New Holland The Poet

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

Bottle. 12 oz. Split with Vinny. Pours dark brown, nearly opaque, with a thin, yet creamy beige head. Aroma of bread, yeast, oats, raisins and cinnamon. Very slight mouthfeel; rather thin body. Finishes nice and calmly. Good oatmeal stout.

Presentation: Arrived in a Shaker pint glass. Appearance: 1 1/2 fingers of medium tan head. This settles to a thin, incomplete coating of foam. Decent lacing as the drink progresses. The beer itself is dark brown to black. Smell: Slight roasted barley bitterness with hints of coffee in the finish. Taste: Roasted barley bitterness. Noticeable absence of creaminess normally associated with oats. Mouthfeel: Average carbonation level. Body is a little thin, especially for a stout. Drinkability: Not a bad drink, but certainly nothing over the top or even worth seeking out again.

Bottle. Poured black with a thick brown head. Aroma was full of grain, oat and a bit of caramel. Flavor was one note with grain/oat malts dominating.

THOUGHTS: A little thin for the style in both body and flavor. The flavor did increase as it warmed, though. Very oily. Nice beer, but a so, so oatmeal stout. Not very sweet for a sweet stout, but it had great balance. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was nearly black in the glass with red highlights and an average, off-white head that kept a thin sheet and left excellent lacing. The aroma was nice, but weak. There was light cereal, roasted malt, sour coffee and oats; and cherry. The initial flavor was sour, lightly sweet and bitter; while the finish was sweet, sour and a tad bit bitter with an average duration. There was roasted malt, oats, cherry, apple, a little red wine, some sour coffee, and a hint of dark chocolate in the tail end. The medium body was oily with fizzy carbonation and a lightly astringent and ever so slightly metallic finish.

Essentially black with a quick fading tan head. Aroma is chocolate with a and a bit of roast and a very mild wet dog. Roasty chocolate and coffee tastes with a bitter bicarbonate finish.

Not as good as it could be, little dry for a sweet stout. Nice looking beer, but just doesn’t have the complete flavor that I’m looking for.

Bottled; procured at Total Wine in Charlotte. A very large head and opaque black appearance. Hoppy aroma and definite coffee flavor. Slightly bitter finish with a hint of sweetness. I like it.

Sampled at 2009 Pittsburgh Brufest. Poured pitch black with a small off-white head that left some lacing. Good aromas and flavors of oatmeal, roasted malt, chocolate, and slight coffee. Was a little thin, but besides that it was a very solid stout.