Dragon's Milk Reserve - Toasted Chilies
New Holland Brewing Company

22 oz 2014 bottle on 10/10/18.
This stout is not for the timid or those adverse to chili heat: it has plenty of roasted chili flavor and heat, with the heat lingering on long after that last sip. The excellent base beer still has a clear presence but is a bit overwhelmed by the chilies in the aftertaste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015 vintage
12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep black color with a one-finger creamy khaki colored head that has good retention long after the pour

S- smells of roasted malt, chocolate, char, woody oak, caramel, dark toasted bread, hint of pepper skin

T- dark roasted malt up front with notes of chocolate and char, followed by a bit of caramel/toffee sweetness, along with a bit of molasses. mid-palate gives some woody oak and light bourbon notes, the finish gives cocoa and wood

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns into a creamy warming finish, pepper heat kicks in just enough on the linger

O- pepper heat is prevalent throughout, although doesn't really show up much in the taste. Basically a Dragon's Milk with a bit of a burn on the linger

 

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 10/5/2015. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, molasses, chili pepper, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with lighter notes of licorice, dark fruit, coffee, and roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, chilies, and bourbon barrel notes; with good strength. Taste of big milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, molasses, chili pepper, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with lighter notes of licorice, dark fruit, coffee, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light chili pepper and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, molasses, chili pepper, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, chilies, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great malt/barrel/spiciness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Slight increasing dryness from pepper spice through the glass. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Minimal warming alcohol for 11%; light pepper heat builds through the glass, but never becomes overwhelming. Overall this is an excellent pepper spiced imperial stout! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, chilies, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the ABV. This was a lot more balanced than the 2014 version, which felt way too hot on the peppers. This one still has nice earthy pepper flavors, with increasing spice and heat; but they never overpower the base beer. A very enjoyable offering.

 

Review is of bottle from 10/2015. 1 year old

Pours a black body with a small, 1/5th of an inch sand colored head. Lacing and head retention are average.

Smell is big on burnt oak, roasted malt, and some alcohol. Chilis' are super light and no hops detected. Sweet toffee comes through as beer warms.

Taste is big on chili, roasted malts, smoky oak and alcohol. Toffee balances out the heat nicely, no hops present.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and well carbonated. Slightly thin for the style, low head retention doesnt help.

Overall, I thought the chilis' in this beer were great. Didnt get much vegetal aroma/flavor but the heat was definitely there. I think that I'm just not too fond of the base beer. Dragons milk isnt bad but I think its just middle of the road in terms of everything. That being said, this version of it is unique, would try again.

Dark clear brown gathering to a solid opaque black with a dense creamy tan blanket.

Smells pretty roasty, with dark chocolate malt, heavy molasses, earthy chilis, and woody oak.

Taste is chocolate and bourbon interrupted by chili that immediately warms the throat with pepper without burning--it's a good balance with the roasted malt and other elements--all seems to be evenly split.

Thick, full bodied that's almost sticky, but not quite. I don't understand how this can be markedly better than the other variants of Dragon's Milk, but, it is.

 

2015 vintage. Poured into a stout snifter.

First off, I am not a hot pepper fan, especially when it is in beer and really heats things up. I bought two of these last year, and I tried the first one on Thanksgiving. I got a quarter of the way through, it was way too hot for me, and I poured it out. I am glad I let the second one sit for a year.

Second, I went for this one today because I have a cold and spices always help open my sinuses.

Standard looking stout – dark with tannish edges, but at least there is some presence of lacing after a while.

Due to the aforementioned cold, I really can't judge well on the smell, but I am detecting some roasty notes with an underlying pepper presence, so I'm going to give it the rating I feel it would deserve under normal conditions.

Taste and feel is not bad, but not great-the back of the mouth heat is still the most powerful part of it, but the roasty nature of the stout still comes through pretty well. Very hard to feel any barrel presence, however, and the high ABV is either disguised well or tough to detect by my impaired taste buds.

Overall, not a great beer, but I would gladly give it another chance with aging and not having a cold, and also because hot pepper beers are generally not my thing, but I want to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, sometimes you have to do what you have to do, especially if it involves drinking beer, right?

From notes. Weird aftertaste. There was no heat, just a green pepper taste. Thin body for an imperial stout. Not a fan.

12oz bottle. Served in a snifter glass.

Pours a dark cola brown body, nearly black, one finger thick and frothy mocha head, good retention, even thick lacing. Looking good. Smells of rich milk chocolate, oak, sweet bourbon, light char and mild roast. Not particularly chili or vegetal as far as aroma goes, which is probably good as I find chilis to add too much green pepper/vegetal aromas. This is pretty much Dragon's Milk, but maybe a bit more rich. Flavour is as expected; milk chocolate, bourbon with a light smoke to it, oak, vanillin, and a fairly big chili kick that comes in the middle and lingers all the way to the end. Mouthfeel is medium-lighter bodied, standard Dragon's Milk fare, good carbonation, with a spicy peppery kick on the latter half and which lingers for a while. An overall interesting and tasty brew, not one I would finish the entire 12oz pour of on my own because of the spiciness, but it's fairly well executed.