New Holland says:
“Little John’s local bees create a spring wildflower-honey that lends a sweet, earthy complexity to a traditional style of beer with a balancing snap of ginger in the finish.”
New Holland Beerhive
Tripel, 9% ABV
Sayeth the Guys:
Ryan: I had this on tap at New Holland during a brief stop for lunch. Before I get in to the beer let me say, if you have never been to New Holland in Holland, MI it’s worth a stop. The food was very good, the staff knows how to pour and there were a number of brewpub only offerings; including four different kinds of Mad Hatter (imperial, farmhouse, smoke and oak).
As for the beer I sampled, well, the makeup was very intriguing; a *Belgian Tripel brewed with honey and ginger. I love a good tripel with all of the banana, cloves and bubble gum aromas and flavors. It’s a fantastic summer beer when you want something a little bit more than a session beer.. And, what could make it better than tossing in some honey and ginger to truly – um – sweeten the deal?
This beer poured much darker than I expected, burnt orange almost, but very clear. The nose is very complex. You get a bit of banana and cloves, loads of ginger and just a little hint of honey. It tasted as equally complex with a subtle honey sweetness to start followed by the cloves and banana and finishing with a pop of ginger.
The carbonation was fantastic which adds to the drinkability. In fact, I liked this so much I took home a growler to the wife, who is also a big tripel fan, and she loved it.
This beer is now out in 22 oz bottles. If you stumble across one it is worth picking up.
*Beer Advocate is considering this a saison or farmhouse ale. I can’t say I agree with that so I am going to keep it a tripel.