16/100) New Holland

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

The Poet, Full Circle, Monkey King

New Holland is a company that just made its way into the Midwest. I'm really enjoying their creative titles, and I keep expecting to find a story behind them. Sadly, I'm just not finding them. True to their company's spirit though, everything from the logos the bottle covers screams "artistic."

The Poet) My first reaction to this oatmeal stout was that it tasted like Dragon's Milk without the creamy touch. I suspect they use a beer similar to this one as their base. On its own, this beers stands alone quite well. It had a smooth light mouth feel and a mocha like background without overemphasizing the coffee. ☆☆☆☆

Full Circle) This kölsch is a good light drinking beer with a smidgen of the unusual. Instead of a slight bitterness or a touch of hoppiness, the middle and finish tantalize you with a nice peppery punch. I liked how that livened up this beer. The name comes from New Holland's "belief in balance." ☆☆☆

Monkey King) The flavor profile for this drink was "mysterious" to me. This farmhouse has an almost nutty finish, but there was a fruit like flavor in the backdrop that I couldn't identify. The beer  had a good body and finished smooth. ☆☆☆

And, just because this is my favorite New Holland thus far:

Dragon's Milk

Dragon's Milk) This is a bourbon barrel aged stout. As you can imagine, the milk in the name implies that it has a bit of sweetness to it. It does. There's a lovely arc of cream that undulates through the middle into the finish and then remains faintly yet fondly in the linger. Delightfully smooth, the bourbon barrels did nothing but good to this beer. ☆☆☆☆☆

15/100) Angry Orchard: Cider House Collection

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Strawman, The Muse, Iceman

These are three ciders from Angry Orchard's Farmhouse collection. Their bottles are large, and very ornate. What you see on the outside is not a sticker, but a lovely piece of etching. I'm holding on to my bottles until I can find a consistent way of turning an empty beer bottle into a glass.

Strawman) This farmhouse cider is a strong, robust dry cider. I have little to contribute to the description already on the side of the bottle, but also I have to say that description is a bit overdone. It's a good, possibly even great cider, but it's not in the realm of excellent or phenomenal. Despite an ABV of 10%, you can barely tell there is alcohol in it, and that's impressive. ☆☆☆☆

The Muse) The Muse is much sweeter than the last, but mellow in flavor. Just by its strong micro bubble effervescence, I'm pretty sure you could convince people that this was a champagne. However, it also tastes similar to one. It was made with champagne yeast though, so perhaps that was the intended effect. Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a cider that's trying to be a champagne nor a champagne that is trying to be a cider. ☆☆

Iceman) Of the three, this is the sweet yet, tart one. The finish is not as smooth as Strawman's either, but the flavor comes across as full. There's even a hint of vanilla in the backdrop. ☆☆☆

Bonus! I've been told that the best way to drink Strawman and Iceman is to mix them. The robust dryness of Strawman makes up for Iceman's sweetness. I have not tried doing so yet, but I might have to give it a go in the near future.

14/100) Macadoodles and a Leinenkeugel

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Banshee Lager, Irish Red Ale, Big Eddy

While I was in Branson, I ran across a store named Macadoodles. Upon entering, I realized that despite an Irish name they clearly specialized in wine even though they had a decent selection of other alcohols. Imagine my surprise to discover that they also had their own Macadoodles's themed beers. I only found two though. Since I needed one more beer to go with them for this post, I chose Big Eddy, an unusual Leinenkugel's. As an added bonus, I have only recently connected that the names rhyme.

Banshee Lager) Not bad. A decent lager, but isn't as smooth as others that I've had. Also, I suspect that this is how it got the Banshee part of the name as there is a background of bitterness to it. ☆☆☆

Red Irish) Harsh and vinegary. In short, my bottle might have been past the expiration date. Did not enjoy. ☆

Big Eddy) Sweet and complex. This beer lacks that touch of harshness that I've encountered in most other barley wines. The finish blossoms with an array of melted flavors leaving you only with a pleasant rye lingering. As previously mentioned, despite the strong flavors, this beer finishes smooth. ☆☆☆☆

13/100) Boulevard Tasting Room Set

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Wheat, IPA, Ginger Lemon-Radler, ESB

In short, I like Boulevard. Their beers have a consistently high level of smoothness to them which makes them very drinkable. Therefore, I thought it only fitting to review all four different beers that came in my tasting room set instead of whittling the selection down to three.

Wheat Beer) Smooth. You don't get a strong yeasty flavor, but instead get a light citrus and healthy wheat taste. Just be sure to swirl the bottle when you pour it, because the cloudier the pour the better it seems to taste. ☆☆☆☆

Single Wide IPA) Smells sweet, and the finish is bitter. In other words, much to my chagrin it lives up to being an IPA. It is easier to drink that other IPAs I've tried, but the type of beer is just not me. So the two stars aren't a reflection of lack of quality, they just account for my lack of taste for bitterness. If IPAs are your thing, you'll love this one. ☆☆

Tasting Room Ginger Lemon-Radler) My initial reaction was "is this pop?" The lemon is very pronounced yet the ginger makes its presence known as a growing warmth. If the label didn't say otherwise, I would have assumed this was a mixture of lemon juice and ginger beer. The result, though far from the norm, is smooth and drinkable. ☆☆☆

Tasting Room ESB) I was pleasantly surprised that this beer didn't overwhelm with bitterness. Since IPAs, pale ales, and the like are not usually my style, I had foolishly lumped ESBs in with them. However, ESB's tend to not finish as bitter and therefore are much more drinkable to me. This one in particular has Boulevard's characteristic smoothness to it as well as a good light bitter hoppiness in the finish that neither shocks or builds as you drink more. ☆☆☆☆