Oshkosh Beer Sampler 031: New Glarus Wild Sour Ale

A slanted and endless survey of what’s pouring in Oshkosh, tallied one beer at a time.

What: New Glarus Wild Sour Ale. Spontaneously fermented with wild yeast, this brown ale was aged for over a year in oak barrels prior to its release.

Where: In bottles, this is being sold in 4-packs that you can pick up at either Festival Foods or Gardina’s. At Gardina’s they’re also selling it on draught. If you can get it on draught, do it. I had it on draught last week at Dublin’s (it’s no longer showing on their list) and found that the creaminess of the draught version really adds to the beer.

Why: We’ll if you’re into sours, you don’t need me to tell you why. New Glarus has done such a great job with their sporadically released sours that each of them is a must try. And this is easily one of their best. It pours to a clean amber with a tall brittle head that dissipates in a blink. Lots of acidic fruit (green grapes) mingling with oak and some leathery funk in the aroma. Tart cherry and unripened plum hold sway in the mouth; underlined by a mild, oaky astringency. It closes with a clean, dry pucker that leads you to the next pull. A fine beer and despite its sharp edges one that goes down very easily. If you like sours, do not pass on this.