Brewery: New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, Michigan
Style: Doppelbock (smoked)
Origin: German (American made)
ABV: 8.17%
Serving Glass: Snifter
OMG Beer Rating: 7.9 (see Final Notes)
Appearance: Very dark, with a dark reddish hue, almost no head survived the first minute of just letting the beer open up in the glass. Minimal lacing and not a lot of bubbles.
Aroma: Smells like single malt, Islay scotch. Hints of leather, smoke, and maybe underlying that, chocolate, waft out of the glass. Not a big suggestion of the rye, or a complex malty sweetness like many doppelbocks.
Flavor: Smoked pig, reminiscent of unsauced ribs, hits the tongue just behind doppelbock malty sweetness and milk chocolate; buried in the flavor is a breadiness from the rye malt, but less spiciness than many lighter rye beers (perhaps it is the lack of hop flavor aiding the rye). The finish is sweet and still a little smoky, and the rye definitely didn't dry out the beer, a good thing for a doppelbock. Something worth pointing out in this beer is that with all these intense flavors, it is still, on some level, a very real lager. It is smooth, it is more subtle than it sounds, and there's very little unexpected flavor development. Syrupy, more so as it warms.
Final Thoughts: While a delicious experiment in doppelbock meets 21st century beer madness. I think if paired with smoked pig, this is more like an 8.2
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