Oregon recap, one last snow commute, and a new one from New Glarus

Sunday night I returned to Iowa from 9 days of riding bikes, drinking beers, and general adventure having in Eugene, Oregon. I don't have the time, nor the energy to recount my whole trip, and especially not all the beers I drank. Executive summary: had a ton of fun, drank a ton of new craft brews, many/most local to Oregon. When I was there in August I drank 37 different beers, this time i managed 49. If I'd known it was 49, I woulda definitely had one more to make it an even 50. Oh well, at least I've got a goal for the future. I will definitely write more about that in the future, and the Eugene and Portland riding we did, but for now I lack the brain power.

Today, I awoke to a couple inches of snow on the ground.

Lousy Smarch weather.

The pavement was clear and slightly damp, it was actually kinda pretty, but an unwelcome sight in late March, especially with the nicer weather we've had in the last few weeks (at least on and off). Anyway, I'm still riding in my big boots and most of my gear. Definitely ready for spring and hopefully some more riding, especially mountain biking.

Right before I left for Oregon, my buddy came back from a quick trip to Wisconsin. He brought back some more New Glarus stuff, including a new entry into the Unplugged line up: Smoked Rye Ale.

Smokey like you would not believe. Definitely a strong entry into the rauchbier category, though I tasted very little rye, the meaty smokiness probably covered the rye right up. Honestly this thing tastes like some fancy slow smoked beef. It was incredible. Yet again, New Glarus hits it out of the park with an "experimental" beer. Good for them. If you can get anything from New Glarus, you already know. If you can't, well, that sucks.

Bell's Wild and New Glarus Belgian Red

This is Bell's Wild One Ale:
Linkage. You'll have to click on specialty, then find Wild One in there. But it's basically a blend of 20 different batches fermented in oak barrels with wild yeast. They all bring a little something different to the party, and the result is awesome. I snagged this at a Des Moines favorite: El Bait Shop, which is without a doubt one of the finest bars in America. Yes, yes, your favorite bar is awesome too, but this place has more craft brews than damn near any place in the world and specializes in American craft/micro/awesome beer. Plus it's a chill place to hang out, and despite the fancy beers, is not pretentious. Anyway, the beer is tart and sour like any good wild fermented beer should be. There are lots of extra flavors in there, mostly oak and hops, but other harder to pin down hints are in there too. I don't pretend to be able to tell you what they are, but they add up to a great Michigan made Belgian style sour ale. Reportedly only available on tap, so hopefully your local beer bar has it.

Not terribly long ago, I wrote about the raspberry tart/sour that New Glarus made. At the time I mentioned that I had also purchased the cherry version, which I'd had before. I also promised to review/compare them. Here goes nothin.

New photo offered as proof.

This beer is tart, sweet, sour, almost sticky but not in a too sweet kind of way. A very excellent entry into the wild-sour-fruit category. If you're in Wisconsin, get some.
Now to compare the raspberry to the cherry. Basically the cherry is somehow better. Not entirely sure how, but it's more tart in the right way and the wild yeast twang comes through a bit better. This thought is weird to me because I like raspberries a helluva lot more than cherries, and I generally like raspberries (and indeed most other berries) as a flavor in general over cherries. Pies, candy, the fruits themselves, pretty much everything raspberry >> cherry. Maybe the tart cherry flavor works better with the barley and hops? I'm not sure and until I'm in Wisconsin and can get these beers in significant quantities, I'll likely not be able to put my finger on it. And if I am in Wisconsin for enough time to pin that down, it'll be awesome.

A rereview and then some.

Not terribly long ago I reviewed Bell's Hopslam, I was admittedly not a huge fan, doubly so considering the price. I also noted that I'd have to try it again in a different frame of mind and attempt a more objective review. My preconceived notion for what it was supposed to be is not without good reason. You see, it's called Hopslam and the label says,

"A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect?"

Plus the ABV is a fairly hefty 10%. So I've got it in my head that this is a monster IPA with 100+ IBUs, crushingly bitter hop flavors, and insane amounts of layered hop flavors. What I got instead was a fantastically smooth, 70-ish IBU IPA with amazing floral/citrus/pine aroma, a bit of bitterness, and a honey supported malt profile that is unique and wonderful.

For the record: I was wrong about this beer. It's wonderful, interesting, and worth the money. Not as a daily drinker of course, but an occasional treat to be sure.
New photo offered as proof:
Onward and upward.

New Glarus Raspberry Tart

Fun fact: I love interesting beers. Currently sours and/or wild fermented beers are holding my attention and are supplanting big IPAs as my favorite style. I retrieved this beer from Wisconsin over the xmas holidays. It is more lightly tart than actively sour, and doesn't have that distinct lactic fermented flavor I love. Regardless, it is a quality beverage more akin to raspberry wine than most beers, but it is carbonated and has other beer-y properties. New Glarus also makes an excellent cherry version that I've mentioned before, and despite largely preferring raspberries to cherries in nearly all foods, I think I actually like the cherry beer better. Not entirely sure why, perhaps it's more sour, or the cherry flavor plays better with the beer ingredients. Whatever the reason is, I'll have to try the cherry one again soon to really compare. And of course I'll write a little something about my thoughts.

In commuting/bike riding news, the BRR Ride is coming this Saturday. I'm 99% sure I'm going, it should be a good time. The Des Moines area is currently in the middle of another media hyped giant snow death storm pt 3 (or some such nonsense). Which means tomorrow's commute will be snowy and probably fun as hell (I'll try to remember pictures), and my once routine Tuesday night trivia will likely be a failed venture. Again. Stupid weather.