New Glarus Cherry Stout (2012)

New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus, Wisconsin

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: Mahogany color. Tan, thin head that rings the glass nicely. Light for a stout.

AROMA: 3.25/4: Cherry nose, cherries and cream. No hop. Sugary, subtle chocolate.

TASTE: 7.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4: Cherry dominant, some chocolate roast—chocolate-covered cherries!
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Roasted bitterness. Sour, tart cherry up front, fades to chocolate at middle, fades to subtle roast bitter at close.
Mouth-Feel: 2.5/3: Mouth-puckering tart, fizzy and full, bounces on the tongue.

OVERALL: 2.75/3: A definite cherry beer, darker malts impart a nice roast flavor. Could use more roasted malt, coffee notes.

TOTAL: 16.25/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Yet another great New Glarus fruit beer. More roast and it's perfect—nothing more to say.
Ben: Needs more roasted malt for stout character. Maybe add some lactose to this? Milk chocolate cherry stout? Call me, NG, this is a winner!

Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale

Founders Brewing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: Ruby red, crystal clear. White head rings the glass nicely.

AROMA: 2.5/4: Subtle maraschino cherry nose, sugary. Not terribly aromatic.

TASTE: 6.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 2.75/4: Tart, very grainy. Cane sugar. Sour lasts to close, falls out quickly.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Cherry finish, bitter aftertaste lingers. Slight metallic tang.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Fizzy, a bit thin. Puckery.

OVERALL: 1.75/3: A bit watery, needs more cherry. Not bad, but could be better. (When you've had New Glarus Belgian Red, anything else is going to compare unfavorably.)

TOTAL: 13.5/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: Okay for what it is, but it's no Belgian Red. A high bar, I know, but tough.
Ben: Unfortunately for Founders, we've had the pinnacle of cherry fruit beer. This one falls short—needs much more cherry!

Dogfish Head Aprihop IPA

Dogfish Head Brewing Company
Milton, Delaware

APPEARANCE: 2.25/3: Dark copper to light brown. Clear, crisp, clean. Thin, off-white head that fades. Steady stream of bubbles.

AROMA: 3/4: Clean, sugary, subtle citrus. Subtle apricot, subdued hop aroma.

TASTE: 7.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Apricot up-front and through the middle, hop bitterness at finish. Sugary sweet, apricot present. Some citrus hop.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Sweet finish. Hop bitterness lingers. Nice high flavors.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Chewy, full-bodied. Weakly carbonated.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: Pleasant. Sweet and fruity, peaches (apricot) and cream-like, with a bitter finish.

TOTAL: 15/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: A nice beer. The apricot is understated, a nice accent flavor. Is it an IPA? Doubtful. Still, a nice ale, well done (as usual, by DFH).
Ben: Apricot accents the citrus hop nicely. Bitter finish is nice, though it's a little thin. Overall, not bad—another good offering from a great brewer.

New Glarus Cran-bic Ale

New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus, Wisconsin

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3
Pale strawberry gold color, clear. Thin, white head that fades quickly but rings the edges of the glass. Laces nicely

AROMA: 3.5/4
Sour, full lambic nose. Apple cider vinegar. Cranberries, cane sugar and Belgian candy sweetness as well.

TASTE: 9.25/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.75/4: Lactic acid sour prominent at front. Gose-esque. Fruit is secondary as it should be. Cranberry flavors compliment the lambic notes which are front and center in this beer. Sugary sweetness in the middle to end.
Aftertaste: 2.75/3: Mouth puckering sour fades to sweet cranberry and sugar tastes. Sweetness lingers.
Mouth-Feel: 2.75/3: Lip smacking. Fizzy. Mouth puckering first sips are an eye-opener. Clean. Sweet and sour.

OVERALL: 3/3: New Glarus really knows how to do fruit beers. The cranberry is a nice facet that doesn't overwhelm the beer. This actually would be just a good beer standing on its own as a true lambic. As is, another great fruit beer.

TOTAL: 18.25/20–Keep 'Em Comin'

NOTES:
Matt: Sour but tasty. Another great fruit beer from New Glarus. Nice to see an American craft brewer handle this style so well.
Ben: I really like that the fruit is secondary and nicely compliments the lambic sour flavors so well. This truly is a lambic first and foremost. Phenomenal! Very hard to get but if you have the chance don't pass this one up!

New Glarus Apple Ale

New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus, Wisconsin

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3
Bright gold, bubbly, crystal-clear. Thin, white head that rings the glass.

AROMA: 3.25/4
Green apple flavor overwhelms—like a big green Jolly Rancher.

TASTE: 7.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4: Green apple-tastic—apple jack, apple cider, just plain apple. All malt, no hop.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Alcohol warming in the middle, bounces across the tongue, fades to sweet sour.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Very fizzy, fills the mouth (with apple).

OVERALL: 2.5/3: If you like apples, you'll like this. Tendency toward cloying after a bit, so one is enough, but worth a try. Another nicely done New Glarus fruit beer.

TOTAL: 15.75/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Good—I'll bet this is great for cooking. Alcohol is there, and it gets to be a bit much, but it's tasty.
Ben: Liquid green Jolly Rancher (that's fizzy). One is enough, but you should try it.

Magic Hat #9

Magic Hat Brewing Company
Burlington, Vermont

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3
Honey-gold. Clear. White, foamy head; steady stream of bubbles.

AROMA: 2.25/4
Apricot/peaches and cream. Sugary, malty. Minimal hop. Very sweet-smelling.

TASTE: 6.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 2.75/4: Woody, nutty—burnt almond. A hint of Tang*. And apricot, obviously.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Very sweet, lasting bitter. Almost chemical. Soapy.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Woody, nutty. Fizzy. Fairly light-bodied.

OVERALL: 1.75/3: Odd—almost a fruit beer, not a pale. I (Ben) have had it on tap and thought the lines were soapy—nope, it's the beer.

TOTAL: 13.25/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: I think I like this more than Ben. If you hate apricot, though, it's a non-starter. Nice for a change, refreshing enough, but one will do. Sadly, this is the best of the Magic Hat brews.

Ben: Struggling to get past the apricot flavoring—very woody and nutty. I don't think this is a pale ale.

*You know, Tang? Drink of astronauts? Hello?

St. Louis Premium Peche

Brouwerij Brasserie Van Honsebrouck
Ingelmuster, Belgium

APPEARANCE: 2/3
Brown color. Minimal head that doesn't last.

AROMA: 2.25/4
Some sugary peach. Almost a peach Jolly Rancher or peach syrup aroma. Sour - pungent. No hop aroma.

TASTE: 3.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 1.5/4: Malty - sweet. No hop bitterness. Sour. Peach syrup, maybe cherry notes?
Aftertaste: 1/3: Sour overwhelming. Fades to a slight sweetness. Vinegary.
Mouth-Feel: 1/3: Fizzy. Sour. Almost mouth puckering so.

OVERALL: 1/3: Vinegar was the flavor we couldn't identify right off. It became much more apparent and overwhelming as the beer warmed in the glass. Neither of us could finish it.

TOTAL: 8.75/20–Tab Me Out

NOTES:
Matt: Tastes like something somebody accidentally left out, and by the time you tried it, it bore no resemblance to what you thought it was suppose to be.
Ben: Started out with potential, ended up like I was drinking a glass of vinegar with peach syrup. Not a fan. There are much better lambics out there.

New Glarus Raspberry Tart

New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus, Wisconsin

APPEARANCE: 2.75/3
Deep strawberry red color. White/pink head that fades quickly. Bubbly like champagne.

AROMA: 3.75/4
Fruity nose–sweet raspberry. Sugary.

TASTE: 9.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.75/4: No hop, some malty body. All fruit and malt (which is about perfect–hop would ruin this).
Aftertaste: 3/3: Sour cherry/raspberry, tangy-sweet throughout. Sour is persistent.
Mouth-Feel: 3/3: Fills your mouth with sweet tartness. Beer–not wine cooler, not syrup. Full and pleasant.

OVERALL: 3/3: Completely fills the mouth. From the aroma to the front-end sweetness to the tart, lingering finish, this is an explosion of fruit flavor.

TOTAL: 19/20–Keep 'Em Comin'

NOTES:
Matt: Looks like strawberry pop, tastes like liquid awesomeness. This is probably our favorite beer–as Ben calls it, "Liquid Gold."
Ben: Pair this with chocolate, brownies, anything. Or drink it by itself. Just drink it! Not the easiest to get, but when you can it's an amazing treat.

New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red Ale

New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus, Wisconsin

APPEARANCE: 2.75/3
Clear, ruby red color. White head with fine bubbles.

AROMA: 3.5/4
Sour maraschino cherry aroma, no hop. Some woodiness, chocolate.

TASTE: 9/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.5/4: No hop, minus a slight bitterness at finish. Appropriately malty, could have a little more body.
Aftertaste: 2.75/3: Tangy, tart, sour tanginess that lingers. Some hop bitterness. All cherries at the end.
Mouth-Feel: 2.75/3: Cherry is dominant but not cloying. A beer first, a fruit beer second.

OVERALL: 2/3: This was awesome with brownies. Sweet up front, but finishes dry and oaky.

TOTAL: 18/20–Keep 'Em Comin'

NOTES:
Matt: A fun departure from the world of usual beers. Sweet, tart, tasty.
Ben: This is a great dessert beer! A beer first–true fruit, not syrupy. Cherries, cherries and more cherries. A favorite that's tough to get, so a treat when you can.

Wild Blue Blueberry Lager

Blue Dog Brewery
Baldwinsville, New York

APPEARANCE: 2/3
White head, weak but persistent. Purple hue.

AROMA: 2/4
Welch's cran-grape juice. No hop aroma.

TASTE: 3/10

• Hop/Malt Balance: 1/4: No malt or hop to speak of.
  
• Aftertaste: 1/3: Blueberry/grape syrup flavor overwhelms.
  
• Mouth-Feel: 1/3: Watery, fades quickly (blessedly).

OVERALL: 1/3
Bud Light + syrup = Wild Blue = wine cooler beer for high school girls.

TOTAL: 8/20–Tab Me Out

NOTES:
Matt: If you're thirsty for beer, drink beer. If you're thirsty for a Capri-Sun, drink a Capri-Sun. Either way, don't drink this.
Ben: Feels like I'm drinking my morning grape juice. Pass.

O'Fallon Wheach (Peach Wheat)

O'Fallon Brewing Company
O'Fallon, Missouri

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3

Hazy, gold in color. Fine bubbles, lasting head.

AROMA: 3.25/4

Strong peach aroma, some mandarin orange–smells like fruit cocktail. No hop aroma to speak of.

TASTE: 7.5/10

• Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4
• Very malty, no real hop flavor–appropriate to the wheat style.
  
• Aftertaste: 2.25/3
• Peach/nectarine/mandarin orange flavor–subtle, not cloying.
  
• Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3
• Some mandarin orange bitterness; fruit is most noticeable at finish.
  

OVERALL: 2.25/3

Not syrupy–this is a beer first, a fruit beer second. Light, good for what it is.

TOTAL: 15.5/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:

Matt: I really liked this–reminiscent of Pyramid's Apricot Ale or Magic Hat #9. Subtle, satisfying.