(New Glarus, WI) – New Glarus Brewery posted up the final Unplugged offering on its website last month though Dan Carey first revealed it back in July: New Glarus Wisconsin Cran-bic is a Cranberry Lambic-style beer that will make its debut next month.

There is a brief description of the brew on the website: “Sparkling and bright this is a Wisconsin original created for you in the traditional method employed by the Lambic Brewers of Belgium including five months of outdoor resting in oak barrels. Indigenous yeast [It’s a sour ale brewed with Brett, Acetic and Lactic Bacteria native to Wisconsin] and cranberries from the ‘wilds’ of Wisconsin flawlessly pair to dance on your palette. You have discovered a rare and delightful treasure to be served cold in a fluted glass.”

Cran-bic rounds out a list of 2009 Unplugged’s that include Iced Barley Wine, Imperial Saison, and Old English Porter. The beers have received comparable positive ratings on both the major beer review sites so there doesn’t appear to be a clear favorite of the year yet. There was speculation at the beginning of the year that Eisbock would return though Carey saw an opportunity to make a statement with the series:

“The fall Eisbock will be replaced by the Cranberry Ale. We have brewed an Eisbock a few times in the past and made the Iced Barley Wine earlier this year. So we figured that since there are already a bunch of brewers making really big beers, we should go our own way. Really, in the end, that’s the whole spirit of our Unplugged Series. Incidentally, that’s why I made a 12 deg Plato Pilsner part of the Unplugged Series … I hope to challenge people’s concept of extreme beer.”

We will have a better idea of what is to come in 2010 when New Glarus formally announces the new lineup this December. You can see some of my speculation on what those brews may be in my last article on New Glarus. Dan Carey revealed in a recent podcast that he is working on an session-able IPA-like beer. There is a good chance that it makes an appearance as an Unplugged or R&D Series beer at some point (just my speculation). Podcasts and other news are available on New Glarus’ Facebook page.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drooo/3299655289/