New Holland Dragons Milk

Brewed by New Holland Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Holland, Michigan USA

Very nice beer here, and big thanks to mmm///beer for shipping it too me. If I didn’t know better, I would say this was very close to a stout or porter. The chocolatey aroma, rum raisins, figs, bourbon and molasses are all accentuated by the wood. A great looking beer in my Maudite glass, it does carry some deep garnet colors on the edges when held up to a bright enough light. A thick 3-finger light tan camp kept the beer under wraps. The flavors had the nice complexities that a good stout/porter can have. Chocolate, molasses, roasted malts, bourbon, dark fruits, oak....very nice beer. But an English Strong Ale? Let’s just call it good.

Slightly hazy dark brown with a dense, creamy, beige and lacing head. Fat aroma of malt, fruit and dried fruits. Medium body with notes of dried fruit - raisins in particular. Lightly sweet yet with a somewhat dry and hoppy finish. Unusual but good.

shared bomber. pours a dark brown with a touch of tan head. nice aromas... caramel, molasses, bourbon and malts. medium body over the palate with the vanilla and oak shining through on the finish. a bit of alcohol as well and thinned out as it goes down. overall a very nice and enjoyable beer, but not something I would actively seek out again.

Sampled at Cellar’s Wine & Spirits Wednesday evening beer tasting. Pours a semi-clear dark reddish brown brew with a thin beige head that slowly dissipates to a fine film and ring. Nice lacing on this brew. Aroma of roasted caramel malt, a touch of bourbon, butterscotch, raisins and dark chocolate. Taste is smooth, creamy with flavors of roasted dark malt, chocolate, a touch of bourbon and vanilla. Finish is slightly metallic texture with a dark chocolate and vanilla aftertaste. Though I got a slightly laugh out of the host explaining that this is a "fluffy beer" this fluffy strong ale turned out pretty good.

Pours a dark brown with some red highlights when held up to the light. Caramel, raisins, bourbon, molassess in the nose. The taste is very caramelly, with hints of vanilla and oak. Mouthfeel is, ironically, milky. Pretty good ale, though I’m not completely convinced of it being english. Almost chocolately finish.

Draft at Green Leafe. Raisin and molasseses sweet taste. Wood in there too. Alcohol very present.

Small sample from the bottle. Consumed during the New Holland beer and chocolate pairing at Great Taste of the Midwest on 8-9-2008. 2006 edition. Pours brown with a reddish hue and beige head. Bourbon and raspberry aroma. Pleasant, mellow, milky, sweet taste has soft bourbon and stout-like elements. Medium body. Subtle but good.

THOUGHTS: A nice beer, but not very British at all. Seemed more like an American Strong Ale. It did get a little British as it warmed and some of the hops came out a litter beer. It smelled nice but not really like it was described on the bottle. Overall, nice but still a little disappointing. Also my bottle said 8.5% ABV not 9 as listed here TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, dark brown with red highlights when held to the light and a small, tan head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate to heavy caramel, chocolate and coffee malts, light wood, light vanilla and alcohol. The initial flavor was moderate to heavily sweet and lightly acidic; while the finish was heavily sweet and light to moderately bitter with an average duration. The flavor was nice but a little watery. There was lots o’ malt. Some chocolate and coffee, then just a hint of villa and slightly more wood and even less hops. The medium body was oily then syrupy later with soft carbonation and a very light alcoholic finish for the ABV.