Serendipity - New Glarus Brewing Company

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Traci for sending this one out for me to try. The beer poured out as a vibrant red color with a fizzy white colored head on top. The head settles and doesn't leave any lacing or retention behind on the glass... The smell of the beer smell like pure fruit with a little bit of oak in there to give it more of a natural essence. The taste of the beer is like fruit punch, it's got the cherry and the apple and the cranberry all in there at different times. The flavors mix well but really give off a juice-like flavor. The oak is a little on the hidden side, I feel it could have been aged a bit longer to possibly give this one more of that wooden flavor. The mouthfeel of the beer was highly carbonated, it was sharp, tart and crisp. It's was also light bodied for having such a large amount of flavor. Overall I can't complain it's a good brew much like the Raspberry Tart and the Belgian Red from New Glarus. This one just adds a new outlook to what they're able to pull off when nature throws them a curve ball. This beer is enjoyable, it's sweet and juicy and loaded with fruity flavors. It's worth trying if that is what you're into.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 04:50:28 | More by Knapp85

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Big thank you to Steasy66 for the killer brews. Going to give this guy a big uncomfortable man-hug if I ever get the chance!! ;-)

Appearance. Pours a really deep amber, getting close to brown with almost a finger of fluffy, off-white head.

Smell. Apple and cranberry juice with some tart cherries and a very very light, dry musty funk.

Taste. Fresh cranberries and cherries and bit of that distinct New Glarus dry dusty, lightly woody funk.

Mouthfeel. Lighter body with medium , fine carbonation.

Overall. A nice fruit brew, but I do enjoy the fruits in RT and WBR more. More a personal preference thing than the quality of the brew...

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 00:28:49 | More by Rutager

brentk56

North Carolina

3.68/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a clear garnet color with a bubbly head that leaves quite a lot of dots and dashes behind

Smell: Fruit jello aromatics, with cherry and apple dominant and cranberry underneath

Taste: Very sweet and fruity, up front, with the cherry flavors progressing into tart cranberry and finishing with sweet apple; some tartness develops in the aftertaste, along with a hint of cinnamon red hots that lingers into the finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate to high carbonation; a touch puckery

Overall: There is a lot to like in the bold flavors of this beer, as well as the hint of tartness and red hot flavors; still, it is just so darn sweet that it truly becomes cloying and drinking more than a glass is a chore

Thanks, joshuaseresse, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 00:31:01 | More by brentk56

FosterJM

California

3.65/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

1745th Review on BA
Bottle NG Pilsner Glass
750ml

Purchased @Woodman’s, Kenosha, WI for 8.99
Thanks to KevanB for the glass

App- A crimson red with almost no head at all. Maybe a 1/2" of bubbles. Very still with a juice like appearance. No cling or lace.

Smell- Cherries, Apples and Cranberries. Exactly what the label says. Maybe intermixed with some wheat. It's a cherry beer, mixed with some other fruits. Smells awesome. Little bit of tart to it as well.

Taste- So I was actually really surprised by this one. It was really like the combination of both of the other fruit beers and then add it the apple/cranberries. It had a semi good balance of all the flavors and a little bit of oak behind it. Semi cough syrup like consistency of flavors as well.

Mouth- A light/medium body with a nice medium carbonation level to it. Tart cherry wheat aftertaste. With a bit of oak and cranberry. As mentioned in the taste, it was a bit like cough syrup.

Drink- For something so different this was a great tasting beer. A good amount of balanced fruits and then some oak behind it. Not sure belongs in Top 250. But I drove to freaking WI to get it.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2013 18:54:44 | More by FosterJM

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Bottle generously shared by yourefragile.

Pour yields a reddish-brown colored brew with a short fizzy head that recedes somewhat quickly. The nose carries a strong bit of cherry and cranberry as well as underlying earthiness. Some tartness coming through, as well as fruit skin. Flavor is moderately tart but has far too much underlying sweetness. Body is medium and appropriate, but there's too much residual sweetness coming through. Pretty nice for a fruit beer, but pales in comparison to Belgian Red and, to a lesser degree, Raspberry Tart.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 13:49:24 | More by Thorpe429

thebigredone

Wisconsin

3.48/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

I was just going to mark this as "had," but felt compelled to fully review after seeing all the glowing reviews below.

I was quite excited for this, which may skew my opinion. From what I was expecting, a cherry, apple, and cranberry beer that was unintentionally soured. That was the explanation I had read on BA.

I should have known this wouldn't live up to my expectations based soley on the smell. No noticeable sourness at all. Delicious fruit smells, but extremely sweet smelling.

Taste followed the smell. To me, this tasted 100% exactly like sparkling cherry juice. I mean 100%. No apple taste, no sourness, no alcohol. Just sweet carbonated juice. I had my girlfriend taste it without giving her my opinion, and the first thing she said was "This tastes like cherry juice!"

Overall, a big disappointment for me. It is still an interesting beer, but I was hoping for a sour, more complex version of Belgian Red. This ended up being my least favorite of the New Glarus 750ml fruit beers. Maybe I'll age one for a bit and see if the tartness comes through at all.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 04:12:11 | More by thebigredone

jaasen64

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

750ml bottle poured into wine glass. Thanks Josh (thebigredone) for this one.

A- Pours a translucent dark slightly brownish cherry purplish red with about a finger's worth of frothy head that has nice retention and slowly recedes to a thin layer. Decent carbonation and considerable lacing.

S- Strong notes of sweet and tart cranberries, apples, and raspberries. Nice balance of the fruits and very fragrant but a little bit too overpowering on the sweetness.

T- Very sweet mixture of cherries, apples, raspberries, and some sweet malts finishing with a light fruity tartness that lingers for awhile. Lots of flavor just way too sweet for me.

M- Smooth, nice carbonation, nice body without being overly syrupy.

O- I've come to realize that I'm personally not a big fan of the New Glarus fruit beers. They are just all overpoweringly sweet and not that enjoyable for me. This beer had a ton of flavor, it's just the sweetness makes it almost undrinkable. I probably won't be having this beer again and I'm surprised so many people like it. I'd recommend it only if you like sweet and fruity beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 17:58:57 | More by jaasen64

drabmuh

Maryland

3.3/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Thanks Moll. Served in a whatever. Beer is brownish and clear with a ruby hue to it. Interesting looking, almost still, no real head, no lacing, Looks fine.

Aroma is fruity, sweet, cherries, berries, smells OK.

Tastes a little medicinal, super sweet, rough actually, NOt a very good beer, not on the same level as Belgian Red or Raspberry tart. Not a repeat.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 17:36:51 | More by drabmuh

wisrarebeer

Wisconsin

3.2/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

$9.99 from my local Pick 'n Save grocery store

A: brilliant rosy-red color, billowing light pink head, clear, head dissipated quickly
S: fruit and malt
T: cloying, cough syrupy sweet, pronounced fruitiness that is appealing but more on the order of a sweet soda, no funk or wildness although bottle states wild fermentation, no noticeable oak
M: rounded but cloying and too heavy from sweetness

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 01:11:04 | More by wisrarebeer