22 oz bottle from Brawley's, Charlotte, NC, USA. Light foil on the neck of the bottle. New Holland is one of the few brewers that get to NC but not to GA, so I generally pick up something from them every time I'm up in NC. Inky black pour with a modest head. Some nice, then mocha film sit atop the black body. Carbonation is reserved but entirely appropriate. Nose and tastes give a fairly significant sweet effect. Some alcohol and lots of dry chocolate in the finish. A little warmth but...
Notes on beers brewed by
New Holland Brewing Company
New Holland The Poet
12 oz bottle, thanks to Grant for the chance to try this one. Jet black body but the head is rather poor and somewhat white in color. Retention is not great either and of course, neither is the lace. Some spotty film on the surface of the beer. I thought that the head might be better than this ultimately produces. No mistaking this an an oatmeal version of the stout genre. Very smooth in the mouth with some residual sweetness created by the grain. Leaves a nice coating on the teeth and tongue...
New Holland Red Tulip Ale
Purchased as a single at Sam's Blue Light in Durham, NC on a recent jaunt up the East Coast. 12oz bottle, poured into the Duvel tulip. Initial nice head that fades to give a little head on the surface, but not much lace. Standard, solid copper color in the body with little else to report. Carbonation seems appropriate. Nose and tastes have some really solid malts. Not much hop presesnce, so this sits at the "English" end of the "Red/Amber/Bitter" spectrum. Very easy drinking and some biscuit...
New Holland Blue Goat
Thanks to Beerinator for the opportunity to try this as part of XBIF 39. In the end this was a somewhat disappointing Doppelbock. All the important charcteristics were there, but it left me feeling unsatisfied. Good looking dark mahogany pour, but the beer was a bit lifeless. Not much in the way of lasting head and no lacing. Good malt aromas, but too much alcohol in the taste and in the smell for me. The body lacked the substance that a big Doppelbock should posess, and was simply too thin....
New Holland Dragon’s Milk Oak Barrel Ale
Thanks go out to Beerinator for the opportunity to try this as part of XBIF 39. 22oz bottle, with silk screened notes. Pour is dark, dark garnet brown with a nice head but it is short lived. Very little lacing to speak of and only a small film of fine tan bubbles are left behind. Sweet vanilla notes in the nose with some lactose sweetness too. The mouthfeel is thin for a 9.00 ABV beer, but this is not really a problem as the tastes hold it up well. Tastes have a lactose sweetness and a biscuit...
New Holland Mad Hatter India Pale Ale
Big, big, bitter hops up front and continuing all the way through with this beer. Light orange color with a lingering hop nose and taste. Good lacing but not much residual head. This is really a bitter hop based IPA with little or no balance from malt. This takes it out of my comfort range for IPA's and certainly makes it typically American in the style where the tendancy continues to be away from malt balance, toward the more extreme end of the hop/IPA scale. This is certainly not the worst...