Brewer: New Holland Brewing Company
Location: Holland, Michigan
Type: American Stout
ABV: 10%

This is my year, denizens. Did you know that? At least according to the Chinese Zodiac. See, I’m a dragon. Dragons, therefore, are always welcome here at the lair…especially ones that come in stout form. Thus today’s visit from Michigan’s New Holland Dragon’s Milk.

This one poured as dark and still as Loch Ness under a new moon. Barely a burble of carbonation beneath the moderate layer of bubbles. Also? Hardly any nose whatsoever. I thought for a moment or two that there was something wrong with my sniffer. I spent several moments, desperately trying to detect something more than the faintest traces of…anything. This mythical beastie, however, is not quick to surface from its murky depths.

Initial, cautious sip and…BAM.

Sweet, merciful brewmaster, this beer BURNS. And not in a spicy, happy, flavorful way. More of a “this is more of a hard liquor than a beer” kind of way. You’ll notice that the ABV on Dragon’s Milk is 10 percent. If I didn’t know better, I would think that this is, therefore, how such a high ABV beer is supposed to taste. However, remember back in my Dogfish Head review, I mentioned liking their 18-percent ABV World Wide Stout? I know better. High ABV beers can be incredibly flavorful, rich, and exciting rather than tasting solely of alcohol. High ABV beers also do not have to feel like they’re leaving behind esophageal burns as you drink them.

Is this why the beer is called “Dragon’s Milk”? Because it makes you feel like you’ve just suckled at the teat of a fire-breathing beastie? Do dragons even have teats? Aren’t they reptiles? WTF?

More important beer review question: What type of barrels are used to age this? Were they formerly used to age something like bourbon? Because that might help to explain the burn. Yet New Holland makes no mention of this on their site. I did finally find an article on SLASH/FOOD that confirms this beer is indeed aged in former bourbon barrels. That’s kind of something I would think the brewery would want to tout somewhere.

You know me. I have no problem with the comforting burn of the hard stuff. I would like a little warning first though…at least enough time to switch the dial to somewhere in between BEER and LIQUOR. I absolutely was not expecting this beer to be more like J