The New Holland brewing company is starting to become a favorite brewery of mine. So far I have not had a beer from them that I did not like, and this weekÂ’s beer is no exception. Tonight IÂ’m reviewing The Poet Oatmeal Stout.

We have our standard 12 oz brown bottle. The label has a picture of a Raven sitting on a branch in front of a full moon with the name of the beer in old script underneath it. There is also a story about the beer next to the picture. It is kind of lengthy so IÂ’m not going to repost the whole thing, but it basically says this beer can go with just about any occasion.

It has a nice dark brown, almost black, color to it. Light barely passes through. ItÂ’s almost like a really dark fresh coffee color. The head has a nice tan color to it. There is minimal lacing on the glass. After a while the head fades to a tan ring around the edge and a slight film on the top.

There is a nice earthy aroma to it. A mixture of roasted oats and malts with a touch of chocolate and hint of coffee tickle the nose. The scent isnÂ’t too strong, but strong enough to really enhance the experience. The flavor is of robust malts with chocolate and coffee accents. There is a touch of hops that adds just a touch of bitterness that really livens up the flavor.

This is a full-bodied beer. It has a creamy and smooth mouth feel to it. There is not a lot of carbonation to it.

This is probably going to be one of my favorites. I could see myself craving this beer and drinking it on a regular basis. Definitely, going to make my top 20 list. I give it 7 out of 10.

Posted by: Contagion at 08:33 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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It took me a long time to find a Pilsner to review when originally requested. Now IÂ’m finding them all over the place. This week IÂ’m reviewing the Special Pilsner by Capital Brewery from Middleton, Wisconsin. ThatÂ’s right for all my local readers, this is a brew made not far from home.

It comes in your standard 12 oz brown bottle. There is a red oval label with a picture of a capital rotunda. The name of the beer is above it in white lettering, and the name of the brewery below in black lettering on a white field. I could be mistaken, but I think the rotunda is the Wisconsin State Capital building in Madison. IÂ’m sure one of you Wisconsinites out there will correct me if IÂ’m wrong.

It pours a nice light yellow color. There is a vary feint cloudiness to it. One can still see clearly through the beer glass to whatever is on the other side. It pours a nice half-inch white head with good-sized bubbles. The head slowly disappears into a good white film on the tope of the beer. There is barely any lacing on the side of the glass.

The aroma is wonderfully inviting. ItÂ’s not overpowering in any way. This is what a good beer should smell like. There is a combination of grains and yeast that makes it almost smell like some kind of bread. There is a slight straw undertone to it. The initial taste is almost disappointing in that itÂ’s kind of weak. It has a mixture of malts with a slight hop spiciness to it with a hint of sweet grass. The aftertaste is barely noticeable.

This Pilsner is a thing, light bodied beer. ItÂ’s clean and has a good carbonation to it, nothing that is over powering, only enhancing. There is a dry finish to it.

I could actually see myself craving this beer. At first I wasnÂ’t sure about it, but after finishing the first beer I really wanted to have a second one. This is a good hot summer day beer. IÂ’m giving this beer a 6.5 out of 10.

Posted by: Contagion at 08:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This weeks beer is Sundog Amber ale by the New Holland Brewing company of Michigan. Yea, I didnÂ’t know Michigan made beer either. Yes, that was a joke, feel free to laugh.

We have our standard 12 oz brown bottle with a orange and black label showing the sillouette of a dog in the setting sun. The label states, “Delicious beer delivered with painstaking consistency, that’s our philosophy. We’ll give you a while to drink it in.” Well, if you drink anything like I do, this beer won’t last a while.

There is a nice dark amber color with some red to it. When poured into a glass there is a good quarter inch white head with nice thick bubbles. The head is long lasting and leaves a good lacing on the side of the glass.

To the nose one gets an inviting scent of malts with a nice hop accent. There is a touch of pine to the scent that makes this beer appealing. It has a lightly toasted malt and spicy hop flavor to it. There is a bitterness to it, itÂ’s almost as bitter as an IPA. The bitterness isnÂ’t overpowering and has a nice tang on the tongue. There is a slightly bitter aftertaste to it that fades quickly.

This is a medium bodies beer with a slightly creamy mouth-feel to it. There is just the right amount of carbonation to really open up the flavor, but not overpower the beer.

IÂ’m going to give this a 6 out of 10.

Posted by: Contagion at 07:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This weekÂ’s beer goes out to all of my readers with Celiac disease. I canÂ’t fathom what it would be like to not be able to eat or drink the wheat, rye and barley. So for you, I review this beer! A couple of weeks ago I was walking through the store when I saw a sixer of Redbridge by Anheuser-Busch on the shelves. What caught my attention was the display they had that stated the beer was made from Sorghum instead of Wheat or Barley and was completely gluten free. Folks IÂ’ll be honest, this beer worried me. I did not want to try to drink this. My only experience with Sorghum has been in a sweet syrup form used on biscuits. In the end I figured IÂ’d take one for the team.

The label on this 12 oz brown bottle has a picture of a red bridge on a maroon background. The name of the beer is on it, and it proudly states, “Beer Made From Sorghum. Made Without Wheat Or Barley”.

There is a nice clear amber color to the beer. Light passes cleanly through and there is no sign of fogginess or impurities. There was a half-inch head the quickly disappeared to a sparse layer of large bubble floating on the top. There was no lacing.

Folks, IÂ’m going to be honest in that itÂ’s hard to describe this beers scent and taste. I really have no references for it. The scent was strange; I couldnÂ’t place it so IÂ’m assuming its sorghum. There was the familiar hint of hops, but the main scent was unusual. It was a sweet fresh scent, like a crisp winter morning. It was pleasant. The taste was very thin and unobtrusive. There is an interesting sweetness that IÂ’ve never tasted in a beer before; again IÂ’m assuming this is the sorghum. There is a slight bitterness of the hops. When I say there is sweetness, itÂ’s not too sweet or overpowering. ItÂ’s very complimentary. However, it does remind me of many light beers on the market.

This is a light bodied beer. There was a heavy carbonation to it that had a slight bite to the tongue and would cause massive bubbles on the side of the glass.

My fine readers, IÂ’m finding it hard to rate this beer. Since it is such a specially made beer, itÂ’s hard to compare it to the other beers IÂ’ve reviewed. Yet at the same time, it has many of the same characteristics. IÂ’m going to give this beer a 3.5 out of 10. I wouldnÂ’t go out of my way to buy another six-pack of it, but IÂ’m not going to turn one down.

Posted by: Contagion at 08:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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