The Pan-African flag? Well, you'd be right, but that's not quite what I had in mind.
Red
Fall's definitely here! We visited Greenfield Village today and aside from there being carved jack o' lanterns every 2-3 feet, the place was just beautiful with the deciduous trees showing their fall colors. I was also quite surprised that the Cotswold cottage's garden was still filled with dozens of different blooming flowers.
Red
Fall's definitely here! We visited Greenfield Village today and aside from there being carved jack o' lanterns every 2-3 feet, the place was just beautiful with the deciduous trees showing their fall colors. I was also quite surprised that the Cotswold cottage's garden was still filled with dozens of different blooming flowers.
Green
Okay, what's so green about the below picture? Why, the beer of course! It's freshly bottled pumpkin dubbel and a chocolate maple porter. These will condition in bottles for (at least) the next 2 weeks. As always, we had a little sample of what was left in the bottling bucket and we're very pleased with the result. We're actually drinking the last of the New Holland Ichabod pumpkin ales as I write this and if you recall from a previous post we were quite disappointed that there was no pumpkin flavor (or even pumpkin spices).
It's definitely the opposite for the pumpkin dubbel, there was a very nicely defined pumpkin taste to it, with some of the cinnamon and cloves appearing later on.
The chocolate maple porter was also very nice. I have a feeling that this one will only get better as it conditions in the bottles. There was a clear chocolate/coffee flavor. Both beers are around 8% ABV. After cleaning all the tubing, airlocks, fermenters and bottling equipment (my favorite activity), I labeled them all so they could go back in the basement at a nice 66 F.
Okay, what's so green about the below picture? Why, the beer of course! It's freshly bottled pumpkin dubbel and a chocolate maple porter. These will condition in bottles for (at least) the next 2 weeks. As always, we had a little sample of what was left in the bottling bucket and we're very pleased with the result. We're actually drinking the last of the New Holland Ichabod pumpkin ales as I write this and if you recall from a previous post we were quite disappointed that there was no pumpkin flavor (or even pumpkin spices).
It's definitely the opposite for the pumpkin dubbel, there was a very nicely defined pumpkin taste to it, with some of the cinnamon and cloves appearing later on.
The chocolate maple porter was also very nice. I have a feeling that this one will only get better as it conditions in the bottles. There was a clear chocolate/coffee flavor. Both beers are around 8% ABV. After cleaning all the tubing, airlocks, fermenters and bottling equipment (my favorite activity), I labeled them all so they could go back in the basement at a nice 66 F.
See, we do like New Holland Brewing Co, we just don't care much for their pumpkin beer (maybe I should reiterate that a few more times so it'll really sink in). The Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout is an entirely different game though.
At 11% ABV you want to take your time with this one, or you'll feel the dragon's bite. I drank mine at around 50 F. Drinking it colder than that will reduce the flavor. The slightly tan head quickly receded as you can tell from the below picture. The stout itself is a deep rich brown, nearly black and it releases a very nice toasty coffee aroma.
Aged in bourbon barrels I didn't taste as much bourbon as e.g. Perrin Brewing's bourbon barrel aged milk stout. Still, this was a joy that lasted me all of Friday night. Black