When I was at the brewery in New Glarus, I noticed that the gift shop had DVDs of Tale of the Spotted Cow for sale. I didn't buy a copy but now I wish I did because I am having trouble remembering dates. Whenever it was that New Glarus started selling their beer - 1993? 1994? - they were selling Edel Pils. And maybe Belgian Red too. I cannot recall when that was first introduced but it was early.
Wait.
According to local beer scribe Robin Shepard, Belgian Red was their third brew. I'd swear on Shepard's life that Edel Pils was first so what was second? Copper Kettle Weissbier? I bet that documentary would tell us. Regardless, Belgian Red is still brewed today.
And Belgian Red deserves to be brewed today because it's a wonderful beer. Spotted Cow pays the bills and gets most of the press but what other American brewery was brewing a Belgian-style fruited sour beer in 1994ish? In Wisconsin? Of that quality, too. Belgian Red was sui generis there for a while in Wisconsin beer coolers. Plus, it wasn't long before New Glarus introduced one of, if not the, first commercial coffee stouts. Coffee Stout is still brewed today, though it seems to be a biennial brew.
But Edel Pils? I don't know when it was last made. Seems like it is around once every several years, perhaps. Too bad. I recall drinking it starting in 1994 and loving it. Brewmaster Dan Carey proved his brewing ability for all to taste with it. And then, somewhere along the way, the pilsner fell out of fashion and the New Glarus beer roster moved on. The style pops up now and again as a limited edition, made in smaller quantities and sometimes available only at the brewery. As best I can recall, the last pilsner New Glarus made was Mistral back in 2018. Well, until now.
22 Pils was released this spring and is available only at the brewery. Described as a German Style Pilsner, it was made with a blend of "American, German and Czech heirloom Pilsner malts". Sounds excellent. The wort underwent a Double Decoction Mash - ausgezeichnet! The beer was then topped off with whole cone Diamant hops aus Deutschland.
Wait. Dia-what?
They are a rather new variety having been introduced in 2019. I wasn't able to find a Diamant Hops for Dummies site so I found myself parsing brewersese. One site made it sound like climate change is making life rough for growers of Noble hops and that Diamant was bred to survive the coming apocalypse thrive in the new environment in which we find ourselves. Uff da! That doesn't sound good.
A pils from New Glarus is a special occasion so I dug out a pilsner glass from the basement. I poured kind of, um, aggressively and ended up with a very large head of firm, white foam that proved to be in no hurry to go anywhere. The liquid was yellow and clear as day. A goodly number of bubbles were found inside making their way upwards. The last time I wrote about a pilsner I confessed to loving their aromas which remind me of summer with their green hoppy scents melding with a light maltiness. Well, this bier had that in spades. Beyond that, there were also hints of fruitiness and a little something floral. Simply wonderful.
It had a good, solid fizz to it as one would expect from a pils. The malt flavor was that tasty cracker-biscuit hybrid plus a little toasted bread thrown in for good measure. It was, after all, doubly decocted. The Diamant hops gave that herbal/spicy flavor which one expects from a Teutonic hop but there was also a fruitiness that was berry/melon-like. Depending on the sip, the beer could taste rather sweet. Not that it was; I think it was simply a stronger fruit flavor from the hops fooling my brain into believing this brew was laced with fructose.
On the finish the malty flavors faded leaving the more fruity elements of the hops to linger a short time before the more traditional spicy taste came to the fore. The denouement featured firm bitterness and dryness to make you forget the faux sweetness.
Ausgezeichnet! The malty flavor here is just great and I really enjoyed the hoppy tug-of-war between the herbal/spicy and fruity flavors. Fizziness is just right as is the astringent taste. And by "just right" I mean perfect. Crisp with a little bite but never distracting. I really hope there's a 23 Pils because this stuff is simply fantastic.
Junk food pairing: a unique pilsner like this demands a unique food pairing. Try a bag of Mrs. Fischer's Dark Jalapeno chips with your 22 Pils. These darker, extra-Maillardy chips have a little chili zing to them and go perfectly with this crisp, flavorful brew.
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