New Glarus Cabin Fever Bock

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2013

Style/ABV: Maibock, 6.0% 

Reported IBUs: ?

Continuing with the lovely New Glarus beer...about New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Cabin Fever is a Maibock (BJCP / German Beer Institute) brewed with honey. Dubbed a "honey bock" by New Glarus, this pale bock beer is brewed with Wisconsin two row barley and European hops. Clover Honey is added in the kettle. 

New Glarus Cabin Fever Bock

The beer pours into a dark, golden body that is almost amber or bronze. Would it be cliche to say it's a honey color? I kicked up two fingers of sticky, just off-white head. The head is sustaining nicely, and there is some nice lacing. In bright light the beer is a transparent golden color, and big carbonation bubbles are popping upwards with a stream of smaller bubbles on the side.

The aroma on this is pretty straightforward. I'm getting big bready malts, some grain/biscuit, and lots of honey sweetness. There's some big toast on the nose, with some Pils/Munich malts, and a hint of mild, floral hops. 

The taste is a good follow through of the nose, with big bready malts driving the beer. I'm picking up some honey, toast and toasty notes, a little bread/biscuit, some raw Munich/Pils malts, and some light fruity hints. I'm also getting some very mild floral/earthy hops. 

This is solid for the style, and very drinkable for the moderate to higher ABV. You don't pick up any alcohol in this, and the bready malts should appeal to all the people that can't stand hoppy beers. The beer is clean, and the mouthfeel is medium-bodied. There's a lot of carbonation to smooth things along. Palate depth is great, and complexity is okay. You get honey and bready/sweet malts up front; that rolls into some toasty notes and more sweet malts; you pick up some light hops on the back, and the beer finishes bready and sweet.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this, almost leaning towards a 4.0 and Above-Average. This is a notch above being just par the course, as the honey really comes out and defines this beer and makes it memorable. Really good stuff, and the shift towards that bready balance means this would pair well with Winter or early Spring, and German-style food. Good stuff, and a beer I might seek out again from New Glarus if it was available.  

Random Thought: Mmmm...Bockbier.