Fat Squirrel Ale - New Glarus Brewing Company

jrallen34

Illinois

2.73/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I drank this from a 12oz bottle into a Rochefort chalice.

The beer pours a very light clear brown with a light white head, not much retention or lacing.

The aroma is light sweet, roasted matls, typical brown ale, a little skunk.

The taste is a brown ale mixed with skunk and at the end a little malt. This is not good by any means. The feel is very light, not drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2010 02:48:46 | More by jrallen34

sfran

Wisconsin

2.85/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Nice, clear, brownish-red with decent head that pretty quickly fades

S - Eh, not much to say. Some caramel in there.

T - A bit on the too bitter side for me, malt's not making a proper presence. The malt is really too overpowered by the bitterness to be well distinguished.

M - A little thin.

D - Not bad, but a little too bitter if you're in the mood for a brown ale.

Overall - I liked this a lot better the first time I had it. It actually prompted me to pick up Ale Asylum's Madtown Nut Brown Ale, which now ironically makes Fat Squirrel seem worse...

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2010 02:00:41 | More by sfran

mwa423

Ohio

2.88/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Very clear reddish amber with a very thin head

S - Not very good, lots of malt and caramel sweetness.

T - Pretty average for the style, a mouthfull of malt and caramel sweetness.

M - Ok, rich but nothing to write home about.

Overall, an excellent example of style but nothing particularly special.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2009 01:30:25 | More by mwa423

terrabyte

Wisconsin

2.98/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a dark brown that you can still see light through. Medium head that disappears immediately.

Not too much aroma. A hint of grapefruit and other citrus sweetness. Some nuttiness, but not much.

A blend of nuttiness and grapefruit. A hint of toffee or caramel adds to the sweetness. Not enough flavor! Ends with a bit of piney tartness and bitterness.

Mouthful is a bit foamy while swallowing. A little high on the carbonation.

This isn't what I'd expect from a Nut Brown Ale. With a big fat squirrel on the label, I was looking forward to an homage to the nut. Instead, the squirrel stole all the nuts. This reminds me of too many characteristics of an IPA, blended with -some- aspects of a brown ale. It's a weird middle where they met, and as a fan of deep brown ales, I lost out.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2006 01:41:45 | More by terrabyte

cheers2beers

Texas

2.98/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: This beer pours a amberish brown hue with lots of red when held to the light. Slightly off-white pillowy head stacks up to roughly two fingers in height.Lots of beading floating within this beer.

Smell: The aroma is like sweet fruits. Rich in bready malts and even a little hops can be detected.Not bad be any means.

Taste: The flavors where slightly sour at first. Not much fruitiness like the aromas had suggested, but they hinted in there. Has a slight nuttiness as well.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and low carbonation. Smooth drinking beer.

Drinkability: Not a beer i would recommend but not bad either.In my opinion there are many other english brown ales out there that stand out better than this one.


Cheers2beers

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2006 23:32:51 | More by cheers2beers

Brent

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Overall pretty undistinguished. A nice enough ale, but a bit more prominence in the malt would have rounded it out and given a bit of depth. As it was, the beer was a touch thin and leaning toward astringent. One to go through and then move on to more interesting offerings.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2011 19:12:50 | More by Brent

smakawhat

Maryland

3.03/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass. No obvious bottle dating.

A very dark copper amber, with some hints of rising carbonation going up pretty fast, but hard to see. Quite clear, but very dark. Head is two fingers and off white, almost creamy with some good ring lacing.

Nose is pretty closed, and not much going on. A bit of a stink from this, mud and earth, truly odd. Strangely not that offensive, I am not sure where this is going.

Malt action hits, with just a hint of cream but toned down. A good depth and feel to this, but does not really bring out much malt flavor. There's a little bit of nut character classic to a brown ale, but it's really not showing up much.

Overall this is easily drinkable, but it's also kind of ordinary and bland. Not very memorable either.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 22:52:55 | More by smakawhat

IntriqKen

California

3.05/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a dark amber with a full finger loose head of white bubbles that leaves a little bit of sticky lacing as it travels down the glass.

Aroma is very faint sweet amber malts and nuts.

Taste is mildly sweet amber malt with a touch of brown sugar and a bit of nuttiness.

Aftertaste is a bit cloying.

A very, very mild English brown. Possibly a good intoduction to the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2007 01:35:23 | More by IntriqKen

hardy008

Minnesota

3.08/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes.

Pours brown with an off white head with decent retention and lacing. Smells and tastes like nuts, toasted malt, biscuit, and light caramel. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Not bad, but not worth seeking out again either.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 00:28:24 | More by hardy008

ManicD

Wisconsin

3.15/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle (date stamped 3066) into a pint glass, the beer was a hazy/cloudy deep amber. A nice off-white head lasted a while & left slight lacing.

Cocoa and a faintly nutty aroma.

Taste of cocoa along with a lot of sour milk flavor, and a very slight nuttiness. Earthy hops. Finishes smooth & balanced after the initial sourness & is pretty drinkable with a medium mouthfeel & a bit of carbonation.

I was expecting nuttiness but I got sourness. I will try to get a fresher example in the future to see if my impression changes.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2007 16:35:55 | More by ManicD

Cresant

Kentucky

3.15/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured this 12 oz. undated brown bottle into a becker glass. Thanks to NFLMVP for this one. The body was free of sediment and light brown/copper in color. Fine, tight off-white head faded to a filmy cap.

Smell was nutty, toasty malts. Cola (?). There was a subtle sourness. Bread crust. Oddly plastic-like aroma near the bottom of the glass.

Taste was sweet malts. Fruity/ Metallic plum. Minimal hops appearance.

Mouthfeel was smooth with a medium body. Easy drinker.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2007 22:52:18 | More by Cresant

kimcgolf

Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Pours to a reddish brown with off-white head that lingers awhile and leaves okay lacing. Mild malty aroma of roasted nuts and earthy scents, with flavor following suit.

Body was fairly thin, and the finish a bit on the stale side, or I would have rated higher.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2008 17:07:33 | More by kimcgolf

JRed

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Reddish brown in body with large fluffy white head. Smells of nuttiness, slight hazelnut, slight coffee. Tastes of hazelnut, sweet maltiness, nuttiness, and a lil bit of cola. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. A little too sweet for me but overall pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 01:40:18 | More by JRed

CortexBomb

Michigan

3.23/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours out, surprise, nutty brown with a nice frothy head on top. Smell is fairly mild, but has a definite nutty tinge to it.

Taste is fairly sweet and malty with a hazlenuttish quality on the edge. A very light hop presence, smooth. Not amazing, but solid.

Mouthfeel is fairly average...pretty thin, but well carbonated. Drinkability is solid, a very smooth drinking beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2005 17:42:40 | More by CortexBomb

mynie

Indiana

3.23/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Dark ruby brown with a decently sized white head that goes away quickly.

Smells like very dull caramel malt with a short hint of unsalted peanuts.

Starts off bland. Dull malt, lightly sweet like an Almond shell. It gets better near the middle, with a nice bittersweet hazelnut middle that leads into a tangy, bittersweet finish.

I don't know what to make of New Glarus. Their fruit beers are easily the best I've ever had, but their more mainstream offerings seem satisfactory at best.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2006 23:57:23 | More by mynie

drseamus

New York

3.23/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: Fairly light for an english brown ale. Reddish body.

S: Good malt aroma with some biscuit and bread. No detectable hops, as expected.

T: Surprisingly crisp sweet caramel right up front. Some biscuit in the back but certainly the sweetness dominates. All in all though, not enough flavor.

M: Light medium bodied. Pretty smooth.

D: Not too bad. Decent daily drinker.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2009 04:21:19 | More by drseamus

bigbluebeerguy

Kentucky

3.23/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into a pint glass. Poured a nice chestnut roan with a thin, off-white head, practically no lacing.

Nose is primarily raisins, coffee, and roasted malts. The flavor follows this pretty well, with a little bit of bready, toast coming through. Slightly bitter.

Mouthfeel is decent. Medium bodied with pretty good carbonation. Slightly drying on the tongue.

Drinkability is good. Although this seems to be missing a little something from a complexity standpoint, I wouldn't turn this down.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2010 02:09:51 | More by bigbluebeerguy

shivtim

Georgia

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Glad to see something other than Spotted Cow at a restaurant! "Fat squirrel" fit the time of year as well, because all of the squirrels in town were quite portly in preparation for winter.
Served in a frosted pint glass. Sigh. Let it warm up for a while. Translucent brown with slight orange tint, and a thin bright white head that quickly fled. Nose was malty, slight hops, and slightly sweet malts. Nose was weak, some malts but not much else. Maybe I needed to let it warm up even more. Mouthfeel was pretty decent, and drinkability was good. A sessionable beer.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2007 22:50:57 | More by shivtim

longarm

Maryland

3.28/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I thought I would review this beer again, since my last poor review may have been due to a bad pour or dirty lines at the bar. I've had enough high quality New Glarus beers to give this another shot. This time I bought a bottle.

As before, appearance is a crystal clear amber. Carbonation is excellent and generates a thick creamy head. Again this dissipates relatively quickly, but not nearly as bad as before.

Aroma has toasted, nutty attributes without any hint of oxidation.

Flavor has mild alcoholic attributes. Maltiness is also mild, and a little hop bitterness helps balance it out.

Mouthfeel is a little thin, but not bad. It finishes quite clean with a refreshing kick of hop bitterness.

Drinkability on this is above average. It would probably be a decent session beer. I'm glad I gave it another taste.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2005 21:48:58 | More by longarm

zimm421

Ohio

3.28/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a DFH shaped pint glass. Appears a brown to ruby-red color with a thick off-white head. The head fizzes like a pour of soda. Even gives off noise that is noticeable while watching TV. Head has good staying power but doesn't leave much lacing.

Nose is very sweet. Lots of toasted malts and nuts. Not a lot of hop aroma, if any. Maybe a slight bittering note. Taste is also very sweet. Starts out with lots of malts, moves a little more bitter and then finishes very sweet and watery. Almost like a cola. A little odd, but it definitely reminds me of the way a Coke finishes.

Mouthfeel is too thin for me. Light bodied with lower than expected carbonation. Pretty drinkable. As it warms, the mouthfeel starts to thicken up, but still not at the right point. Overall, a decent brew, but too sweet and thin for me. If you're into malt bombs, go for it, otherwise there's better things to pick up if you're getting New Glarus.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2011 01:38:57 | More by zimm421

bashiba

Iowa

3.3/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poure a slighty hazy dark amber with a thin line of white head

Smell was predomintely sweet malts with hints is molasses,oak, and a slight earthy mustyness.

Taste is much better than the smell with a nice smooth nut brown english taste and a nice bit of charred oak flavors mixing in.

Mouthfeel is light with a decent dry finish.

Overall not to bad, I would drink this one again.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2006 20:58:10 | More by bashiba

Urbancaver

Ohio

3.3/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very light for a nut brown ale. It's really simple on the nutty profile with a lot of hops compared to other nut browns I've had. The smell is pretty blah with very little on the nose. It's thin bodies and highly carbonated. Very drinkable for what it is but overall not that great

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2010 22:27:53 | More by Urbancaver

beerdown77

North Carolina

3.3/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This pours a nice caramel brown and has great foamy retention and layered lacing. This beer is what you would expect in a brown ale, a lot of sweet malt. I just don’t love this style of beer, but this beer does have a nice crispness that takes away from the syrupiness. This teeters on the edge of burned malt red ale type flavors. I detect some booziness. It has a decent medium body and is a good beer for the style. I just don’t love brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2011 19:04:57 | More by beerdown77

zeledonia

Minnesota

3.3/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottled 10 May 2010... really? I wonder if I got the year wrong on that. Will have to try a fresher bottle soon to see if this one's lost anything.

Pours a medium-dark reddish brown, clear, with about one finger of head. The head is a funny color, like tan with a bit of orange leaking into it from the edges. Fades pretty quickly, leaving not much lacing.

Smell is rather faint, but what's there is sweet nutty malts. It's a little funny, as I'm not used to the combination of English brown sweetness with hazelnuts. But I like it. The smell is cylindrical, long and smooth but rounded, and it keeps coming back to the same place. No hops in the aroma at all.

Taste is straight-up sweet brown ale. All malts, with less nutty or woody character than there is in the smell. Not really caramel; more like sugar on top of pale malts. But the flavor is really one-dimensional - it's missing those little bits sticking out at the edges that it needs to make it more interesting. Tastes decent, but lacking any degree of complexity.

Mouthfeel is quite light, almost buoyant in the mouth, and the initial lift gets pushed up higher by a burst of fuzzy carbonation. By the time it settles back down, it's almost gone.

Decent brown ale, definitely on the English/sweet side. Wish more of that hazelnut that's so obvious in the smell were present in the flavor. Not bad, but not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 03:11:15 | More by zeledonia

oline73

Maryland

3.3/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a sam adams perfect pint.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a finger of off white head that fades to a layer on top of the pour.

Smell: Sweet malt with a strong fruity presence. Sort of reminds me of a glass of apple juice to be honest.

Taste: Much better than the smell. I'm getting some mildly sweet malt with some bready and fruity notes. There is a slight bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with tons of carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: I'm glad this tasted much better than it smells. The carbonation was a bit high, but still an alright beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2012 01:29:35 | More by oline73