My first experience with New Holland was their Dragon’s Milk Oak-Aged Ale, so Ichabod had some big shoes to fill on the expectations front. The color is pumpkin standard orange-tinted copper:
There is a definite hint of pumpkin and nutmeg in the nose. Holiday-themed flavoring is very present, but you still get an overall amber beer flavor, which is a bit of a rarity given the genre. Ichabod has a distinct aftertaste that actually reminds me of a weaker and slightly more bitter version of Pumking. I don't notice the cinnamon, but then again I rarely do.
I'm very pleasantly surprised by this brew; it's low on the ABV scale (5.2%) and decently pricey (10.94 per standard six pack). For some reason I had it in my mind that I had tried it long ago and hated it, but that wasn’t the case at all; it was quite good, and I rather enjoyed my glass. If you're looking for the lighter side of pumpkin this might be the right way to go. It doesn't have a sweetened flavor that I usually like in my pumpkin ales, but that tends to come more with the higher ABV ales, such as Weyerbacher (8%) or Pumking (9%). There is a certain bitterness about the ale that grows the more of it you drink.
New Holland is a very interesting craft brewer from Michigan, a state that has one of my favorites, who sadly won’t be in this tournament, as I have yet to see a pumpkin ale from them. Why not give it a whirl Founders? Why not, I ask? Anyhow, New Holland has a lot of cool-sounding stuff; sadly I don’t know them very well. The only other beer of theirs that I’ve been fortunate enough to get a hold of is the aforementioned Dragon’s Milk, which is excellent. It’s also widely regarded as their best (a statement it looks like they agree with).
I have a mixed opinion on Ichabod. It could do well in the tournament if the judges break the right way, but if I had to put money down on it I’d peg it for a very close first-round exit, again depending on the matchup.
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