuff was great the first year, but now it is just a seasonal thing rather than one offs. Their beer is quite good, but its gone stale for me since I live about 20 miles from NG.http://www.businessinsider.com/experts-pick-best-beers-in-the-world-2013-9This should make you feel better.
I think their experimentation and quality one-offs have been off the charts lately. In the last few months their thumbprints have included a Berliner Weiss (best berliner I've ever had) and a Wild Sour Ale (first time New Glarus has made this beer, and fantastic... my favorite american sour outside of Russian River), in addition to the Very Sour Blackberry Ale they just released, and the 20th Anniversary Strong Ale, AND the Strawberry Rhubarb fruit beer. What other breweries have released this many new, diverse products over a few month span? Their new sour barrel room was recently completed and we are finally starting reap the rewards. The Wild Sour Ale was brewed almost 3 years ago if I recall correctly... so I'm very excited to see what else they having coming down the pipeline. I wouldn't be surprised if they developed into the 'Russian River of the Midwest' in regards to sours.
The Berliner was great and the addition of grape skins was extremely smart but to call them a possible RR of the MW, no way. And if you think their sours are good I would love to invite you try any of the Goose Island 3 current sisters (Lolita, Juliet & Madam Rose) plus we are releasing 2 other new sisters next month too. I would put our sours against anyone's and they can hold their own. We are continuing to grow the nations oldest and largest barrel aging program. Another brewery to look at is Perennial in St. Louis, their Berliner was ridiculous. All that said, Russian River sours are still the sheeet!
You are absolutely correct, I don't believe NG deserves the title of 'RR of the MW' right now. I'm simply hoping their new sour barrel room will develop that reputation for them eventually. The sour wild ale they just released was great and [I hope] a sign of much more to come.I will have to grab a bottle of those 3 you mentioned. The last GI Belgian I had was Sofie I believe... and I'm not a huge fan of Brett so I've stayed away from the others... but those 3 you mentioned sound great. I wish you guys would put a better description than "Belgian Style Ale" on the front, it makes it hard to distinguish between the Belgian Pale Ale/Farmhouse Ales (which I don't like), and the Sours/Flanders (which I love).
We changed the labels last year to say the style.
making a trip to the Stevens Point area to attend the O'so 6th birthday bash Saturday and figured we'd also check out tours at Central Waters and the Point Brewery (might as well we had time to kill)anything else worth seeing up that-a-way?
On my way to New Orleans for a long wekend. Any local breweries worth checking out? (I have an all afternoon "mixology" demo one day which should be interesting, too).
Thanks, Hards. Won't be able to make that drive, but I'll look for it locally.
Meijer stores in the area now have microbrews priced by the bottle. You can go pick up 6 microbrews from 6 different brewers, put them in a carton, and pay the combined bottle price. So, pick a Founders, Breckenridge Porter, New Glarus, Mt. Pleasant, Arcadia, and Bell's. Take the 6 different flavors home. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm jealous. New to Michigan. I HAVE mixed and matched at Founder's and Bell's, but doing at a grocery with a wide palette of microbrews is new here.