Review 137: New Holland Night Tripper

Review 137

2/1/13

New Holland Night Tripper: 10.8% abv

Background: We’ve talked a little bit about New Holland. In fact, when we started doing reviews, we started with New Holland as a brewery, so there has been some discussion. Just recently we visited their quaint brewing operation and saw what could only be described as breath-taking: a room full of barrels aging Dragon’s Milk. That brings up a good point. Dragon’s Milk is now New Holland’s highest selling beer, having surpassed Mad Hatter as number one. One could say New Holland knows how to make a dark beer, and we couldn’t agree more. That’s why we were skeptical about Night Tripper, an imperial stout aged in oak that comes out once a year. Could this beer really be worth waiting for, when Dragon’s Milk is always available? They do sound very similar when you chart them next to each other. Both aged in oak, both black as night, and 10% compared to 11%. So you might think this is a gimmick. It isn’t.

Nose: Chocolate, brown sugar, coffee, caramel, apple, malty, pear, vanilla, light butterscotch, raisons, slightly dry, dark, crisp, smooth, balanced

Arrival: Coffee, chocolate-covered strawberries, slight citrus, toffee, apple, vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, refreshing, fruit, blackberry

Body: Coffee, brownies, rich fudge, cherry, sweet, slight tartness, toffee, crisp apple, butterscotch, oatmeal

Finish: Roasted coffee, malt, chocolate, slightly bitter grapefruit and hops, vanilla, pecans, boozy, raisony, wheat, apple

Final Comments: What can we say about this? This is quite a killer stout. It’s complex, but unlike other stouts out there, it balances between different flavor profiles without overwhelming you with the dark notes generally associated with a stout. So it is sort of an oxymoron, but you can find out for yourself. Is it like Dragon’s Milk? It isn’t nearly as creamy, and it is a different kind of stout all together. Better or worse? We’d like to say better, but you will have to find out for yourself.

Why you’d buy it: Find a reason why you can’t. I can’t think of one.

Why you wouldn’t: Read the above comment

Score: 9.75/10

Review 117: Wehenstephaner Korbinian

Review 117

12/12/12

Weihenstephaner Korbinian: 7.4% abv

Here we go. We wanted to bring back the dopplebock beers for another go. The first dopplebock we tried had us so confused with life, it was hard to move forward (Charkoota Rye). As a reminder, a dopplebock is a heavier lager, generally darker in color. So let’s give this type of beer a better shot. 

On the nose, this one has dark, sweet notes like chocolate fudge, caramel, molasses, nutmeg, coffee, vanilla, roasted malt, cream, toffee and even oak. Besides this, you can find fruitiness and spiciness in blackberries, apple, red grape, and some cloves. The nose is complex and starts off with a musty sort of barnyard hay smell, which is unique, but not horribly off-putting. The arrival of the beer isn’t big, but it has sweet notes of molasses,  and caramel, with the addition of some oak, coffee and even tart citrus. 

The body contains a lot of woody notes, butterscotch, caramel, dry spices, apple and a mild coffee. This isn’t coffee like you’ll find in a stout, mind you. It is much milder, less rich, and more grainy of a flavor than what is found in a stout. The finish contains just said graininess, with dry malt, wheat and then continues with blueberry, chocolate, and coffee beans. 

Now, this may seem like a short list of tasting notes, and that’s because it is. Don’t be deterred though, friends. This beer is a lighter style to the heavier, more complex stout and IPAs in the world of beers. What this beer accomplishes, then, is the ability to have a light mouth-feel, lighter drinking experience while still offering the user a range of prominent flavors. For this, we recognize what a dopplebock is supposed to be. German beers generally don’t take the heavy, dark flavors that American beers do, so this makes it much more tolerable than for beginners or drinkers who want a lighter style beer. For that, we like this dopplebock. It doesn’t scare us as much as Charkoota. 

Score: 9.0/10