New Holland Dragon's Milk Oak Barrel Ale - New Holland Brewing Company

elvisnj

New Jersey

4.55/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber.

Pours a nice head with a dark dark hint of amber color. Looks black.

Nice head. Smells roasted malt with smokey burbon, slight alcohol, and oak.

Taste does not disappoint. Big malt with vanilla, oak and burbon. Some honey and dark caramel. Alcohol provides a bit of heat but its nice and not overpowering. Hops are present, just enough to balance the sweet malts.

Its a unique brew. I love where they went with this one. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2010 17:18:44 | More by elvisnj

osupuck19

Ohio

4/5  rDev +2%

06-19-2013 02:06:00 | More by osupuck19

DrIPA

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

06-19-2013 00:58:09 | More by DrIPA

hiphops24

New York

4/5  rDev +2%

06-19-2013 00:24:29 | More by hiphops24

OB1

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

06-18-2013 23:54:30 | More by OB1

gueuzedreg

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

06-18-2013 22:29:00 | More by gueuzedreg

garfscores

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +2%

06-17-2013 02:12:53 | More by garfscores

MgoJohnStamos

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%

06-16-2013 19:45:33 | More by MgoJohnStamos

TheCrowsNest

California

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

06-16-2013 17:29:43 | More by TheCrowsNest

minterro

Michigan

4.21/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Gift from my girlfriend for my birthday. Enjoyed with her and my dad.

A&S: slight coffee, lots of vanilla and woody aroma. almost bourbon alcohol tones in the smell.
Nice foamy tan head with good lacing. jet black colored beer.

T&M: slightly sour. Dark chocolate tones in the tastes more so then the smell. lots of alcohol but more of a scotch ale. On the high side of medium bodied and the low side of medium carbonation.

Overall: very well put together double. By far my favorite commonly found new holland beer, and I think most would agree with me.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2013 02:35:36 | More by minterro

jtladner

District of Columbia

3.63/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A dark beer, but not as dark as expected for a stout, definitely not opaque. I would compare it in color to a Belgian strong dark ale. The aroma and taste are almost completely dominated by oak and bourbon. Any roasted flavor was almost completely hidden. It was an enjoyable beer, and I would recommend giving it a try. However, I would not have known it was a stout if it hadn't been written on the menu, and since I was expecting a stout, I was a little disappointed.

Serving type: on-tap

06-16-2013 00:35:33 | More by jtladner

JamLand

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

06-15-2013 21:14:12 | More by JamLand

jcaswell71

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

06-15-2013 18:34:01 | More by jcaswell71

Andreias21

Florida

4/5  rDev +2%

06-15-2013 00:26:23 | More by Andreias21

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.98/5  rDev -24%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

A: Pours a dark cola color that isn't entirely opaque. The mocha-colored head is nice and creamy, and about two fingers high. It fades down to about a half finger after a while, and leaves nice rings of lacing on the glass.

S: Wow, this is sweet. There isn't much bourbon on the nose...but there is a solid oak presence, giving off very strong vanilla notes. Beneath the vanilla are strong chocolate and molasses tones. Aromatically, it strikes me as an enjoyable-yet-straightforward dessert beer.

T: There is a bourbon presence here, but it's pretty basic...the vanilla notes are massively bold yet they lack the additional subtleties of a BCBS or Parabola to make them stand out. I also notice touches of chocolate; otherwise, this is more or less a vanilla/tannin bomb. Even a single 12 oz bottle can become wearisome to drink.

M: Quite sweet, yet with a drying, tannic finish. I'd actually reckon it's a bit too tannic on the back end, verging into mild harshness. I could also use a bit more body to properly support how syrupy the texture is.

O: It's not undrinkable, however its sweetness is way too fatiguing. Even worse, the beer itself seems designed to showcase the barrel notes, but they're far too basic to really succeed at that, either. For about 6 oz, I thought this was pretty good; for the other 6 oz, I couldn't wait for it to end. So, if you're gonna try it, make sure you split it with a friend, and don't expect BCBS.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2013 03:24:09 | More by ThisWangsChung

marcb105

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

06-14-2013 02:17:19 | More by marcb105

twizzard

New York

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%

06-14-2013 01:21:32 | More by twizzard

Cris4545

Indiana

5/5  rDev +27.6%

06-12-2013 19:16:45 | More by Cris4545

ColdWaffles

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

06-12-2013 02:22:25 | More by ColdWaffles

FTowne

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

06-12-2013 02:11:08 | More by FTowne

superfriend

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +2%

06-11-2013 15:46:25 | More by superfriend

drabmuh

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

06-11-2013 14:58:49 | More by drabmuh

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.74/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12oz, 2013
Riedel tulip

A: Pours a deep brown. Not as dark as I was expecting. Didn't get much head. Thin layer of light tan. Some lacing bits.

S: Some burnt sugar. Vanilla. It's not a bourbon forward as I was expecting.

T: Actually sharp almost tart start, either from booze or infection. i was hoping for more roast and rich creamy malts. Thinner and more carbed than expected. Finish has a good blast of booze, as it rolls down the throat.

M: Full bodied.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2013 18:39:49 | More by inlimbo77

Jedi8625

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

06-08-2013 21:02:29 | More by Jedi8625

BanjinTsuki

West Virginia

4.54/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

My first bourbon barrel stout left me a changed man.

I hesitate while writing this review as the Dragon's Milk is my first bourbon barrel stout brew. But I was so impressed with it I felt I must let the world know how wonderful it is. Shame on me, if a bro came along to read the reviews of Dragon's Milk to see if it is worth a quaff, and I was silent. A well tapped draft Guinness might be the best beer, but a bottle Dragon's Milk beats out a bottled Guinness, especially when you want the extra punch brought by 10% ABV. For some reason they call this a oak barrel ale, but it really feels and tastes more like a stout.

Appearance - For a dark beer lover, this is one pretty beer. Dark chocolate in color, with a nice two finger foam when presented. I was at a restaurant, so I didn't get to see it from the bottle, but the waitress poured it well. The creamy looking foam reduced quickly and didn't leave much of a lace, but I wonder if that has to do with the devil's cut of bourbon residing it its midst.

Smell - Strong roasted Oak with a nice tone of malt and a hint vanilla all blanketed in a strong whiskey overtone. Everyone seems to smell chocolate, but I've got a good sniffer and I didn't quite detect it. Not saying they're wrong, it just didn't hit me with chocolate. I wonder if a draft version has more coffee and chocolate balanced flavor.

Taste - Oak. For a once-upon-a-time saxophone player, the oak was almost heavenly. Imagine a shot of oaken-laced bourbon tamed by malt and vanilla and you've got a good idea of the taste.

Mouthfeel - Carbonated (a little too much for my liking, but not so much for a bad score) followed by a bourbon-smooth finish (the dragon's fire, I suppose) that ran to about mid throat. The carbonation lightened the body a bit and yielded a medium body feel. The bourbon kick and aroma definitely cleans the palate!

Overall - excellent. It certainly makes me want to try other bourbon barrel stouts to see how they stack up to this bar-setter. I'll be looking to see if this brew is available in my area. In fact, I'll be running out to see as soon as my wife gets home.

Your bro in brew,
Banjin Tsuki

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 16:40:11 | More by BanjinTsuki