New Holland Pilgrims Dole

Brewed by New Holland Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Holland, Michigan USA

Pours a clear dark amber body topped by small beige head. Aroma is sweet, maple syrup, caramel apple and raisin. Flavor is moderately sweet, caramel, fig, raisin maple syrup. Light alcohol burn as it goes down the throat. Medium-full body, sticky texture.

Bomber pours into a snifter a clear chestnut amber with a small offwhite to beige head. Malty and spicy aroma with wheat highlights. Malty taste of honeyed wheat bread with notes of dark fuits, molasses, and spicy alcohol. Hop biterness in the finish. I’m not a big fan of this style but this one’s a good sipper.

Poured from a new, 22oz, silk-screened bottle and served in a snifter. This barley wine poured a clear, dark amber with a thin, creamy, beige head that quickly faded away, leaving a few lingering bubbles. A fair amount of lace was left behind. The aroma of the beer was made up of rich, buttery caramelized sugar and toffee, peanut brittle, and some dark fruits as well. The flavor on the other hand, was a huge letdown. It consisted of mild citrus, faint caramel, and was just bland and nowhere near as rich as the aroma. The mouthfeel was a bit thin and had mild carbonation. The beer looked and smelled very nice, but the flavor did not live up to the aroma that it initially produced.

22oz silk-screened label, no date. Clear orange with a creamy one finger light beige head, pretty good retention. I don’t see anywhere where this is bourbon barrel aged, but it is definitely apparent--vanilla, oak, caramel, and fall leaves. Flavor is again fairly bourbony with the same aforementioned aromas, hints of old tobacco, and some alcohol--not detracting, just warming. There are light buttery hints, which work well here. The barrel aging is a little overdone, so I could see how that’d turn some people off. I think it’s quite nice. Semi-dry finish with bitterness around a 2-3. Light carbonation with a full body. Very nice beer--I didn’t really pick up on many of the wheat wine attributes that I do on other wheat wines, but this was very good nonetheless.

22 oz. bottle via trade with OhioDad quite some time ago - Pours a clear mohogany color with a 3/4 finger thick off white head. Faint spotty lacing. Aroma is a very nice toasted malt with some esters in there. Flavor is a perfectly sweetened toasted malt with light esters. As the beer warms, a hint hint of vanilla becomes noticeable to the nose. Medium body. Smooth palate. Alcohol is nicely tucked away toward the back of this beer. I’m not quite sure of the age, but I’ve had it for over a year. This is an excellent malt forward BW. Thanks Scott. We miss ya.

Pours a deep amber color with a white head. Aroma is malty, wheaty, fruity, and peppery hops. Flavor is malty, caramel, wheat, and a bitter peppery finish.

A deep amber color with great lacing and a frothy off-white head and good retention. A really sweet malty nose of dark fruit; figs and plum. Tast is a syrupy molassas with brown sugar, raisins, dates, and maybe some prune. A nice mild bitter finish. Some notes of alcohol as well. Very nice mouthfeel.

Pours a dark amber with a minimal but persistent off-white head that laces. Aroma is sweet bread dough and some spiciness. Taste is buttery and smooth. Well balanced butterscotch, caramel, burnt sugar, and mild hop bitterness flavor. Some warmth of alcohol after the finish, but really un-noticeable in the taste. Damn good! BTW, this tastes almost identical to Schlafy’s Barleywine, except that it’s $5.99 per bomber vs. $8.49 per bomber.