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New Holland Brewing Company

Malty aroma has a subtle fruity note and a hint of caramel. It pours a dark, opaque, chocolaty brown; I didn’t get much of a head, but that must be an artifact of the pour. Flavor is malty and fruity, the latter mainly apple and pear, with hint of woody hops and horehound. It is a little sweet, but not too much. Smooth yet lively texture has good, firm body and plenty of tingle, leaving a fizzy, woody, slightly fruity finish. I’m glad that I caught this rara avis!

Appearance: A murky, dark reddish-brown body with a very thin, gone-in-an-instant, light beige head.

Smell: Modest scents of chocolate, salted caramel. Toasted wheat. Hint of apple. A stray clove, maybe. None of the notes are bold, none of the notes are really all that appealing. It's all very muted, like the beer is suffering from narcolepsy and is hunched over, asleep face-first in a bowl of soup. Awaken! Get up! No? No.

Taste: Upfront light tastes of chocolate and caramel brushed wheat malt with a toastiness to it. Middling sweetness. A little fruit, a flash of light phenolic tones and it's gone.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Lightly carbonated.

Overall: An ambitious beer, tantalizing with its various components (at least on paper), but one that falls flat on its face in the execution. A shame, really.

Draft at The Pour House in Westmont, NJ.

Pours a really dark, hazy chocolate brown color with lighter chestnut edges and a one finger light beige head that slowly settles into a thin ring.  Sporadic streaks of lacing left behind.

Bland aroma with hints of toffee, sweet caramel malt and bready yeast.  Very subtle cocoa presence with some clove and a touch of light fruit.

On the fuller end of medium body with tight carbonation, strong bread/yeast flavor and a decent amount of tart sourness.  Some dry roasted coffee bean and cocoa nib along with sweet caramel malt, toffee and some hazelnut.  Decent amount of sweetness  but more tart than expected and not really what I expected for the style.  Not much wheat character and the spices are muted by the malt sweetness and heavy yeast notes.

Half finger head with decent lacing on a murky brown and amber body. Aroma is light with mosty brown sugar, caramel and molasses with a hint of orange peel. Flavor is simple but very good following the aroma well with more brown sugar, toasted malts, caramel and hint of orange peel. Medium body and light to moderate carbonation. This one is very drinkable and although the aroma is a bit light and the finish a little watery, this is very well made.