New Glarus Limited/Seasonal Beers: Part 1

This post series is mostly for the readers that actually drink good beer and have access to New Glarus beer. Which is pretty much only my In-laws. The rest of you people can read on and be envious. Here's the review.

New Glarus Brewing Co. Unplugged: Enigma

Here is what New Glarus says about the Unplugged series:

"A few times a year, we will cut Dan loose to brew whatever he chooses, uncensored, uncut, unplugged. Always handcrafted, the bottle you hold is brewed for the adventurous soul. This is a very limited edition and we make no promises to ever brew this style again."

I'm an adventurous soul, and I also very much like beer, so I was intrugued. Here is what New Glarus says about Enigma:

"A Complex and intriguing original. The mystery began with wild yeast spontaneously fermenting a rich treasure of malted barley and whole cherries. Unlined oak casks breathe deep vanilla hues and chords of smoke into this sour brown ale. Our Master Brewer has forged a smooth garnet tapestry that defies
description. Wander off the beathen path."

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle was the intense yeasty smell. It almost smells like the beer isn't ready to be bottled, like it is still fermenting. The smell is glorious. My novice palate smelled apple cider with cinnamon and nutmeg, but it must be the cherry. The color is a nice medium brown. It's very cloudy, like an unfiltered wheat beer, but much darker in color. The beer tastes sweet with a quite sour finish, and makes a very good seasonal beer in the fall, as it's flavor is reminiscent of apple cider, so much so, that it might actually taste good hot. Its a much more complex flavor though, then your run-of-the-mill hard cider. Enigma lingers in the mouth long after swallowing, and as the name suggests, it wants you to decipher its complex layers of flavor.

It's pretty tasty. I give it a thumbs up. You wouldn't be able to have too many of them though, as they're pretty intense.

Look for Part 2: "Copper Kettle Weiss" next week sometime.