Copacetic amber-coppered off-dry medium body welcomes spice-hopped grain roast with persistent pale malt sweetness. Earthen peat trench backs latent fructose tang. Sweetly soured grapefruit, apricot and apple nuances barely reach fruition.
All posts by John Fortunato
NEW HOLLAND RED TULIP ALE
Toasted wheat and ‘windmilled grains’ smoothen cherry ripeness, cane sugar sweetening, and caramel-mocha malt wisp of coppery ruby hazed ale. Cola nut, cocoa, and purple grape illusions fall off as mild alcohol astringency and floral barleywine finish expand.
NEW HOLLAND PALEOOZA AMERICAN PALE ALE
Initial offering by Michigan brewery counters sweet butterscotch caress, dry fruity appeal, and frugal nuttiness with capricious Cascade hop spicing. Pine notes adorn wheat biscuit spine as mild lemon-grapefruit-apricot bittering and herbaceous floral kick rapidly swell.
NEW HOLLAND MAD HATTER INDIA PALE ALE
Beneath lumpy tan head and viscous butterscotch hue lies tiny yeast sediment as mild IPA brightens grassy-hopped grain bitterness with brisk floral-bound orange peel bittering and sugar-spiced mango-pineapple-peach-pear-melon-tangerine fruit punch. Silken pine-combed spruce undercurrent fills out creamy caramel center. Light, crisp and zesty enough for fair weather pale ale lovers.
NEW HOLLAND LUCID KOLSCH-STYLED ALE
Marmalade-bound oats-grained amber-hazed springtime ale tucks citric quinine-watered crispness below glutenous sourdough pungency. Prominent clay hops increase lemon-soured grapefruit-orange-tangerine tartness to bitter end.
NEW HOLLAND ICHABOD PUMPKIN ALE – 2008
Dry lacquered pumpkin pie surety magnifies cinnamon-draped baked apple seduction, autumnal allspice-nutmeg-clove-coriander spicing and wintry gingerbread tease. Juniper-hopped bittering and barren herbal seasoning counter sweet pastry-like malting. Goes well with creamy New York-style cheesecake.
NEW HOLLAND FULL CIRCLE SINGLE MALT LAGER
Quick hop hit gets sunny sour lemon twist and peppery accent for summery light-bodied tranquility, but initial fizzy briskness lost in dreary dry wheat simmer by slightly acidic finish.
NEW HOLLAND DRAGON’S MILK ALE
Majestic oak-barreled ruddy maroon-hazed strong ale sustains durable burgundy-doused milk stout opulence. Hickory-smoked bourbon-sherry-port licks saturate lactose-frothed cocoa buttering, dark chocolate syruping and toffee molasses portal to rum-soaked raisin finish, gaining cherry puree souring along the way. Hop-charred maple-molasses density tweaks tertiary French vanilla, hazelnut, cola nut, plum wine, dark whiskey and Amaretto sassafras. Chewy slow sipper perfect as wintry nightcap.
NEW HOLLAND BLUE GOAT DOPPELBOCK
Fab Michigan brewer turns to Rogue-like embossed label with Stone-y side parable for busy ruby chestnut-hued full body. Though only its minor sugarplum sweetness and stewed prune seduction seem specifically bock-like, there’s no denying thick chocolate-y vanilla incline and fitting hazelnut-almond influence. Caramelized barleymalt base deepens butterscotch-maple trench guarding fruitcake-like fig-date finish.
NEW HOLLAND BLACK TULIP TRIPPEL ALE
Glowing yellow-hazed Belgian-styled ale integrates lemon-peeled orange rind souring with floral clove-coriander spicing as herbal hop persuasion increases. Concealed tangerine-pineapple-mango tang scurries above tart cranberry, green apple, and dried banana midst. Peppery ‘tulip pedal’ dusting and white grape tannins leave oaken resin atop pungent bitterness.
NEW GLARUS ZWICKEL BEER
Dubious bronze-clouded Bavarian-styled brew with bruised cherry tang, cracked wheat sweetness and decent hop bite seemingly lacks stylistic direction. Inconsequential caramel malting at murky finish tames its initial promise.
NEW GLARUS WISCONSIN BELGIAN RED
Epicurean ruby red Kriek-styled ale registers mightily with coarsely addictive oak-casked Montmorency cherry tartness above fizzy soda flow. Lemon-candied apple cider sourness and dry sparkling champagne wining galvanize cherry rhubarb pie theme. Acidic grape esters wield into serene barley-wheat base. Dramatic cherrystone finish sustains intriguing succulence. At Great America Beer Fest ’02, many admirers attended only for the chance to try this cherished stone-fruited knockout. Re-tasting twelve years hence: high quality was sustained.