Review 52: New Holland Imperial Hatter

Review 52
6/3/12
New Holland Imperial Hatter: 9.38% abv

Another double IPA, and an introduction to our countdown to Hatter Day, June 16th. After having had the Mad Hatter IPA, we had a lot of respect for New Holland's IPA style. This one sits at a very reasonable percent, which is encouraging. So onto the tasting notes.

On the nose, like most of the higher percent IPAs we've had, most of the flavo...rs were balanced and well blended. There is strong notes of honey, earthiness, subtle hops, lemon, orange, pear, white grape, pineapple, and caramel on the nose. The taste contains caramel, lemon, with a slightly creamy arrival (which struck us as odd for an IPA), honey, molasses, apple, and grape on the arrival, with a slight hint of nutmeg. The taste is very complex, very refreshing, and considerably better than the Mad Hatter.

The finish is very long, containing vanilla, grapefruit, orange, nutmeg, a slight bitterness and lemon after a few seconds, with the same creaminess as in the arrival. This is an incredibly well crafted IPA, and deserves to be looked at. Taste and enjoy.

Score: 9.5/10