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

New Holland Dragon's Milk Oak Barrel AleNew Holland Dragon's Milk Oak Barrel Ale

Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.
BA SCORE
88
very good
-
2,031 Ratings
THE BROS
86
very good
-
read more »
rAvg: 3.92
pDev: 15.05%
Reviews: 1012
Hads: 1019

Ratings Help


Brewed by:
New Holland Brewing Company visit their website
Michigan, United States

Style | ABV
American Double / Imperial Stout |  10.00% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (885), on-tap (107), cask (9), growler (9), nitro-tap (2)

Notes:
Strong Stout aged in second use Heaven Hill bourbon barrels.
View:  Beers  (71) |  Reviews  (78) |  Events  (0)

Reviews

Sort by:  Latest | High | Low | Top Reviewers | Read the Alström Bros Beer Reviews and Beer Ratings of New Holland Dragon's Milk Oak Barrel Ale Alström Bros  | Show Hads:
« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75  | next › last »
Reviews by ssimpson89:
Photo of ssimpson89
ssimpson89

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

02-09-2013 03:25:35 | More by ssimpson89
More User Reviews:
Photo of osupuck19
osupuck19

Ohio

4/5  rDev +2%

06-19-2013 02:06:00 | More by osupuck19
Photo of DrIPA
DrIPA

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

06-19-2013 00:58:09 | More by DrIPA
Photo of hiphops24
hiphops24

New York

4/5  rDev +2%

06-19-2013 00:24:29 | More by hiphops24
Photo of OB1
OB1

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

06-18-2013 23:54:30 | More by OB1
Photo of gueuzedreg
gueuzedreg

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

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

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +2%

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

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%

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

California

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

06-16-2013 17:29:43 | More by TheCrowsNest
Photo of minterro
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
Photo of jtladner
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
Photo of JamLand
JamLand

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

06-15-2013 21:14:12 | More by JamLand
Photo of jcaswell71
jcaswell71

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

06-15-2013 18:34:01 | More by jcaswell71
Photo of Andreias21
Andreias21

Florida

4/5  rDev +2%

06-15-2013 00:26:23 | More by Andreias21
Photo of ThisWangsChung
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
Photo of marcb105
marcb105

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

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

New York

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%

06-14-2013 01:21:32 | More by twizzard
Photo of Cris4545
Cris4545

Indiana

5/5  rDev +27.6%

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

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

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

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

06-12-2013 02:11:08 | More by FTowne
Photo of superfriend
superfriend

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +2%

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

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

06-11-2013 14:58:49 | More by drabmuh
Photo of inlimbo77
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
Photo of Jedi8625
Jedi8625

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

06-08-2013 21:02:29 | More by Jedi8625
Photo of BanjinTsuki
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
« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75  | next › last »
New Holland Dragon's Milk Oak Barrel Ale from New Holland Brewing Company
88 out of 100 based on 2,031 user ratings.