New Glarus Hopster Review

Name: New Glarus Hopster
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
ABV: N/A
IBUs: N/A

I was at the store recently when I came across a new offering from New Glarus Brewing. I give to you Hopster, which is a Hoppy Wheat Ale and a style that I'll admit I don't ever recall having before. I also found out that this is a re-release of Crack'd Wheat, a beer that New Glarus had last made a while back. Plus with Easter & Spring right around the corner, the green bunny rabbit fits the mood quite well.

Appearance - A mildly hazy bright yellow color with a very high amount of visible carbonation. The head itself has quite a bit of foamy volume and possesses sort of a whipped cream quality, so it comes as a surprise that the lacing is actually quite sparse.


Aroma - Getting some strong malted wheat notes paired with some equally potent floral & dry hops. I'm also getting some mild spicy-characteristics in here too, along with some cracked peppers.


Flavor - Fairly similar to the nose; Strong malted wheat notes & vibrant floral hops upfront. On the back end of the palate are bitter dry hops, cracked peppers, spices, and cloves. Aftertaste is malted wheat and bitter hops.

As stated earlier, I said that this is a style I'm not terribly familiar with. With that said, I'm glad I got a six-pack of this because Hopster is fantastic! It's got a nice malted wheat & hop profile while having a good Belgian-like complexity in the overall flavor, making this very easy to recommend to beer drinkers everywhere!

New Glarus Hopster - 9/10

New Belgium Slow Ride Review

Name: New Belgium Slow Ride
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 4.5%

Well someone has finally outdone Miller Fortune with the heaviest push as far as in-store and magazine advertising for a beer is concerned and that someone is New Belgium Brewing. I present to you Slow Ride, New Belgium's session IPA. The advertising for this beer is about as close as you can get to having TV & movie ads without actually having TV & movie ads. In fact, if you're expecting an obligatory Foghat reference, you're not going to get one.

Seriously I have never seen such a huge advertising push for a craft beer before Slow Ride came along; Though I am trying to figure out what exactly that....thing is on the label. It looks like some mad scientist decided to breed a bicycle & and couch and this is the end result. So a Couch-Bike.....or Bike-Couch? Either way, it looks comfortable!

Appearance - A surprisingly bright and fairly clear yellow color with just a hint of carbonation. The head is surprisingly foamy and the lacing, while very soapy, is plentiful.

Aroma - Very strong grapefruit & passion fruit notes on the front of the nose. I'm also getting some yeastiness, a bit of toffee maltiness and just a touch of hop bitterness

Taste - The front of the palate is pretty bitter hop forward with some citrus & passion fruit notes along with some mils toffee sweetness and a light biscuit flavor . The aftertaste is quite dry with just a hint of bitter hops and yeastiness.

When it comes to session beers, there are some that have been great and others that I could've done without. Thankfully I think Slow Ride is a good example for how to do a Session IPA right. Don't be fooled at first. The entire flavor seems pretty dry upon taking the first sips, but as it warms up, it becomes a lot more vibrant than what you are initially led to believe. I would definitely say this beer is worth checking out if you're in the mood for having a few flavorful beers but not wanting to sacrifice your sobriety in the process.

New Belgium Slow Ride IPA - 8/10

New Belgium Wild² Dubbel Review

Name: New Belgium Wild² Dubbel
Style: Dubbel 
ABV: 8%

Since it's been a while since I reviewed anything from New Belgium Brewing, I figured I would take my first in-depth look at New Belgium's Lips of Faith Series. I had their Yuzu on tap last year and thought it was different but good nonetheless. 

For this review, I'll be taking a look at their Wild² Dubbel Ale brewed with Schisandra, a type of berry that originates from Southwestern China. According to the clerk who convinced me to buy this, it's a berry that "tastes like everything." And despite it's name, it is not a Wild Ale.

Wild² Dubbel pours a dark crimson red color when held up to a light but is otherwise quite dark in appearance. There's also a couple of bubbles climbing up the sides of the glass as well. 

The aroma starts off with a prominent dark fruit/plum scent as well as some cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar. I'm also picking up on some light sour and tart notes but it's not obvious until it warms up just a bit. Otherwise, it's very malty in terms of smell.

Dark fruits and strong candied caramel malts start things off in the flavor. I'm picking up on the cinnamon & brown sugar that was present in the nose but with that is also a very distinct peppery-like flavor, which I'm fairly certain is from the Belgian Yeasts. One thing is for sure, this is not like any Dubbel I've had before. 

The body is fairly moderate in weight and thankfully light in carbonation. It possesses a fairly creamy texture and is pretty easy to drink.

After having this, I will be looking into the Lips of Faith series a bit more because I found this to be a very vibrant and tasteful beer and I could see myself buying this again. If you're looking for a different take on the Dubbel-Style, then this beer is definitely worth your attention.

New Belgium Wild² Dubbel - 9/10

New Belgium Abbey Review

Name: New Belgium Abbey
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 7%

I know I have said this many times in different reviews before but New Belgium Abbey holds a special place in my heart for being the first Abbey style ale that I ever had. In fact alot of beers styles that I was introduced to was because of New Belgium Brewing. Funny how that works out, yeah?

In any case, when I first had this a couple years ago when I was still in college, I was taken aback by how good this was and it introduced me to a plethora of new flavors as well as what a beer can taste like. I have had quite a few Abbey Dubbel ales since then and now I think it's time for me to revisit this beer.

New Belgium Abbey pours a darker but clear red color with a filmy head. The visible carbonation is quite mild and the lacing is pretty good.

Dark fruits and licorice starts things off in the nose with caramel malts notes and some mild clove and spice notes. The flavor is more or less the same as the aroma but with more of a spicy/yeasty taste to it and there are noticeable floral hop notes thrown in for good measure.

The palate is moderately weighted which has a rather thick texture. The carbonation is also rather moderate but it helps bring out some extra characteristics in the flavor.

Having been exposed to more Dubbels since I first had this, New Belgium Abbey has held up surprisingly well and I also don't think the quality has suffered in the time New Belgium has expanded their operations. In fact, I would go as far to say that this is a great beer to introduce someone to the Dubbel-style ale. Check it out and you'll see why I fell in love with the Dubbels in the first place

New Belgium Abbey - 8.5/10