Night Tripper
New Holland Brewing Company

Night TripperNight Tripper
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From:
New Holland Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
10.8%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.07 | pDev: 10.07%
Reviews:
395
Ratings:
1,029
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 10, 2024
Added:
Jan 22, 2008
Wants:
  92
Gots:
  205
An abundance of roasted malts and flaked barley create a rich, roasty stout with deeply intense, lush flavors.

IBUs: 45
GRAINS: 2-row, Munich, Caramel, Crystal, Black, Chocolate, Flaked Barley, Melanoidin
HOPS: East Kent Golding, Nugget, Magnum
YEAST: American Ale
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Whyteboar
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Found a couple bottles of this in my cellar; they have dates of 12/11/2017 on them. Don't normally rate retired beers but this is one I *should* have rated years ago.
This one was the epitome of stouts back 10 years ago for me, when all the craft beer I could get was at my local Meijer's store and I shared it with anyone who might be interested as I thought it was so good.
Fast forward to now, when I've had my eyes opened to an amazing world of beers by astoundingly generous BIF senders (and I can only hope I sent as good as I got) and this is no longer the epitome - of course, it may be because it's 7 years old, I'm certain it's lost a step since then. Anyway, here we go:
The bottle opened with a very light hiss, and I mean light. The pour was straight into the middle of the snifter in an attempt to generate some carbonation but what little showed up went pretty quickly. Ah well, my bad for sitting on this so long - I kept wanting to do a vertical but never saw it past 2017.
The taste still has a little malt char and a ton of dark fruits, the figs, the raisins, the sweet cherries. Some coffee and cacao were present, but this is all about the dark fruits now.
The feel, well, again, for the age, not bad at all, in fact, pretty darn good - a slight viscosity which left traces down the glass - not the head, but the beer itself.
OA, I still have very fond memories of sharing this beer with friends, but it's time to let them go.
Feb 10, 2024
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle. 2013 vintage. Tan head. Black color.

Cocoa powder and chocolate cake. Toasted malts. Slightly silky feel. Caramel malt. Dried black cherries and light molasses. Full bodied. Solid imperial stout for 8 years old.
Dec 29, 2021
Photo of burnstar
Reviewed by burnstar from Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Pours black with a nice tan head that quickly dissipates. Fizzy at first, then it looks flat. Smells great with dark fruit and chocolate in the nose- like a cadbury fruit and nut bar. Taste is rather exceptional too. Sweet up front, and throughout, with a big hit of dark chocolate in the middle that persists into the pleasantly bitter roasty finish. There's enough complexity though, and it doesn't taste like a chocolate beer. As you drink more that note becomes less aparrent and gives way to the dark fruit from the nose. Some boozy spiciness persists well after the finish and is somehow pleasant too. Obviously full bodied but not as heavy as you might think. The strong carbonation at first seems to have dissipated. Overall, it's just awesome. It's easy to become jaded having reviewed hundreds of beers but every once in a while one still comes along and surprises you. This is among my all time faves and one of the best imperial stouts I've had. I should note, I drank this beer about 3 1/2 years after its bottling date.
Aug 21, 2020
 
Rated: 4.13 by beerjerk666 from Florida

Aug 01, 2020
Photo of woemad
Reviewed by woemad from Washington

4.16/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz bottle courtesy of Whyteboar. According to the stamp on the label, this was bottled on December 11, 2017. "Pre-aged for your pleasure!" < da-dum/crash!> But seriously...(ahem) this is 11.5% alcohol, so unless left on a loading dock in 100° weather, this should still be a drinkable beer.

Poured into a tallboy can glass (I really don't know what else to call it), this was very stout-like in appearance. Dark brown, virtually black color, decent sized tan head. Decent lace.

Roasty, dark maltnaroma that that hints at coffee, dark chocolate and a tiny bit of dark fruits.

Not quite as rich in the flavor as the nose suggested, but still very nice. Roasty, coffeeish and slightly sweet up front, with an almost imperceptible alcohol flavor midway through that's deep in the background. Bitter, slightly hoppy twang at the finish.

Medium bodied, slightly creamy mouthfeel.

Nice post-breakfast beer. This was definitely more than still drinkable. Perhaps it's age has toned down it's alcohol heft, as it's pretty low in the mix, but otherwise this seems no worse for being nearly 2 1/2yrs from bottling. It's not an imperial stout that's mind blowing or reinvents the wheel, but it's extremely solid and if brewed locally, I'd grab it whenever it comes out and set some aside for aging.
May 24, 2020
 
Rated: 4.49 by JamesBondGA from Georgia

Jul 09, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled 1/23/17; drank 4/5/17 @ the Yarchives.

Black/purple appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice, noisy tan head; strong lace.

Cream, milk chocolate, raspberry & mild fresh earth notes in the nose.

Thick, creamy mouthfeel.

Cream, milk chocolate & raspberry flavors up front; fresh earth & mild booze heat notes on the nose.

Robust & balanced; this is actually well above average. I'd have another...
May 31, 2019
 
Rated: 3.88 by curlybird from Pennsylvania

May 13, 2019
 
Rated: 4.35 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

May 01, 2019
Photo of ChefBrown
Rated by ChefBrown from Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had a 2013 bottle. Besides the initial alcohol taste it got better and was a pleasant imperial stout.
Jan 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.41 by shulmm02 from Ohio

Jan 04, 2019
 
Rated: 4.34 by Abstractspirit from Rhode Island

Sep 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by krome from Illinois

Sep 10, 2018
 
Rated: 3.83 by RollDamnTide from Florida

Aug 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.33 by Grimers from Massachusetts

Jul 29, 2018
 
Rated: 3.94 by rab53 from Washington

Jul 13, 2018
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.31/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
We drank one of these during March Madness, did we get around to drinking both vintages? I'm not really sure. . .

Anyways, pours mostly black as night kind of imperial stout with a light brown head 1/2". Aroma is mostly roasted malt and given the age (of both bottles) there was a question as to whether this was a Russian Imperial Stout or not. It is not, just the age gave it kind of a dark fruit bitterness you get in an RIS.

Taste followed up the dark fruit aspect even more. This was seemingly an RIS all the way at this point, prunes and roasted malt providing a good amount of bitterness. Nugget and Magnum hops provide some in that regard as well. The alcohol doesn't sting as much as it could, especially paired with that aforementioned bitterness. I didn't perceive any sweetness to it. Its a big ass imperial stout, but I don't really get all the love for it in the reviews. Decent but nothing special.
Jul 09, 2018
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.16/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Man, I knew that when I set out on New New Holland/Belgium Beer Sunday (Week 698) things would become tougher as I progressed. What I failed to account for were an early-morning meeting/interview & repeated computer glitches (on my end) over the course of the day. I am pressing on despite it getting closer to the end of NBS.

From the Bottle: "An abundance of roasted malts and flaked barley create a rich, roasty Stout with deeply intense, lush flavors."; "Parings: Dark Chocolate, Smoky Cheese, and Cayenne".

I began as I usually do by Pop!ping the cap & beginning a slow, gentle pour. Once it was sufficiently decanted, an in-glass swirl raised just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with decent retention that left behind loads of lacing as it fell. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose was REALLY chocolaty, more like a liquefied Brownie or chocolate pudding than the Baker's chocolate of Dragon's Milk. Mouthfeel was dense & thick, like a dollop had been scooped onto my tongue. I let it just roll around in my mouth & on my tongue. Warming, I got both a sweet chocolatiness & a bit of fusel alcohol heat. Phew! Nearly seven months in the bottle & it was still pretty hot! This one could age for a while. I stick by my initial analogy of a liquefied Brownie. It was sweet, but not cloying, in terms of its chocolaty taste and it had a breadiness that became more assertive as I grew used to the heat. Finish was semi-sweet & I say this because I am always reluctant to hang the "Sweet" tag on a beer. I think that with a bit more aging, I would be a little more confident in saying semi-sweet. If you do any aging of your own, let me know how it evolves. YMMV.
Jul 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.1 by NolaHopHead from Louisiana

Jun 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.86 by Gemini6 from Michigan

May 22, 2018
Night Tripper from New Holland Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 1029 ratings