New Holland Brewing “The Knickerbocker,” Grand Rapids MI

And here’s another repeat from last year!

The inside photo is, as usual, just a fraction of the space they have available, and was not where I was seated. (If you really want to see where I was, look up the entry from last year!)

Would I surprise you if I said the visit started off with a flight?

Full Circle Kölsch – 4.4% – This is a classic Kölsch, very refreshing. I could drink a lot of this one, I could.

Go For Broke – 6.5% – A farmhouse ale saison, the twist for this one is that it includes strawberries and is aged in Chardonnay barrels. That gives it an interesting quality, almost a dryness that you might expect in a wine. It’s not my favorite farmhouse ale, but it’s OK.

Summer Ale – 5.3% – This is a hazy NEIPA and it’s just beautiful, slightly tart with loads of citrus flavor.

Mad Hatter – 7% – I was advised by the guy who sat me that this was a “must have” because it’s a limited edition, 25th anniversary beer that was one of the first beers brewed in their Holland MI location. It’s a dry-hopped IPA using loads of Centennial, Citra, and Michigan-grown Cascade hops, and it was so good I took a crowler of it back to my hotel for “dessert.”

Dinner was, as it was last year, a pizza. Their menu is not large, but it does have a lot of pizzas including make-your-own. The crust was particularly remarkable, very tasty.

And then there was flight #2:

Little Piglet – 4.6% – This is the only one of their “Regulars” that I tried this year, having had many of them last year. Little Piglet is a Session IPA that is tasty but seemed too thin in my mouth.

Hoposphere – 5.9% – There was six items on tap that were brewed at this location, and this and the next one were among them. Hoposphere is another Hazy NEIPA and it was my hands-down favorite in this flight. The Citra hops really give it a great citrusy flavor.

Cosmological Blast – 6% – This is another Hazy NEIPA but it didn’t work for me – it was so sweet that I would never be able to get through a pint of it.

And last of all is one of their Dragon’s Milk line of beers, and the one with the longest name to boot:

Dragon’s Milk Reserve: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout with Stroopwafel Cookies, Coffee, Caramel, and Cinnamon (2022-2) – 11% – Needless to say, this is an Imperial Stout and both the name and the beer are a real mouthful! I had this one mostly to see what it was like, and it was definitely over the top in flavor. Add to that the fact that I’ve never been a true fan of bourbon-barrel-aged beers, and this was another that I wouldn’t order a larger pour of (and 10 oz is the largest they serve). I can say one good thing about it, though, and that’s that the cinnamon was not overwhelming; it’s so easy to overdue that!

Tomorrow, I’ll visit another German-inspired brewpub that was recommended to me by the guy who sat me at my table. If it’s half as good as he promises, there will be glowing updates and plenty of photos 🙂