New Holland Cabin Fever

Brewed By: New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack purchased at Friar Tucks in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 6.0% 

 

I've already reviewed a few beers from New Holland Brewing, and I introduced the brewery in the process. You can read my ramble about Dragon's Milk or check out my review of Ichabod where I introduced the brewery. Real quick though: New Holland was founded in 1996 in Holland, Michigan. They distribute their beers more towards the Midwest, and they distill whiskey, rum and gin in addition to the beer they brew. They have a pretty cool website, and you can find out more HERE.

"I'll take one Cabin Fever, please"

Today's beer is dubbed "Cabin Fever." According to the New Holland Cabin Fever page, the beer is a Brown Ale that is roasty, hearty, and features rye, roast, raisin, and sweet caramel notes. They state that the beer has a dry finish and goes well with roasts, stews, caramelized onions, and snowfall. Clocking in at 6.0% ABV, this is on the upper fringe of what you would expect from an American Brown Ale. This is a winter seasonal for New Holland, but is not described as being a winter warmer or a Christmas/Winter Spiced Beer; this looks like a Brown Ale that happens to make an appearance during the winter months. 

I do like the name though. The term "cabin fever" has a number of cool implications behind it. The term cabin fever refers to the claustrophobic reaction that happens when someone is trapped in a small space for a long period of time. People suffering from cabin fever experience restlessness, paranoia, distrust, frustration, and a whole bunch of crazy Jack Nicholson-Shining shit. There is also a wonderful B-horror film entitled Cabin Fever about a bunch of college kids...in a cabin in the woods; it's like The Thing meets Evil Dead. Regardless of how you like to slice up your women and children, Cabin Fever is a pretty cool name. 

This pours solid. There's about 3-fingers worth of tan/khaki/root beer float looking head. The head is thick and creamy and would make Guinness blush. The beer looks dark brown or black in lower light, but when held to a bright light the beer is definitely brown-red or ruby red. The beer looks to be filtered, is somewhat transparent, and has moderate carbonation. There is good head retention through the duration, with a nice centimeter coating hanging around. I'm also getting touches of lacing.

New Holland Cabin Fever

I love it when I smell a "trademark" brewery ingredient. For example: Samuel Adams uses the same yeasts in many of their beers. You can smell a beer and isolate the Sam Adam's yeast pretty easily; it has a distinct aroma and taste. The first time I smelled Cabin Fever, I thought of the quite memorable Dragon's Milk that I reviewed earlier in the year. I'm definitely picking up on the New Holland yeast, and my guess is Dragon's Milk and Cabin Fever use similar yeasts.

I'm picking up a touch of a wood or oak smell; but that might just be me remembering the Dragon's Milk so vividly. There is a ton of roasted malt, and all the usual suspects that you get with it; nudges towards bacon and meat, and the works. I smell oatmeal, rye, sweet caramel, roast, and a touch of alcohol. No raisins on the nose for me, but plenty of big malty goodness.

 

The taste is smooth, sweet, roasty, and finishes with that lingering roasted note that flirts with smokey or meaty. I taste sweet malts; caramel, raisin. I'm picking up some roasted nuts, burnt toast scrapping, rye and rye bread, and an astringent woody note that is quite complementing to the dry back end. There is definitely a touch of smokey on the back end.

 

This is medium-full and has a smooth front and a slightly woody, smokey, and dry finish. This has great depth and complexity for a Brown Ale. The front end is smooth, malty, and full of sweet caramel and hints of raisin. The middle rolls into roasted nuts, burnt toast, rye, and rye bread. The back end is woody, smokey, full of roasted malts, and slightly drying. The roasted malts really drive through the middle and back of the palate and work well with this beer. Moderate carbonation also helps to support the beer.

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 88%

 

This is a tremendous Brown Ale with a wonderful roasty complexion and a nice balance of sweet flavors. This would go well with a hearty winter meal, or with a bowl of nuts and a football game. I would definitely drink this beer by the fire if I was stuck and stranded inside a cabin. And I might even smash the bottle on a nearby table and use the pointy edge as a shiv, because this beer bottle seems to have that solid construction. And an extra shiv always comes in handy if you're experiencing cabin fever...