New Holland Brewing has always created some of my favorite stouts so when I saw this Dragon’s Milk Solera I was slightly confused. The Dragon’s Mill name has always been used for there thick, delicious BBA stout. However, Solera is a strong ale so I had to give it a try.
The description on untapped made it sound very interesting.
Aged in a series of American Oak foeders using a blending technique known as Solera, nuanced flavors of caramel, toffee & fig create an experience made to be savored. This legendary ale will continue to evolve with each pull from the foeders, becoming more complex over time. <
This description kind of sent me done the rabbit hole on foeders. I’m not a beer expert and this is a style I’m not that familiar with.
What is a foeder?
A foeder (prounounced food-er), in its simplest form, is a large barrel. When exactly it becomes a foeder rather than just an oversized barrel is somewhat discretionary, but the line is often drawn at 600 liters, which is around 160 gallons, or roughly three times the size of the average oak barrel. <
Foeders are also distinguished by the lengths required to construct them. As we mentioned in Part I, foeders require a specially trained team of foudriers, which works together to complete the construction over a period of weeks, or even months, depending on the size of the vessel. <
source
So what the point of a foeder it’s to impart wood flavors in the beer. Solera uses American oak which gives some nice funky earthy notes in the aroma and flavor. The appearance of the beer has a rich copper color with a slightly off white head. There’s a bit of rocky bubbles that fade into classic lacing which clings to the glass.
The aroma is rich with sweet malt, sticky caramel, buttered toffee & complex fig. There’s some early wood notes that linger as well.
The flavor is rich, but balanced. I get a nice sweetness from the malt and fig. It then turns into more roasted sweets like the toffee or even candies pecans. Then you get a bit of wood that taste earthy wood or grass like flavor. Everything works together perfectly.
The flavors are complemented by the carbonation and thickness. It’s not thick like a stout, but not light like a Pilsner. It’s defiantly got that ale like quality. It’s suited for cold weather when you don’t want to be overly filled by thick stouts.
I wish I could get more beers prepared in this traditional manner. I like that earthy funk it adds a level of complexity a lot of beer lack.
Yum, sounds like the perfect beer for a cool fall day. I need to start stocking up on some darker beers for the Winter. My wife will probably want me to clear out some of my whiskey bottles first though.
Sounds like a good problem to have. I’m light on whiskey right now I need to find something fun to try. Any recommendations?
Depends on your price range. If you are looking for something cheap, Larceny is pretty good for a Bourbon. A little higher my favorite is Old Grandad BiB. If you want to take a step up from there my go-to in the $40 range is Michter's Bourbon or Rye. The Wild Turkey is pretty decent too at $45. Beyond there the Jack Daniels Single Barrel Select, Rye, and Barrel Proof are good in the $50 to $60 range. If you like Irish Whiskey the Jameson Caskmates Stout is so smooth it is dangerous. I haven't gotten into Scotch too much yet.
Ohhh that does some very good
It's amazing
This looks like a real great !BEER
Cheers!!
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