New Holland Dragons Milk

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

sweet malty aroma, wood, grass, hay, and bourbon. flavor pretty much the same...a very sweet beer with a hint of alcohol and the strong wood and bourbon aftertaste. a slightly acidic character to it, especially after the sweetness wears off the aftertaste, and it leaves a sour residual behind.

22oz. bomber. One of the best looking beers ive seen with a sticking head and great lacing. The aroma began with a wonderful choclate, vanilla, and fruits and by the end it was alcohol and bourbony. At the first taste, I was a little unsure. The taste did not seem to match the aroma at all. I got a chemical metallic flavor, but as it warmed it definitely improved exponentially. By the end it tasted more like a red wine or bourbon than a beer. The flavor tasted a little sour but it was a good sour that added to the flavor.

Aroma is interesting - somewhat smoky like a stout, but with a strong alcohol bite like a barleywine and a decided overtone of oak. It pours a dark, warm, chocolaty brown with a fairly thick beige head that is not all that persistent. Flavor is somewhere between a stout and a barleywine - oak dominates, and there is some "stouty" smoke-coffee-chocolate flavor plus quite a strong alcohol bite like a good brandy. Texture is sharp, edgy and tingly, going down more like hard liquor than beer.

A beer that simply looks powerful, with a very dark brown, almost black color, and light tan head. Aroma has some dark fruits among other things. Flavor is really quite good, bringing in some chocolate and coffee flavors. Has a somewhat creamy smoothness as well. Really a very nice brew.

Loved it. Dark brown almost black with a small tan head. Nice aroma of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon. Flavor is similar with wood coming through. Very smooth finish. My first thought was whoa, this is gonna be good.

Poured from bottle. Poured a dark brown with nice tan head. Smell was bourbon and vanilla. It smelled delightful! Taste was WOW! Vanilla, caramel, light coffee, and of course, the alcohol. This is probably one of my favorite barrel aged beers so far...VERY good!

Bottle from Raleigh WBF. Thought I tried the oak aged version (listed separately on this site), but seems like Dragon’s Milk is always oak aged so I’m rating this version. Pours a dark brown with some ruby highlights topped by a thin, creamy, tan head. Aroma of milk chocolate (perhaps more so than any other beer I’ve rated to date), Bailey’s Irish Cream, bourbon, oak. Taste is similar with loads of creamy milk chocolate, a spicy bourbon alcohol bite, vanilla ice cream, and a dry, oaky finish. Really just an awesome beer.

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.