Beer Review, New Holland Cabin Fever Brown Ale

Before heading out to pool last night, I sat down and had a beer. Last night's choice was New Holland's winter offering Cabin Fever Brown Ale.

Robust in character yet smooth in delivery, Cabin Fever is a roasty brown ale and a hearty, comforting companion for long, mind-bending winters. Its rye, roast and raisin notes play off a subtle caramel sweetness and culminate in a dry finish. Excellent with roasts, stews, caramelized onions and snowfall.

This one poured a very dark brown, almost black, there was nice light brown head. It's always nice when the head on a darker beer isn't fluffy white and is a brown or black color, it lets you know you are in for a treat. It was nearly opaque, In a standard pint glass, the only place any light got through was at the very bottom, the top completely absorbed any light coming to it.

It smelled malty and sweet. There was a slight bitter presence too. It had a faint smell of homebrewing, not as stong as the Harpoon Steve Stewarts Firth of Fourth, but it was definitely there. The beer was a lot thicker than I had expected, if you leave it in your mouth for a while, it does get effervescent. I had this beer in my fridge for a day and a half, and it still felt as though I were drinking a warm beer, normally my fridge makes them colder than that, but this one had something that kept it feeling warm.

It tasted of malt, sugar and alcohol (that's where the warmth came from). There was also toffee, coffee, dark chocolate and some late bitter.

After a couple of sips, I notice my lips felt as though I'd been eating something with syrup. It felt very sticky. Being the guy that I am, when Kriddy showed up at the house to pick me up for pool, I attempted to transfer the sticky from my lips to most of her face. She realized something was going on when I started to stick my bottom lip out further and wipe it on her cheek.

All in all, the was a pretty darn good beer. It seemed almost perfect for last night. It was cold, drizzly and somewhat miserable outside, and it was nice to be inside with this winter warmer brown ale. It sort of reminded me of Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, although this was darker, and not quite as thick. Paddy said that it was one of the first brown ales that he's had, that he actually liked.