[Wisconsin] New Glarus Raspberry Tart

*Note* I'm trying a slightly different format here.  I'll give a picture of the beer, a brief description, then some stats: style, alcohol by volume, and International Bittering Units (a measure of how bitter a beer is), and when the beer is available. Then I'll do a "Quick Notes" section, which is a brief overview of the beer, followed by my full review.

While fall is nearly upon us, I'm personally still clinging to the hope that summer weather will last just a tiny bit longer.  In a similar way, fall seasonal beers are sweeping onto shelves, while I'm still in the mood for a refreshing summer beer.  I cracked this one open a few weeks ago, but I think the current weather still calls for beer like this.

New Glarus is a unique brewery in the way that they capture the attention of both the average beer drinker and the true beer geek.  They offer a ridiculously large lineup of beers, all meticulously crafted and masterfully brewed.  Spotted Cow, their cream ale, is a beer that seems to please almost any beer drinker, especially the crowd that crosses over into craft beer only occasionally.  Meanwhile, their fruit beers, R&D series, and Thumbprint series seem to have every beer geek drooling.  Unfortunately (for most of the nation) New Glarus only distributes in Wisconsin.  But, being from Minnesota, it's not too hard to get some of their brews.  Cross the river or call up your Packers-fan uncle to get your hands on some of this delicious beer.

New Glarus Raspberry Tart is a fruit beer made with a boatload of fresh Oregon raspberries.  There are many styles of fruit beer, ranging from barely fruity to practically fruit juice and from sugary sweet to deliciously sour.  Many beer geeks tend to focus on sour fruit beer styles, ranging from American wild ales to traditional Belgian lambics.  However, this Raspberry Tart is a sweeter style, bringing a balance of sweet and tart raspberry flavors.  Coming in at only 4% ABV, these 750mL bottles can disappear pretty quickly, especially on a hot summer afternoon.

Style: Fruit Beer
ABV: 4%
IBUs: unknown, but very low, this beer isn't bitter at all.
Available: Year-round

[Quick Notes] Before you even pour this beer, the aroma explodes out of the bottle, filling the room with the scent of freshly picked raspberries and sweet raspberry jam.  As you pour it, the slightly murky ruby red liquid produces a wonderful pink head.  The aroma just continues to burst with juicy raspberry, raspberry jam, and a slight wheat body behind it.  The flavor is equally mind-blowing, with a perfect mixture of sweet, jammy raspberry and tart, fresh raspberry character.  The body is medium full but the carbonation is medium high, leaving your mouth coated in wonderful raspberry flavor long after your last sip.  If you like real, fresh, sweet/tart raspberry flavor, then you will be hard-pressed to find a better beer than this.

[Appearance] Upon pouring this beer, it is evident just how many raspberries New Glarus puts in this beer, as the color is a striking deep ruby or garnet color with a little brown in there too.  There aren't highlights around the edges, really, but a crimson light shines through the entire beer.  The head is small and tan but lingers in a thin layer and clings well to the glass.

[Aroma] Good grief, you could smell this stuff a mile away.  Imagine taking a handful of fresh raspberries, crushing them in your hands and then inhaling deeply.  Now somehow make that even fresher and MORE raspberry-like, and you've got the aroma of this beer.  It somehow smells more like raspberries than raspberries do.  It's a perfect blend of sweet raspberry jam, slightly sticky and syrupy and freshly picked, juicy, tart raspberries.  There's a slight hint of some nice wheat character to back up the raspberry aroma.

[Taste] The flavor of this beer is just as incredible as the aroma.  It's basically the exact same description as the aroma: a blend of sweet, jammy raspberries and tart, fresh raspberries, perfectly complementing and balancing one another.  That nice creamy wheat character is extremely subtle, just helping to keep the raspberry character from being too overwhelming.  There is a tartness that is almost like citric acid, like a pineapple sort of flavor that subtly carries throughout the whole beer.  This thing tastes so much like raspberries that I honestly found myself picking at my teeth for raspberry seeds.  The finish is just a perfect touch of dry tartness that puckers the mouth just a bit, prompting another sip.

Not a bad way to spend a summer afternoon

[Mouthfeel] Once again, New Glarus proves their mettle in the subtler elements of brewing, absolutely nailing the mouthfeel.  The body is medium full and slightly syrupy, though the wheat base helps to provide a little light creaminess to cut that.  The carbonation is also medium high, preventing the beer from becoming oppressively heavy or syrupy, making it drink almost like a thicker champagne.  It leaves your mouth coated in a delicious raspberry flavor.

[Overall] This is an example of a drink that pushes the boundaries of the definition of beer for most people.  The level of sweetness and fruit flavor, combined with a lack of the stereotypical "beery" flavor, makes this thing drink more like a fruity wine than a beer.  The level of craftsmanship is amazing, and you will have a tough time finding a better example of a non-sour fruit beer in the world.  If you're a fan of raspberries or just searching for a sweet, tart, and fruit-forward drink, make it a point to track this one down.

Enjoy this beer on one of the few remaining hot summer days!  As always, I hope you enjoyed this review.  Let me know what you think of it if you've had it, and always feel free to suggest new content or new beers.  Cheers!