212. New Glarus Fat Squirrel Brown Ale

“Drink Indigenous”

Fat Squirrel Brown Ale is from New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, WI. This has been one of our most anticipated beers of the year, mostly because Elli loves fat squirrels. When she saw the name of the beer she declared it a must have, which was slightly difficult to accomplish, as they don’t distribute outside of Wisconsin.

Fat Squirrel has a toasted biscuit malt nose, a clear copper color with a prominent orange presence, and an off-white head. The color does seem a bit light for a nut brown—it has something of an Oktoberfest look about it. Beginning with a sweet toasted malt, Fat Squirrel moves into a nutty and something of a flat cola flavor in the middle, and ends clean with some low levels of bitterness. With a light body and a crisp, tight carbonation, Fat Squirrel has a rounded and well balanced body. Not quite as rich as we would expect for a nut brown, although it has good flavor characteristics—it is more akin to a mild brown. Enjoyable and eminently quaffable, Fat Squirrel gets the nod for being a Top 10 Best Label contender.

From the New Glarus website: “One deceptively springlike winter day, Brewmaster Dan walked home from the brewery, sat down to dinner and said, ‘Boy there are some fat squirrels out there. They’re running all over the place. I think I should brew a Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale.’ Deb agreed and so another beer legend was born. 100% Wisconsin malt of six different varieties impart the natural toasted color to this bottled conditioned unfiltered ale. Clean hazelnut notes result from these carefully chosen barley malts. Hops chosen from Slovenia, Bavaria and the Pacific Northwest give Fat Squirrel its backbone. When the going gets tough remember to relax a moment and enjoy the ‘Fat Squirrel’ in your neighborhood.”

Our local fat squirrel...

ABV: 5.8%

(1/28/2010)