new holland mad hatter IPA
November 19th, 2007 by don
So far I’ve been pleased with all of the brews I’ve tried from New Holland Brewery. The Mad Hatter IPA is an orangey-amber color with a foamy tan head. It’s very cloudy. It’s not just cloudy from yeast suspension, but because there are a lot of floaty chunks in it. BIG floaty chunks. I’m not really a fan of floaty chunks in my beer. For some beers, like Mad Hatter, this is normal, but it still sort of freaks me out. I will do my best to get over it and review this brew fairly.
The aroma has a nice spicy hopiness. Probably because there are big chunks of hops floating around in it. The flavor is also quite hoppy. It’s not even really bitter at first, but rather you can actually taste the spicy, flowery flavor of the hops. Probably because there are big chunks of hops floating around in it. The bitterness hits you in the aftertaste and lingers at the back of the tongue.
Although there are big chunks of hops floating around in it, the hop flavor is well balanced with malts that remind me a little bit of caramel. Caramel with a bunch of big chunks of hops floating around in it, that is.
Overall, a good IPA. Except for the floaty things.
