Posted By kkozlen on May 16, 2010 | 2 comments

I’ve been working around the house a lot today, and I even was able to mow part of the lawn before the rain moved in. And since I felt like the morning was pretty productive I thought I’d enjoy a nice beer this afternoon.

I went into the beer fridge and found a New Glarus Snowshoe Ale from this past winter’s trip up to Wisconsin Dells.  We got a chance to stop by the brewery on our way home and I bought a mixed case of New Glarus beers to bring back.  Unfortunately, there are only a few left.  I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to visit the brewery, as it is a self-guided tour, and most everything was hidden behind walls and windows.  However, if you’re in the area, they do have excellent beers, and there’s no better way to sample it than right there at the brewery.

The label says that it’s brewed with a blend of American and German malts.  It also says that it has “a decoction mash process to ensure a rich multi-flavor.” Finally, it says that there are “generous amounts of Yakima Golding and Bavarian Hallertau hops.”

When I poured it in the glass, the head was very thin with medium bubbles which disappeared into very small creamy bubbles around the outside of the class.  It was a dark amber-reddish color and pretty clear.  It also has a sweet malty aroma with a hint of grassy fruitiness.

It had a sweet malty, almost caramely flavor at first, and then a fruitiness came through in the finish.  Although, the label says it’s supposed to have a spiced hop finish, it wasn’t entirely noticeable, as it seemed to be more on the malty side.   However, a couple of minutes after sipping on it, a hop dryness started to come through, as well as an almost alcohol heat from my stomach.

After drinking it for a while, it reminded me a lot of an English style ale that you get in an English pub. It was a pretty good beer, but I can definitely see drinking in the winter. Although I didn’t have any food with mine, I can  see enjoying this with a steak sandwich or even a roast beef sandwich for some reason.