Spotted Cow
New Glarus Brewing Company

My go-to beer.

 

 

 

 

Wisconsonites are truly fortunate to have a beer this good be their default choice when they want something different but don't know what.

 

Look:
Pours a golden straw color. When it's cold It really doesn't want to wake up but once it is provoked; it draws a nice head with a smaller foam bubbles And then leaves the lacing on the glass

Smell: It smells of malt and yeast, an gives off notes of a sweet honey. The sweetness Is a reminiscent accent of the ale style and in the absence of a real bittering, the hops are subtle in this case. It doesn't scream Belgian and I understand the yeast character giving the underlying malt. There is more than a suggestion of yeast influence. This seems to be a common flavor component in the new Glarus family of beer

Taste: as a beer opens up, Flavors of malted honey, wisp about the tongue. There is a suggestion of a sweeter rounder grain component, I was going to say corn, but that would not be allowed for reinheitzgabut. So let's suggest that that sweetness is coming from the yeast. The malted barley is converting from grainy to sweet, without quite getting the toasted, but not doughy like a Kolsch. You know kind of like white bread that does not yet form that toasty crust.

Mouth feel the body is quite medium it's pretty round... It's hard to believe it's all barley, because I feel there's something special in the malt bill on this one.

Overall:
It's drinkable and substantial. It wants to be a farmhouse style, but it's not a cream ale; It just doesn't drink that way. It's more traditional and yeast derived and honestly, nothing special for the background hops, which might help its popularity. I keep coming back too the yeast strain, its recognizable across the family.

Additional notes: As the ale warms up and you've got to do that, there's a mellowness that emerges: malty-sweet classic , not grain and not quite toast.
Converted grain. as it opens into clover ah those are the hops, ... I never really appreciated this beer 'cuz I wouldn't usually sit with it long enough, so, If you slow down you'll see what happens
.. My scoring is not going to make sense on this one... Because the overall score is much higher than its constituent parts. I guess that's why people all over the country are looking for bootleged cases and kegs of this stuff!
..

I can't believe I've never reviewed Spotted Cow here. I think I used to be more repulsed by the flaked corn taste, but once it warms up that taste isn't as bright and the subtle complexity of the yeast comes though....not bad for what is basically meant to be craft lawnmower beer.

Bland. To me like a macro adjunct

 

 

A good, light farmhouse ale. Lightly cloudy. Malty, floral and slightly bitter. Not world-class like New Glarus’ fruited beers, but a nice, sessionable beer.

 

 

not sure why but expected this to be a far more challenging beer, very unique feeling beer with flavor that tastes just like wisconsin,

 

 

 

Here at The Thirsty Badger Club in Ellsworth, as I’ve never had this before. Loved the other offerings that I’ve had from New Glarus and even though this didn’t feel like a true Saison, there was plenty to enjoy here.

Golden, hazy, and topped off with - moderate head, there was enough spotty, soapy lacing near the top of my pint glass. Enough wheat was in the nose, with a light floral and honey presence. Those notes were more present in the taste, along with a hard, mineral water backbone. Nice amount of malt and barley gave this a full mouthfeel as the carbonation was steadfast throughout my session. Subtly slick with a grainy undertone, this had a bit of stone fruit and grass to round out the flavor profile as this felt lively, but never light in any aspect.

I couldn’t detect the booze as this was a nearly-perfect session beer for these parts. While this may not be correctly categorized on here, this was an enjoyable offering regardless, as I was glad to have this available on tap. Seek this out in you’re in this neck of the woods!