Thumbprint Cherry Stout - New Glarus Brewing Company

hayesez

Indiana

2.53/5  rDev -32.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Received in a recent trade with wedgie9 and cracked open during poker night at Sami's. Poured a moderately dark brown and produced a very light brown, nearly non-existent, head that was basically just a ring around the inside of my glass. Ruby brown highlights are seen when held up to the light. This looks remarkably similar to cola. You could probably tell me that I was looking at a root beer (when held up to the light) and I would believe you. Not surprisingly, there is very little lacing left on the glass.

Damn! The aroma of this thing is in-your-face sweet cherry. Wow. Chocolate cherry with a bit of alcohol - approaches the unpleasant smell of cough syrup. Frankly, I'm having a bit of trouble getting past this part of the nose - perhaps a bit of syrupy soda in there as well. I applaud what NG has got going on in here...but it is a bit too much for me.

Very sweet cherry syrup tasting drink. It really tastes more like a cherry juice drink than it does a stout. Given how thin and light this beer is, I'm having trouble with the category anyway. There is a bit of roasty bitterness on the back end, but that is one of the few parts that resembles stout. About halfway through the beer, I realized how surprisingly similar this is to the Belgian Red; and both are a bit too sweet for my liking. I know that several claim there to be a decent "tart" associated with the cherry stout, but I'm really not getting any of it...just sweet.

I really do enjoy a lot of beers from New Glarus. However, the unplugged Cherry Stout was disappointing. Again, it doesn't help that I'm not partial to sweet beers. Regardless, this one certainly could have been helped by having some tart in there to help balance the malty sweetness (they do a great job of this with their Unplugged Cranbic). I'll surely try it again, and adjust my rankings as appropriate, but for the time being this one is going to remain pretty low for me.

Consumed: 5/19/2010

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2010 23:12:08 | More by hayesez

mychalg9

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev 0%

05-17-2013 19:52:14 | More by mychalg9

BUNZILLA

Indiana

4/5  rDev +6.7%

05-14-2013 02:13:33 | More by BUNZILLA

bhurley

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +26.7%

05-10-2013 15:55:56 | More by bhurley

jp110099

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%

05-10-2013 02:06:25 | More by jp110099

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%

04-26-2013 06:58:10 | More by Kelp

Bowers-Brew

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

04-21-2013 22:17:31 | More by Bowers-Brew

jreindl

Wisconsin

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%

04-20-2013 06:31:25 | More by jreindl

cardern

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +20%

04-16-2013 02:59:29 | More by cardern

Keith_R

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

04-07-2013 03:43:45 | More by Keith_R

Zach136

Georgia

4/5  rDev +6.7%

04-07-2013 02:58:51 | More by Zach136

zonker17

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

04-05-2013 03:19:05 | More by zonker17

egrace84

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev 0%

03-24-2013 21:37:30 | More by egrace84

drummermattie02

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

03-20-2013 02:31:32 | More by drummermattie02

soze47

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +6.7%

03-16-2013 14:16:06 | More by soze47

wmobley

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

03-13-2013 20:31:41 | More by wmobley

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev 0%

03-10-2013 18:27:10 | More by spycow

kojevergas

California

2.79/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with foiled over branded pressure cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Thanks to Duff27 for the bottle. Expectations are high given the brewery and style, though the current ratings seem rather low. Aged in oak barrels according to the label. Uses 8 different maled barleys. Brewed with cherries. Label art is nothing to write home about.

Served straight from the fridge and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours an audibly fizzing head of beige colour, poor thickness, and bad (~10 second) retention. No lacing whatsoever. Not horribly impressed with the head, especially at a paltry 6.50%. Body colour is a refined understated dark amber. Semitransparent and semitranslucent. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Not at all what I expected for a Cherry Stout, but I suppose New Glarus isn't known for churning out predictable beers. Still, this one doesn't look all that great. I'm excited to try it regardless.

Sm: Ugh. Distinct cherry cough syrup; it's uncanny. I've joked about cough syrup aromas in previous reviews, but this really really evokes it. In any case, the cherry seems chemical and artificial, not genuine or fruit-like. The aroma is really turning me off to it. Ugh. Maybe there's candi sugar when I really look for it? A pretty strong, pungent aroma. I don't detect any yeast or alcohol.

T: Better than the aroma, to be sure. Clean malts form the body, with a pleasant lightly sour cherry kick on the climax. Sugary and candy-like. Good sweetness is balanced well by light caramel. The oak is nowhere to be found. Lightly tart. Enjoyable. It's decently balanced, if a bit too sweet. Not horribly complex or subtle, but it gets the job done. I do like it, but this is not the level of quality I've come to expect from New Glarus. I do like the cherry.

Mf: Smooth, wet, a bit too thick, and slightly undercarbonated. Full-bodied. Too heavy on the palate. A bit viscous, but I wouldn't call it syrupy. Suits the flavour profile okay.

Dr: The appearance and aroma really had me concerned, but it wasn't a train-wreck after all. Still, I do expect more from New Glarus and this so-called "Cherry Stout" wasn't at all what the name might suggest...that wouldn't be an issue if it was amazing anyway, but it's neither a cherry stout nor a very good beer. I definitely think it's worth trying and I like the experimentation, but this one missed the mark. They need to commit more to the spontaneous fermentation/cherry combination or to the oak aging; neither is well explored here. Glad I got to try this one. Thanks again, Duff27!

Low C

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2013 02:53:12 | More by kojevergas

freemanj

Missouri

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%

03-03-2013 04:42:50 | More by freemanj

derkfromwi

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev 0%

02-24-2013 01:29:49 | More by derkfromwi

jimmah120

Minnesota

2.35/5  rDev -37.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle with no date, purchase spring 2012. review from notes

Look is a dark cherry(hehe) red, clear, with a small sudsy head. Smell is pure cherry, maybe some wheat off in the background. The taste isn't atrocious, but definitely not my style. Overwhelming cherry flavor, I know it's not artificial, but it tastes like it. Almost Vick's Cough Syrup-y.

Like other reviewers, I wonder why they decided to call this a stout. Maybe it's that they swapped the massive malts in favor of massive cherries. Still, a misleading title, and a near drainpour for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2013 09:06:38 | More by jimmah120

josephwa

Minnesota

2.5/5  rDev -33.3%

02-05-2013 21:35:36 | More by josephwa

Hopsiam14

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -6.7%

02-04-2013 23:07:25 | More by Hopsiam14

Rand_ale_Thor

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +6.7%

01-25-2013 20:57:51 | More by Rand_ale_Thor

DrJoe82

Illinois

4/5  rDev +6.7%

01-24-2013 01:15:27 | More by DrJoe82