New Holland Dragon's Milk 2021 Reserve 3

New Holland Dragon's Milk 2021 Reserve 3. Bourbon barrel-aged stout with salted caramel. 

11% ABV. New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI. 

Full ebony, absolute opacity, rich brown head. 

In the nose: Sweetness. Caramel. And just below, the bourbon. But, heavy on the caramel. Salted, even. 

In the mouth: More sweet, more caramel. More yum a dum dum. Except that there is nothing else. Nothing but salted caramel dripping over a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. It's down there, somewhere. There's some cocoa and dark fruit, but covered up in caramel. And if you like that, it's okay. 

Much sweetness. Minor bitterness. Very tasty. I like this for a once in a while treat. 

The final Reserve of 2021 is an ode to one of our favorite releases. Our latest legend is aged for three months in select bourbon barrels and layered with sweet and salty caramel flavors. The result is a truly indulgent brew best described as dessert in a glass.

New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale.

New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale. 

4.5 % ABV, 23 IBU. New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI. 

It's time for another pumpkin ale. Why the hell not? And this time we will revisit one that I first reviewed 14 years ago. Here are notes from September of 2007 for New Holland's take on the style: 

New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale. My first bottle. Had it on tap last year at Ye Olde Happy Gnome. Decided to give it a second chance. 

Clear, lightly orange appearance...creamy, dotted head, lace leaving, nice looking...

Aroma: bam, pumpkin, then pumpkin spice, mostly cinnamon, ...spicy/sweet...I like it, but, ...I no longer love it. The pumpkin ale novelty has long ago worn off on me. That was so 10 years ago...though, now, it' s a seasonal inevitability in some regions...

sniff it again...more spice, more than anything else...now to drink!

Soft and sensuous mouthfeel...very light, and, probably too light. The pumpkin flavor is gone, and all we really taste is the spice...Nice balance, though, neither malt nor hops is felt too heavily, but...here's the but...it's rather blase' beyond the "pumpkin spice" aspect.

Wish it was richer, though, wish it had a bigger mouthfeel, or a mightier texture... wish you could really taste the pumpkin, but...it delivers enough of the flavor to push the product. Can't knock that approach. It's quality, it's even pumpkin-inny! Just wish it was...more...

Well, I only lost $1.75 by buying a single ....no huge loss...

Now? I agree with 39-year old me. Review stands. Difference is that this time I'm drinking from a can (well, from a glass a can was poured into), and it cost $1.99 for the single. How times have changed. I could either take or leave this ale, and without any fuss in either circumstance. 

New Holland Dragon’s Milk 2021 Reserve 2

New  Holland Dragon’s Milk 2021 Reserve 2. Double Bourbon Barrel aged Stout with Madagascar & Indonesian Vanilla beans.

12.3% ABV, New Holland Brewing, Holland, Mi.

Absolute ebony, complete opacity, slim brown head.

In the nose: Vanilla pops out, loud and sweet. Chocolate hides below. Bourbon barrel effects are covered up. It’s a vanilla bomb. 

In the mouth: super sweet, though not unbearable. Full bodied, rich, dark and decadent. Vanilla is in the forefront of flavors, with cocoa slipping in from behind. Usual suspects of an Imperial, or a double  stout are missing. This one lacks, unfortunately. Needs more body, more richness, more flavors. More of a lot. It’s certainly not an improvement on the regular Dragon’s Milk.

New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout with Vanilla and Chai Spices

New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout with Vanilla and Chai Spices.

11 % ABV. New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI. 

Full-on ebony, slim brownish head, utterly opaque. 

In the nose: Spicy, spicy! Cinnamon and clove? I honestly don't know what "chai spices" are, so I'm grasping at straws, maybe...dark, malty, rich. 

In the mouth: full, vast, rich, spicy, malty, mmm. A lot of deliciousness here. Earthy, gritty,herbal, rich. Medium to full bodied, long, lustful finish. There's vanilla and spice, and everything nice. 

The thing about this is ...you have to give up whatever you think about Dragon's Milk, the beer. It's not that. It has almost nothing to do with that. 

A throwback to one of our favorite releases, the final Reserve of 2020 was aged for three months in select bourbon barrels. Deep roasted notes from premium malts combine with the sweet tones of vanilla and a blend of delicious chai spices to create an experience made to be savored.

New Holland Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel-aged Stout

New Holland Bourbon Barrel-aged Stout. New Holland Brewing, Holland, Michigan. 11% ABV.

Solid blackness, thin, but lasting rich brown head.

In the nose: it delivers. Huge chocolate, gigantic bourbon, very vanilla, mucho grande. Powerful whiskey. Fills the nose to the rafters.

In the mouth: Big and creamy, wide and expansive. Huge malt, richness and deliciousness. Vanilla, oak, whiskey, ....chocolate, espresso...everything nice.

This one was a night-capper for me, and I drifted away from the notes. Said what needed to be said, then got lost. It happens sometimes. Sometimes, it happens before the words get written down and I lose a review. Ah, well. Worse things have definitely happened.

Edit: This new label design threw me off. I thought it was a new iteration of Dragon's Milk, but it's just a new look. This beer first appeared here in the Nib nearly six years ago, using the first time I reviewed it from a bottle, almost 13 years ago. So, I've reviewed a beer twice, once more. Again, first world problems.

New Holland Michigan Hatter IPA

Michigan Hatter Ale , Michigan I.P.A., New Holland Brewing company, Holland, Michigan.  Just picked this up at Chicago Lake Liquors, pulled it from the cooler, and once home, I'm drinking it up. Maybe it was the cute hatted redhead on the label that prompted my purchase?

Very hazy amber hue, big white head slims down soon.

Aroma: A garden of hoppy delights…grapefruit, lime, orange, tangerine…plus prickly pine. Great balance of bitter and sweet in this nose.

Taste: Fresh hop flavor up front, some small amount of caramel malt behind it. Bitterness is moderate, alcohol, too, I assume. Consumability is up there, also, and it's a pure pleasure to drink.

I'll take a break to read the label: "Michigan Hatter celebrates our local agriculture with it's Michigan-grown Cascade hops from the Leelanau Peninsula. Bright and aromatic, with delicious malt notes underneath a citrus-y showcase of hops. Pairings: sharp cheddars, herb-roasted poultry and curry."

I'm drinking this in the company of chicken pad thai. It works there, too.

Oddly, I don't see the ABV listed on the paper label, at all. They have a whatchmajiggly code, the squiggly-wiggly thing to take you to their website, but they can't print it on the label.

New Holland Black Tulip Trippel (sic)

New Holland Brewing is in Holland, Michigan. They make a wide array of beers, but something keeps drawing them back towards the Nethlandish inspiration, utilization a rare flower of the region with a beer style with the opposing color. I wouldn't naturally associate "black" with a tripel. Is there a golden tulip? Would that name mean as much as the current one? So many questions.

But now to the here and now, I am drinking a Black Tulip (9% ABV)on tap at the Blue Nile for the first time ever, and looking back on my first notes on it ever, from September of 2004, a good eight and 1/2 years ago, from a bottle. Here's what I said then:


Golden/orange hued, general haze, with a capable cap of foam holding down the fort.

Aroma is a muted blast of sweet and sour, citrus, and sugar, yeast aplenty, more fruits speaking their peace, from pineapple to banana...interesting...

Taste: big mouthfeel at the fore, quickly spreads all along the palate, but feels ultimately mild. Full-on fruity, with tantalizing spice, as well. Me, I'm liking it.
Could be bigger, could be better, but I'm content with it. Still searching for that "tulip-dusting" taste in this, though.
---------------------------
Looking back, I still like it, and I don't know why I thought it should be bigger of better, I find it's just about right on the money. Maybe that was then/this is now. Could it have gotten better over the years? (Looking at other reviews, a friend posted a scathing attack on it around the same time as my initial review, giving it a withering 2.5/5, urging no one to ever try the brew. It's certainly much better now.)

Am I judging a freshly tapped keg versus a bottle shipped to me from I -don't-remember-where back when the brewery wasn't available here? I think I am. And, also, I don't know what the "tulip-dusting taste" remark refers to, perhaps it was on the neck label of the bottle?

New Holland Rye Hatter

New Holland Rye Hatter Rye P.A. New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI.

Dark amber to crimson, under a solid, lasting half inch head, brilliant white, slow to leave.

Aroma: bready malt hits first, with the spice of rye, minor fruit notes coming in next. Pumpernickel in a glass.

Taste: malt comes across smooth yet spicy, complex textures and meaty mouthfeel. It's a mouthful, rich, mucho malty, and fully flavorful. Hops aren't felt as highly, however; you know deep down it's an IPA, and the hops are tasted, but it's subsumed by the rye. Nonetheless, what it is, is delicious. Yum, diddly um-dum-yum. Very tasty.

And the hops are rising, the bitterness is growing, and matches well with the spicy rye malt. I'm liking this more and more. Mmm, mmm.

What does the bottle tell us? " Rye leads spiciness to the caramel-malt base, while creating a creamy texture. Dry-hopping  contributes a fresh citrus finish. Pairings: Blue cheese, blackened seafood, herb-roasted poultry."

I'm having it with Hunan Chicken and chicken-fried rice. It works just fine. But, mmm, I could sure go for some herb-roasted seafood, too. Or blackened poultry?

New Holland Black Hatter

New Holland Black Hatter Black I.P.A. IPA brewed with black malts which add dark, roasted flavors. Dry-hopped Centennial finish. Pairings: aged cheddars, arugula in vinaigrette, portabello stir-fry.

Damn, I had that for dinner last night!

This hatter is cool customer, a Dapper Dan, with a dark fedora, looking the bad guy.  He's Dangerous Dan McFoo, orneriest dude west of the Pecos. Or, at least, it looks like him…
 Okay, let's open it up.

solid black, huge head, light cocoa-tan head, loads of lace. Looking good.

fragrant, floral, and piney hop aromatics, …not much beyond.

Taste: Grassy hops dominate the palate from the start. It's big up front and then takes a back seat. Dark malts are there, not as roasty as promised/hinted at on the label, but they definitely provide a dry finish to the affair. Some chocolate going on, some coffee. Medium-bodied, fully-flavored, not as rich or full as I'd like, but…but, I don't know what to expect from a beer like this, like these hybrids. The hops don't continue after the initial sip, and the malt component makes me think it's a new and different beer than it started out as.

I'm not loving this one. It doesn't stand out, the hops and malt don't blend, they stand apart, and it makes no sense. In the end it feels more like a hoppy porter than a black IPA. Maybe I don't really know what's wrong; more than anything else it comes off lifeless and unremarkable.

Is it old, is that it? There's no way to tell.

Or is it just me? Well, as always, mileage may vary.

New Holland White Hatter Belgian-style White IPA

I have to stop agreeing with people who say the "black IPA" is the latest hip trendy style. Keep forgetting that the new cliche everyone is dying to try is this one, the White IPA. Take an existing style, hop it up, and give it a new name. Is that how we do things? Hm.

Anyway, let's try this out, one of the Hatter series, the White Hatter Belgian-style White Pale Ale, which I presume is a witbier with extra hops. "Ale brewed with natural flavors, brewed and bottled by New Holland Brewing Company, LLC, Holland, MI. 1 pint, 6 fl.oz." No word on alcohol content.

Clear, pale golden appearance, slim, soon gone head.

Aroma: sweet, floral, & fruity. Every bit a wit. Love it, citrus notes, orange and coriander. Very airy, and lively, and pretty, with a hoppy undercurrent.

Taste: there it is, the marriage of wit and IPA, high hopping mixed with wheat, citrus zest and spice. Smooth, sweet and sessional, for sure. But I'm not sure those hops work well in this blend. Let's keep drinking and find out for sure….

While we drink, let'd read" "White Hatter flavorfully blends wheat, oats, & barley with hops & spices; artfully sewn together with delicious notes from fermentation. Pairings: seafood, fennel, mushrooms."  "delicious notes from fermentation"? That's odd, never heard that before. A new way to say "yeast"?

Everything is fine with this ale except that no matter how artfully sewn together they might seem,
I don't think they work well together at all. Are going to have more of this, hoppy wheat ales, will there be India Weizens and such? I hope not.  Some things are classics for a reason, and don't need tinkering.

Here comes the celery, here comes the pepper. Smooth wheat, and then just a smack of bitterness on the tongue. I still don't think the parts mesh well. A hoppy wittier is never on my wish list of beers, it's not a style that needs improvement by adding more hops.

Can I be pegged as a traditionalist? Perhaps. I'm still against imperializing everything under the sun. Wheat IPAs, India Wits, which ever way you paint it, it's just not working for me.

But not a bad experiment, in the least. And, actually, what do you know, but halfway in, the best of it's parts outshine the least. Liking it more.

New Holland Imperial Hatter IPA

Drinking this now, looking back on July, 2009 notes on it:

New Holland Imperial Hatter

Lightly hazed, amber to crimson appearance....dusky orange?nice white head, die too quickly in this pour. 

Caramel tones, and herbal notes in the aroma, citrus-y notes peek out, then the pine, then the prickly pear, the apple...all swirled up with caramel-y, chocolate-y malt. This is no naked, raw in-your-face hop attack in this nose, it's blended and complex.

In the mouth, more of the same. Juicy malt, with bombastic hop attack coming from behind. Not a big, bitter bruiser. Not a ripper of the palate, but it is bigger than the normal IPA. Bitter and sweet, hand in hand, nicely balanced. 
The extra ingredients, and the higher alcohol make this Imperial, and it becomes dominant quickly. Sweet, caramel malt remains large in the flavor, hop quotient just below. 

I like this okay, but wouldn't go back for more, just not my style. Like the graphic, with a hug of beer in the Hatter's hand. What if he had brew at that tea party, how much madder would that party have been? How many more sizes would Alice have grown? Curiouser and curiouser...

New Holland Charkoota Rye Smoked Rye Doppelbock

I first wrote about this on consuming a bomber's worth last year, November, 2010. Apparently, I liked it. While enjoying some on tap now, here are those notes:

Charkoota Rye Smoked Doppelbock Lager, New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI Off goes the cap, then the foil, then the glug, glug, glug... Dark brown coloration, slim head. Aroma: all about the smoke! Big time bacon! Sweet and smokey, huge malt. Rich, thick, and yummy. Feels so good in the mouth, over the palate, and all up and down the gullet. Finish: long, thick, full. Rich malty goodness. Nothing but yum meets yum, wrapped in bacon, smothered in smoke, dripped with deliciousness. Mmm, mmm. I love it. i won't stopped loving it. And it loves me.

New Holland Dragon's Milk

Having tapped my first-ever keg of New Holland's Dragon's Milk on Monday (what took me so long), I checked the volume last night to see how far along we've gone in 4 days. Yikes! Almost gone. So, had a glass after work last night, took some shots, and looked back at my first bottle, from January, 2004:

Appearance: frightfully dark, deep plum color, with a generous, frothy, creamy, light tan head above, lace-leaving, slowly subsiding.

Aroma: chocolate, cream, vanilla...interesting...buttery, with a whiskeyish tinge, as well.

Taste: unusual, the vanilla lingers, a woody, chocolatey character dominates. Small hops, rich malt, and the 10% Abv is sneaky, not kicking into the flavor in the least. Oh, here it comes...fruitiness comes in toward the end, raisiny, plummy, ...such a nice little brew, a great buttress against this ridiculous sub-zero January chill.

I've had this on-tap before, at the Autumn Brew Review last fall, and wasn't so charmed...this bottle changed my mind. Were I a Michiganite, Dragon's Milk would have a coveted spot in the icebox.

New Holland Hopivore

Fresh, Michigan wet-hop ale. I'm drinking this out of season, (came out last October, got a keg in March (?), sat on it until May, re-tapped)but it didn't get raves when it was fresh, either. 6% ABV American pale ale.

Clear, crimson coloring, slim, white head.

Soft aromatics, fruity and mild.

Taste: slight bitterness, nutty, earthy herbal malt flavor. Definitely in a more, English-style pale ale, more balanced, more malt.
Hopivore is a great name for a hoppy ale or a double IPA, but not this one. It's hoppy, all right, but we anticipate a beast, a behemoth, even. This is tasty, a little bitter, but mellow, and easy-drinking.
It's a fine beer, but expectations are very high on beers like this call it Hopivore, it had better be hoppy. Call it a wet hop harvest ale, it had be damned hoppy.
I'm looking at reviews. One guy gives it a D+, calls it a "malt bomb"…that's a bit much.
There's nothing wrong with it, it's just too unimpressive.

New Holland Night Tripper Imperial Stout

Just tapped, notes from the first time I tapped it, two years ago, April, 2009. (Don't think I've ever had a bottle.):

"Solid stygian, with ruby-brown highlights and edges, lush and lovely cocoa-tan head, leaving lace.

Rich, cocoa, espresso nose, soft, sweet, and creamy. Chocolate layer cake, a with coffee swirl.

In the mouth, it's solid and sure. Full-bodied, flush with aforementioned flavors, starting sweet with the lush, chocolatey malt, turning dry as it exits the palate.

Yummy. Not too big, not too lean, not too crazy...juuust right.
Delicious."

New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Wine

On tap now, first had in a bottle back in May of 2004. Wheat barley-wine, 11.4 % a.b.v.

"Gorgeous magenta hue, a deep violet, with a solid ring of beige foam reigning atop. Aroma is full of grapes, alcohol, spice, orange zest, cherries, brandy, leather, cognac, a heady crowd to run with, yeah, but a generous mix for those who favor abundance of flavor.
Taste is smooth, yet still a bit spikey, with a brash, bold fruity flavor clanging in, reminding me, really, of Aventinus, more than anything else, and that's a goood thing, let us not forget!
Has it's own character, fruity, spicy, yet stil maintains a connection to the weizen feel to in the taste, as well.
No quaffer here, this is a truly luxurious brew. Wish I had a magnum, and all the best people and the very best time, to chime in some happy celebration, with this most wondrous brew! "

New Holland Beerhive Tripel

New Holland Beerhive Tripel, Ale Brewed with Honey and ginger, from the High Gravity Series. Little John's local bees create a wildflower-honey which lends a sweet earthy complexity to this traditional style beer. A snap of ginger provides a refreshing finish. Pairings: fresh veggies, soft-ripened cheese, fruit of late summer, custards and biscuits."

Well, what do we do for "fruit of late summer" when it's dead of winter? No matter, I'm pairing this with Chinese chicken with snow peas and pork-fried rice. Let's see what that does.

Anyway, on with the beer…19 deg. Plato, 8.47% by vol.

Clear, reddish hue, definitely a different tone for a triple, small, dotted white head, slims down, stays tight.

Aroma: Definite sweetness, there's the honey, there's the ginger, for certain, again, too unusual attributes in a "traditional style beer." I'm searching for citrus fruit, other spices that make up for a "traditional" tripel and I'm coming up empty.

Taste: A bite at first, then comes sweetness. Another gulp and swallow, once more it's clean and honey-ish, spritz of ginger. Medium bodied, swift, sweetish, and spiced finish. Big carbonation, frequent spank of ginger on the palate, and….

I'm wishing this wasn't a bomber. I'm not feeling it, not getting, not loving it. The honey and ginger don't really gel with what we expect from a tripel, and if it doesn't taste like one, why call it such? A "sweet, earthy complexity"? Um,…not complex enough.
It's an okay beer, I'll finish this not too worse the wear, but it's consumption will not be a pleasant memory, and I won't be singing any of it's purported praises. For all the talk of complexities and flavors, I'm left finding it rather dull.