Man Beer / Wife Beer
New Glarus is the beer epitome of so close, yet so far for us Flatlanders here in Chicago. New Glarus follows the brewed here, drunk here philosophy. If you aren’t standing foot in Wisconsin, you’re not buying New Glarus. Fortunately I have a good group of friends that know my smile button is easy to activate with a treat from a Wisconsin weekend drop off.
This little sour ale was a real treat indeed! Enigma is part of New Glarus’ Thumbprint series of beers made for the “beer enthusiast.” Beer enthusiast? Wait, I’m a beer enthusiast, this must be for me!
On first sip I was hit with two immediate palate signals, is this a lambic or is this sparkling Kool-Aid? Don’t get me wrong, this is a good beer, but it is unlike any other craft beer I’ve had before. It’s a weird dichotomy here with who I would offer this to. On one hand there is the style guru friend that I know would appreciate the expression for what it is, a beer for enthusiasts. On the other hand this thing is very fruity and very sparkly and I could easily see Wife enjoying it and some of her friends too. This is a very approachable beer for anyone, but I think that your adjunct friends would probably spit it out. However, your adjunct friends probably would spit out any beer in your fridge.
Another little tidbit that I really appreciate as a saison drinker is the involvement of Randy Thiel at the brewery. You may remember Randy from his run as Brewmaster over at the now Duvel owned Brewery Ommegang. Cool stuff!
I award this beer 4 stars on Untappd and welcome you to friend request me with username DrinkBrownWater
More about New Glarus Brewing at their hubs:
NewGlarusBrewing.com @NewGlarusBeer
My benchmark in this style is La Folie