New Holland "Dragon's Milk White" Bourbon Barrel Aged White Stout

I've been fooled before, and I'll be fooled again. I tried the original Dragon's Milk while I was out at a bar, and I didn't like it. After trying it again quite a while later at a different bar, I found that I liked it quite a bit. This prompted me to revisit that beer, and I gave it a much better score the second time around. However, I haven't made my mind up about these white stouts. They seem somewhat unnatural, and it don't think I've liked any so far. Maybe New Holland can solve this problem.

As you can see, it's not white. The head's definitely white, but the beer itself is more of a hazy bronze. The aroma is pretty weak. I get a little bit of coffee, chocolate, maybe some vanilla, and I can definitely pick up some oak, but there's nothing really hitting me in the face all that hard. The coffee smell is really concerning me at this point, as you may expect. I really hope this isn't a coffee stout.

First sip is not a coffee stout, although there is some coffee in it, and it brings vanilla, light chocolate, and some grains. It's smooth overall, and it seems to have a fairly crisp finish. I can only assume that it's the sip that is not letting me really taste all that much else. The original Dragon's Milk was much more imposing than this.

Tip-in is vanilla and coffee beans with almost no carbonation at all. The middle becomes almost a lager with the amount of grains that this has going on. Pretty much the middle is nothing but malt, and that's just weird in and of itself. The finish has another whiff of coffee before the heavier alcohol taste is added to oak and white chocolate for trailing off with some bitterness and a dry aftertaste.

Bottom Line: Maybe I'm just not a fan of white stouts.

1.0/5