New Holland Imperial Hatter - New Holland Brewing Company

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer was pumped out of a cask, it had a nice foamy head on it. The lacing wasn't to bad. The color of the beer was a nice looking copper color. The smell was hoppy and had some earthy tones to it as well. The taste of the beer has a soft bitterness upfront that changes into a more harsh bitterness in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy. Overall this isn't the best IIPA, but it wasn't bad. I'd drink it again if I was out somewhere and saw it.

Serving type: cask

06-23-2011 15:55:01 | More by Knapp85

homebrew311

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served at the New Holland Brew Pub.

A: pours a clear gold, soapy white head, no lacing

S: smell features nice earthy, piny, and caramel notes. The cask conditioning allows these aromas to be on the forefront which is quite nice.

T: the front is bitter with notes of pine needle, a touch of honey, caramel, and a quick and bitter finish. Decent balance going on. I much prefer the cask version to the bottled version.

MF: creamy, smooth, and velvety...again the cask is helping out here big time

D: I've had this beer out of the bottle and wasn't too impressed. The cask version on the other hand is a whole different animal. Nice bold hop profile with a lot of flavor and aroma.

Serving type: cask

02-26-2011 06:42:54 | More by homebrew311

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.43/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Another great addition to the lineup at the cask fest at Duckworth's yesterday. Everything really came off great during the afternoon, This was served in the standard 11.5oz glass and filled to the rim. Consumed on 03/27/2010.

The pour was rather average in my opinion as the light amber colored ale was very cloudy and only had a small head on top that quickly faded leaving it mostly bare. Light carbonation streaming up but nothing to write home about. Aroma was light, hints of citrus and pine mixed with light grain and an herbal, meadow like presence. Too light. As I take a sip sharp alcohol bites the tongue but mellows quickly, but the overall profile is rather unbalanced. Sharp citrus and grain are quickly fading away from the taste buds leaving the mouth dry and looking for something else. Body is a bit thin, nothing terrible, just needed a little bit more IMO. Drinkable, but you feel it with every sip.

Overall it was decent but I was expecting more from it to be honest. Still good though.

Serving type: cask

03-28-2010 18:43:03 | More by mikesgroove

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Luckily we ended up at HopCat on Hatter Night! Imperial Hatter on cask, served in a tulip.

Pours a hazy dark orange, some reddish highlights, very chunky and thick off white head forms, drops an ass ton of lace on the glass, keeps a very thick layer, looks great. Smell is real nice, big grapefruit and pine, lots of floral, very hoppy, caramel and biscuit malts, grassy, very pungent and spicy, very balanced, hop character is great. Taste is real nice too, grapefruit kick at first, caramel malt, some light biscuit, super smooth, pine and floral, more grapefruit, alcohol is well hidden, big hoppy and bitter but balanced finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, insanely smooth, alcohol is well hidden. This was pretty great, perfect DIPA for cask.

Serving type: cask

07-03-2009 15:49:38 | More by Viggo

grub

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

sampled on cask at hopcat june 12/09.

pours hazy orangey amber with a big dense off-white head. the head drops very slow with lots of lace.

aroma is nice. light citrus - grapefruit and orange. pine. white bread. light alcohol. at first it seems mild, but as you take a deeper sniff the alcohol and hops really jump out and take hold.

taste is good. big blast of bright and slightly sweet citrus - orange, tangerine, grapefruit. light alcohol. white bread. biscuit. just over medium bitterness level. mostly dominated by bright citrus, light sweetness, and mild alcohol. bit of caramel and toffee.

mouthfeel is good. very low carbonation level. just over medium body.

drinkability is great. excellent balance. nice hop and malt depth. works really well on cask too. good stuff!

Serving type: cask

06-30-2009 21:47:25 | More by grub

rajendra82

Georgia

4.33/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The orange amber colored body was clear, and the pour formed three ginger thick head. The carbonation looked subdued. The aroma was very tropical, with mango, peach, and papaya smells. There were also spicy and herbal notes in the nose. The taste was quite intense, as the spicy hops battled with the very sweet malt base. The result was not unlike sucking on a cinnamon flavored red hot. The alcohol was very warming as well, and the mouthfeel was sticky. This was a typical east coast style DIPA, with complex malt bill, lots of herbal hops, but no bracing bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:01:30 | More by rajendra82

mrw1zard

Alabama

3.74/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice copper / amber color. Not much head, but decent lacing down the glass. Large hoppy nose to this, decent mouthfeel with a lingering effect. The ABV is definitely present in this. Probably not a session beer by any means, although I do prefer the regular Mad Hatter for that. Worth trying, but maybe only once.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 23:56:34 | More by mrw1zard

Indybier

Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

2012 Vintage.

Nice murky amber in the glass. Creamy foam w/decent lacing.

The nose has the hops, but, not as much as one might expect from an Imperial. Pretty standard nose.

Initial offering on the palate was a bitter bomb coupled w/the 9+ abv. After a few minutes in the glass the bitterness toned down and the hops came around. Not too much backbone here or complexity.

The mouthfeel is probably this beers best attribute as it has a nice creaminess to the hop and booze.

The fact that my local mega-grocer has opened it's doors to craft and has this on the shelf for 9.99, I can't complain. But, given it's sitting right next to double jack, sucks and 6xers of southern tier 2x dipa and lagunitas maximus, I probably will not be stocking up.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 21:47:33 | More by Indybier

tdm168

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A - dark orangish amber with a thin, thick layer of off white head that has good retention

S - at first it smells a bit of wet dog with an odd mustiness, but then there are notes of bread, alcohol, sugar, and some faint hops

T - intense earthy and piney hops, some toast, some faint caramel in the finish, vegetal, intensely bitter finish, some warming alcohol

M - full bodied, a bit warm at times, well carbonated

This is a nice beer, but it could use a bit of cleaning up. The nose isn't great but underneath an odd aroma there is an indication of intense malts. The taste however reveals none of those intense malts. Instead, the hops explode on the palate immediately revealing an intense, bitter, piney, resiny, earthy hop character. There are flashes of malt that lend some balance, but the hops still dominate. Overall, this is a decent DIPA though not the most balanced. The hops are in your face and the ABV is big so it should please a lot of people on that alone. I'm glad I tried this once, and I certainly wouldn't turn it down in the future, but I'm looking for something a bit more balanced.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 22:49:44 | More by tdm168

youngleo

Michigan

3.44/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Poured to a nice two inch head that was a slight off white in color. Brew itself was a light brown in color. Head didnt hang around very long. But did leave some lacing. Smelled of sweet notes right away. And also of hops and malt. Tasted slightly sweet. Also that pine taste and malt. Had a slight bitter aftertaste. Aftertaste lasted a little bit after swallowing. Pine taste also hung around awhile. Felt good in the mouth. I thought the carbonation was right. Overall I thought it was a little on the sweet side. ID buy again. It just wasnt one of my favorites IPA

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 19:33:40 | More by youngleo

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle received in trade with leafsj - thanks! "2011 Vintage" is printed on the label

Appearance - Hazy copper colour with an above average size fizzy beige coloured head. It's hard to make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some decent lacing. The head lasted for over 5 minutes.

Smell - Malts, caramel, hops

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste caramel and malts mixed with hops. There is also some grapefruit/oranges mixed with some pineapple. It ends with a malty slightly bitter aftertaste.

Overall – I guess I have to get my hands on a 2012 bottle to do a proper review. This one is basically a barleywine. Still not a bad beer even with a few years on it. I'd like to try more from this brewer.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 01:37:21 | More by spinrsx

nickfl

Florida

3.63/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a clear, copper colored body. The head fades away quickly but leaves decent lace.

S - Pine, musty socks, and some spicy hop notes with some caramel in the background.

T - Sweet malt with notes of caramel up front. Some spicy grapefruit in the middle with a finish of sugary malt, oniony hops and dark toffee.

M - Moderately thick body, slightly higher than average carbonation, and a balanced finish.

D - Definitely a malt forward, "east coast" DIPA. The malt more than balances the hops, which is ok, but the hops are oniony and floral without much in the way of pine or citrus, which leaves the beer with a lack of what most of us think of as American hop character.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 04:19:45 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

3.98/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: thin head on a fairly clear light amber body with

S: caramel and toasted malts, tart citrus, wood and brown sugar.

T: malt forward with toasted and caramel malts, wood, some spicey floral hops with some citrus in the finish but not your typical sharp bitter or citrus hop flavor you think of for an imperial IPA. The alcohol is very well hidden here.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall: incredibly drinkable for the style and ABV without loosing too much hop flavor, the flavor is just different and less in your face than others in the genre.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 04:18:16 | More by kylehay2004

andrewjraab

Michigan

3.98/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - reddish orange color. Decent off white head - not much stick.

S - Grapefruit, hops, floral, fruity. Smells wonderful.

T- Phenomenal balance of hop bitterness and smooth rich sweetness. Dry and bitter finish - highly drinkable.

O - This is a superb DIPA - rich and easily drinkable for the ABV. Could be dangerous. This is a must have.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 23:45:11 | More by andrewjraab

williamjbauer

West Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottled served in a weizen glass

A - Clear amber, golden, with a 2 finger white fluffy head with good retention and nice sticky lacing.

S - Strong grapefruit and pine hoppy notes, a bit of booze and a nice touch of caramel malts.

T - A fairly good dry hopped imperial IPA though a little heavy on the grapefruit/citrus notes, would love a bit more complexity and some more malt or booze notes would be nice to balance things out. Otherwise a decent but not necessarily standout DIPA.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O - Pretty good, i don't mind drinking this one, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it after the first try.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 17:01:49 | More by williamjbauer

SometimesIfart

Michigan

4.6/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours ruby with a two finger head that sticks around long after the pour. Leaves beautiful lacing. Absolutely stunning look from this beer.

S - Mild malt, strong grapefruit, mango, orange, wheat, and lemon.

T - Medium malt, grapefruit, lemon, mango, grapes, banana. Taste matches it's younger brother.

M - Medium carbonation with a medium to heavy body. Works well for this brew.

O - Maybe I'm biased due to my love of the original mad hatter, but this is a very good beer that I would have again.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 18:55:51 | More by SometimesIfart

AmitC

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Vintage 2011. Imperial hatter from new holland. I had high expectations from this.

Pours with very little to no head. Amber- light copper in color. Translucent appearance. Some bubbles. Seems low on carbonation. After observing it in more details, you see a layer of greenish, wooden color at the top, which i assume is due to dry hopping and probably due to its age.

Smell is inviting, grass piney and citrus with tinges of grapefruit. Not the very best but still good and consistent smell. Again, seems a little subdued. Could have been stronger for a DIPA.

Taste is its drawback. Very sweet or lacking bitterness for a DIPA. To me that is something that puts me off. Could have used more bitterness or may be it is due to its age.

Mouth feel. Light to medium bodied. Does not feel full. A little oily and resinous towards the end.

Does it meet my expectations? Partially. Not a Rockstar DIPA but still a very good experimentation IPA. Worth a try. Like its alcohol strength. Packs a punch for sure. Gosh this is strong. Performs this well because of its alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 20:55:59 | More by AmitC

peabody

Kentucky

3.9/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours out a cloudy hazy brown that clears up with a little time. Lacing around the glass and the 1/2 finger of bubbles that stick around for quite some time.
Smell is citrus and hop. Some malt and sugar but the strong floral hop is the star here.
Taste is mellow and sweet at first then quickly the flavor goes to bitter lemon peel with grapefruit rind thrown in there for good measure.
Mouthfeel is a tad sticky but the bitterness takes over and doesn't let go. This one holds on for a very long time.
Overall this is a really good Imperial IPA. Too bad it's 3.59 a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 22:12:06 | More by peabody

mfavoino

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottles says 2011 vintage.

Appearance: Pours a light amber with orange edges. A finger and a half head dissipates to a rim and leaves spotty lacing.

Smell: Light citrus aroma with a caramel backing. Smells sweet.

Taste: Initial subtle hop bite that has a citrus and grassy flavor. Pretty Sweet sugars and caramel keep the balance. Finishes with a lingering citrus sweetness and lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, well-hidden abv, medium-bodied, and not too much bitterness on the finish.

Overall: Nice mouthfeel and balanced, moderate flavors make for an above average DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 03:30:23 | More by mfavoino

Brenden

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The color is a chill-hazed burnished dark orange with an iota of haze looking to be natural. It develops a yellow-tinted head just over a finger in height that shows good retention and leaves good, patchy lacing.
The bouquet is bursting with grapefruit and citrus before I begin pouring, and it smells delicious. A bit more sniffing reveals a touch of mint and great balance from biscuity supporting malts along with a lingering herbal note and a touch of tobacco. Alcohol is hinted at but very well integrated for 9.4%.
The taste has some of the citrus but not as much as the nose offers, going instead for a leafier, slightly pithier note. It edges toward that earthier, almost onion note but stops short of it. The malts again provide good balance and this beer shows the trademark of a good DIPA: lots of hops without breaking the palate, complexity and lots of flavor with balance.
The feel is pretty creamy in a medium-full body with supportive but moderate carbonation and an even nip of crispness.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 21:59:50 | More by Brenden

jeremyd365

Michigan

4.43/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Looked and smelled great--solid cloudy orange with a great citrusy hop nose. The flavor was a real hop smack but not overly bitter. Very drinkable. I'd get this again if I didn't have to pay $9.50 a bottle where I was. Worth trying for sure, though!

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 23:44:46 | More by jeremyd365

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

4.18/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz botle poured into a snifter
Vintage 2011... really need to start checking bottle dates.

A- Pours hazy orange with a half finger off white head. Quick dissipation and some alcohol legs.

S- An extremely sweet aroma. There is a ton of citrus tones, sugary pineapple, grape, mango, grapefruit. Nice stuff

T- A medium-high bitterness followed by a heap of citrus flavors. There is a lot of mango, papaya, and pineapple. This is a sugary tasting IPA and is on the sweet side. The sweetness takes the citrus flavors to the next level.

M- drinks as well as a 9.4 beer should. Good carbonation and nice full feel. Hoppy and bitter aftertaste.

O- Impressive IPA, expecially considering the fast that it is way past due. Im going to have to seek out some fresh ones.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 02:54:57 | More by TwelveOunces

ThickNStout

Georgia

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle from Beer Baron (Detroit, MI). 5.29. 2011 vintage. Served in a Founders snifter. 

Pours a murky deep dark orangey yellow with about a half finger pale cream head. Head recedes quickly but leaves a few scattered spots of lacing. 

Interesting nose. Bold sour bitter grapefruit citrus, candy sugar, sweet bread, herbal and floral hops with a hint of booze. 

Bitter grapefruit hops jump out front in the flavors. A nice little blend of the citrus and herbal hops, dough, sugar, pine and currants. Thr alcohol peeps through occasionally but is well hidden for the most part. 

Medium full feel with a good amount of carbonation. Nice & oily sticky slick. An alcohol cooling effect adds to the long bitter hoppy aftertaste. 

While it isn't my favorite imperial IPA by any means, this is a solid offering. As a 2011 vintage I'm sure the hops have faded but I could still detect a good deal. I may not buy a 4 pack but I'll definately try this again if I'm ever someplace that has it fresh on tap. 

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2012 03:44:34 | More by ThickNStout

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A-dark amber with a thin cream colored head

S-smells strong of hops, old grass, and herbs. It's a strong boozy scent. 

T-comes in with a fairly decent taste of, well, what it smells like minus the booze. It's actually an okay taste. It does have a distinct aged taste to it. 

M-medium carbonation with a semi dry finish

O-it's not absolutely terrible, though it is fairly difficult to drink. I would've preferred to share this, yes the 12 ounce bottle. It just has a certain aged sweetness to it that I find difficult to finish. 

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2012 00:57:46 | More by AdamBear

MadScientist

New York

3.95/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I picked up a bottle while I was in Michigan for a wedding and didn't notice it was a 2011 vintage, so it's 6 to 18 months old at this point.

This is a bright and clear, medium copper colored beer with a persistant light tan head. There is a tiny stream of bubble rising from just the center of the glass, obviously a light carbonation.

Moderate Pineapple and citrus hops aroma and a light alcohol aroma that come together in an almost cidery way. There is also malt sweetness and a slight resinous note in the back. There is nothing in the way of fermentation aromas. Overal it doesn't have the strength nor depth of hop aromas I'd expected until I realized that it had some age on it.

The hop flavors are also muted like in the aroma only that the moderate citrus and pine are the stronger flavors with pineapple playing a supporting role along with a malt sweetness. There is a moderately-high hops bitterness and a smooth alcohol note leading the way to an semi-dry finish with a lingering bitterness.

It has a medium body and a moderately-light carbonation with a moderate alcohol heat. Very smooth with no astringency.

This is drinking like an aggressively hop American Barley Wine and is still an enjoyable beer. I'd look for a fresh vintage to get agressive hops characters but woun't shy away from one with some age on it is still a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 00:20:48 | More by MadScientist