New Holland Imperial Hatter

Brewed by New Holland Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Holland, Michigan USA

Bomber into snifter. Clear copper body with a nice offwhite cream colored head that’s big and creamy and lacing. Aroma is nice and juicy and fresh: juicy citrus hops with a nice doughy cakey malt backbone. Very clean nice aroma. And, wow was I surprised with the flavor that followed. What happened here? A bit buttery, chemically, and just off. The hop profile is just weird and muted by the bizarrely off malt profile, or diactyl profile, or whatever is going on here. Medium body with medium carbonation. Overall: just a tease. Probably won;t finish this one.

bottle, from Sam’s Quikstop. Ok/good aroma, sweet & bitter, caramel & grapefruit & grass. Clean brownish orange color, ok head and lace on first pour, got better head and lace with a more vigorous pour the second time, Bitter sweet flavor, like aroma, harsh though. Lite body, creamy oily mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. eh, nothing bad, but nothing making me rush out for another, neither aroma or flavor had any moments of fun for me, just an ok impy...

22oz bottle. Pours hazy amber in color with thin tan head. Aroma sweet and citrus hops. Taste bitter hops and malt with bitter finish.

Big hop aroma that strikes me as the grassy variety. The flavor is big sweet hops that are bitter but not too much and the hops are all citrus. This reminds me of my favorite DIPA - Hopslam - but just not quite as flavorful all around. Very good, though.

Grassy and grapefruit hop variety. Easy drinking for the style. The flavors don’t come out and scream at you. Slight alcohol burn. Much better than the regular hatter. New Holland is a brewery that seems to do better with their higher gravity beers; this beer fits in that category.

22oz bottle. Pours a dark orange/copper color with a big foamy white head. Nose is caramel maltyness with some strong sticky hop resins. Palate is very full with a smooth syrupy feel. Flavors of caramel malt, sticky hop notes, piney resin.

On tap at the brewpub: Cloudy amber pour with frothy white head. Very intense pine and citrus nose...PNW dry-hopping all the way. And obviously the pine, tangerine, and grapefruit overwhelm the tastebuds as well, but lurking deep down below I think I detected a touch of caramel and biscuit dough...at least I’m going to say I did because the alternative is to admit that I have finally gone to the irredeemable extreme of just enjoying having my tonsils scorched... and balance be damned! The texture is very lush and creamy...a totally satisfying IIPA. In summary, this new New Holland brew left my tulips smiling.

Very lightly hazed amber to bronze colored liquid. Taller, diminishing head, that settles to a finger of dense beige bubbles. Some small isle of lace. Citric and pine aromas overtake the nose. Slightly grassy and mowed weed if inhaled to strongly. Bits of caramel and malt lurk in the background. Thicker feel, with enough zip ot keep it lively. Pine and caramel in the start. Herbal hops work their way into the middle and finish, with wintergreen and light licorice. Seems a bit to edgy at times, with the spice, but still a decent quaff. Wish the flavors matched the scent a bit closer.