New Holland Existential: Hopwine - New Holland Brewing Company

jeremyd365

Michigan

3.05/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Advertised as "Existential Ale": Poured a golden coppery with a white head. Smelled for a strange fruity-malty-hoppiness and also tasted of a strange blend that I wasn't too fond of. I don't know exactly what I didn't like, but perhaps it was the type of hops used or the other spices involved. It was strange nonetheless, but with a decent mouthfeel being about medium. The drinkability would have been fine had I liked the flavor. It just wasn't my cup of tea, but I guess others should try it for themselves.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2009 01:11:44 | More by jeremyd365

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

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

On tap at UJ's on the Manatawny last weekend.

The beer pours a copper amber color with decent head retention and lacing. The nose is pretty sweet and malty on this beer, but with a good lick of noticeable hoppy bitterness as well. Still, this beer smells as if it will be pretty sweet. As expected, this beer comes across as a fairly high alcohol IPA, but with a particular sweet and malty base. There is enough hops to keep it from tasting too sweet, but the beer is noticeable boozy and a bit heavy. The beer does have a pretty nice mouthfeel, and is smooth and long on the finish. However, alcohol is a bit over the top and hurts the beer's drinkability just a bit.

This is a still a solid beer, though I confess I'd like it even more if it had a bit less sweet malt and alcohol, and bit more hoppy bitterness to counter it.

Serving type: on-tap

02-25-2009 19:59:50 | More by johnmichaelsen

HeyItsChili

South Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer has a beautiful amber-blond shade to it. It has some decent viscosity to it, and leaves a slightly bubbly, slow-slumping film on the inside of my glass.

The aroma is very hoppy, as the name would suggest, with some malt backing it up if not slightly overpowering it. There's a tinge of sweetness intertwining with a kick of alcohol that gives away the 10.5% ABV boasted by this brew.

Texture-wise it is a little creamy, breaking up and thinning out as I twirl it on the end of my tongue.

The flavor starts off buttery sweet, candy/caramel/toffee blending with a powerful backend. One can almost sense the bitter hoppy aftertaste, but before it really kicks your tongue it is brilliantly masked by the other flavors.

This is described as a hopwine, and I think that is an appropriate name as this blends the crisp boldness of a strong IPA with the strength and sweetness of a barley wine.

Summary: Drink this beer if you want a well crafted beer that is unabashedly hoppy, but not obnoxiously so; that's strong and sweet; that's creamy, but not sludgy.

Serving type: growler

11-20-2008 19:34:22 | More by HeyItsChili

Oxymoron

Colorado

2.58/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

How do I know if the beer is really here or not? Pours a burnt orange color. Mostly cloudy with a fizzy white head. Does dissipate quickly but some rings around the glass. Limited lacing.

The nose is on par with an East coast DIPA. The hops come out nicely with some citrus and piney. There are some off notes, cat urine specifically, that I usually associate with simcoe hops. The malt is a bit muddle overall with some minor caramel and toffee notes. The yeast has some alcohol and noticeable musty notes.

The taste is similar but the malt comes out more as the hops back off. To start there is a sweet malt flavor that has some off toffee and nutty notes. There is a light honey flavor in the background. There is something I just can't pick out as well, but has a almost wheat characteristic. The hops are not as offensive as the nose but more of a piney flavor mixed with a earthy citrus finish. Good bitterness with some minor astringency. The yeast notes are off as well, with noticeable alcohol and esters, mostly floral.

The body is moderate to full. Some astringency but not over the top. Carbonation is low. Overall this is a disappointment for a DIPA. Muddle notes in the malt and off hop aromas and tastes. Noticeable off yeast characteristics. Sorry, just not very impressive.

Serving type: on-tap

10-22-2008 15:37:59 | More by Oxymoron

blakesell

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from the tap into a Lindeman's Framboise glass.

Appearance- Beer pours a clear golden with a very creamy looking half finger head. Lacing is very ample, and baby gots her some very nice looking legs. Head never dies down, merely subsides to a murk of foamy goodness across the top.

Smell- Oh sweet gluey jesus, perfumery and powerful pine hops that will never subside, I can tell already. The damn drunken smokers next to me are making this beer harder to smell, but the hops still leap out at me. Grapefruit, cat piss, antiseptic, I catch oak, but I think it's all in my head.

Taste- Rich hoppy goddess! This elixir is filled to the brim with sweet pine freshness, lush citrus, biting, slightly burning alcohol, the taste lingers and metamorphoses on the tongue. Lightly soapy, but just about every other hop nuance is on the mouth as well, so it'll pass.

Mouthfeel- Creamy, warming, thick, gluey, full bodied, lightly astringent, highly carbonated, sticky, excellent.

Drinkability- Higher drinkability than the bottle, a pleasure and I would love to have it on tap at home.

Serving type: on-tap

07-22-2008 00:58:44 | More by blakesell

FtownThrowDown

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On draft at Glendale Cafe.
Pours a ruby red in color with brownish undertones. Very big on the smell. You can tell right away that this is big beer. Plenty of malt and sweetness in the taste. Followed by some hops to help round it out. Not incredibly complex, but a good beer. Mouthfeel is huge and creamy. Slightly bittering as well.

Serving type: on-tap

07-19-2008 02:55:22 | More by FtownThrowDown

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a. Hazy golden yellow with some nice head and lacing.

s. Piney hops dominate the nose theres some boozey notes too.

t,m,d. Caramel and a huge wave of hops riding along. An alcohal bite finishes leaving the palate quite dry. Medium bodied. Pretty well crafted, but the alcohalic bite is a bit extreme. A must for hop heads. Kind of like an intensely hopped barley wine.

Serving type: on-tap

06-15-2008 19:47:25 | More by Stinkypuss

GRPunk

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On cask, poured into a tulip glass.

A- It poured a hazy gold color with a 1/2 finger off-white head that turned into a full lace that clung nicely to the side of the glass.

S- Initially it had a big hoppy pine scent. Later on I picked up some grain and alcohol aromas.

T- There were some sweet malts up front followed by a hoppy bite. It was even a little fruity later on. It was a bit boozy with a sort of branyish flavor.

M- It was thick and smooth with a lot of bite from the hops and alcohol.

D- It's definitely a sipper. Even at 10.5% ABV, I thought it could be a better drinker and the booze could have been better hidden.

Serving type: cask

06-10-2008 19:01:58 | More by GRPunk

CaptainIPA

Wisconsin

3.58/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served on-tap in a tulip glass @ Sugar Maple on 5-22-08.

Pours a dark, rusty amber with glints of ruby. Reveals a thin, pitted head rimmed with bubbles. Magnificent lacing.

Toasted caramel nose with virtually no hints of hops.

Taste profile mirrors the aroma: caramel and lots of it. Warms quickly from the apparent (yet, well-concealed) rush of alcohol. Well-balanced, though skews malts. Whoa, it's an Imperial alright. Not very sessionable.

The perfect ale to drink while pondering boredom, alienation and absurdity. Or, nothing at all.

What Kierkegaard and Nietzsche would have sipped if they were drinking buddies.

Serving type: on-tap

05-27-2008 02:51:02 | More by CaptainIPA

neenerzig

Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had a glass of this on-tap last night at La Cav Du Vin with some friends before going to a show at the Grog Shop. Served in an oversized wine glass. This beer is a clear dark red/orange color. The frothy looking head is about an inch thick or so when drawn from the tap before settling to a nice 1/3 inch that sticks around for quite awhile. Very nice lacing too. Floral hops and fruits hit the nose immediately upon taking a whiff. Hints of caramel are also present. Very nice smell here. Tastewise the caramel and fruity notes of citrus, apple, and grapefruit are all present upfront followed by the noble, bitter hops and of course the alcohol. Good balance too, no flavors are really stronger than any others. Has a thick and sort of syrupy mouthfeel. Frothy and smooth, not really very crisp. Good, full body with light to moderate carbonation. Pretty easy to drink for a beer that's 10.5% ABV. I hope I get the chance to drink this again.

Eric

Serving type: on-tap

05-26-2007 17:11:52 | More by neenerzig

GbVDave

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Served in a mini pint at New Holland 2/3/07. Thanks to Killer for the assist!

A: Intersting cloudy golden brown. Almost like unfiltered apple cider. Creamy head like frothed milk. Major lace.

S: Restrained aromas of baked apples, caramel malt, and a whiff of alcohol.

T: Flavors of toffee and caramel. Sweet. Fortunately the sweetness is brought down by a big bitter finish. Alcohol is not hidden whatsoever.

M: Oily and full bodied. Coats the mouth like latex paint.

D: This is not a drinker, hell for me, it's hardly a sipper. It's bitter but it seems to be missing a cohesive hop flavor. Maybe they'll tinker with this and make some improvements.

Serving type: on-tap

02-04-2007 23:58:15 | More by GbVDave

alexgash

Connecticut

3.68/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Imbibed at Ashley's. Served colder than it should, so I let it warm up a bit.

Medium copper with an amber glaze. Small, sticky, off-white head. Nose is full of fruit, butterscotch, alcohol, and citrusy hops. Smells intimidating! Bracing, powerful palate full of ripe fruits, sugar, butterscotch syrup up front. Woah! Oh, and there's the citrusy hops too! Alcohol is noticeable throughout and is perhaps a bit too hot. Spicy, sweet malt dominates this "hopwine", and the hops play second fiddle. Interesting. If you like sugary malt bomb barleywines give this one a try. Full-bodied, with a syrupy, mouth-lacquering feel. It'll warm you right up too!

Serving type: on-tap

01-04-2007 18:12:53 | More by alexgash