New Holland el Mole Ocho

New Holland el Mole Ocho (bottle)
Holland, MI
8.0% ABV

I just got back from a screening of Hot Tub Time Machine at the shitty cheap theater in Plainwell. (How was the movie? About as good as a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine is ever going to get. Did you hear there's going to be a Criterion transfer of the film?) It was the kind of rundown old theater that actually set the stage pretty well for the eighties-tastic flick, and walking down the half-lit hallways into the theater made me wish I had a wrench in-hand, just in case of random splicer attack.

Now I'm just being silly. We got home, I took a piss, and said to the lady friend, "So, how'd you like to pop open that el Mole Ocho I bought the other day?" And so we have.

Pours brown/amber with a thin off-white head that quickly disappears. Very clear, with only a slight chill haze. Smells spicy-hot, hints of hop peppers with a sweet malt balance underneath. Hints of bittersweet chocolate and coffee.

Flavor is sweet, malty, with soft hints of chocolate and a peppery spicy burn in the esophagus as it's on the way down. The best way to describe it is like a rich malty dopplebock with a bit of jalapenos added for character. It's not "hot" in the way that spicy food is at all, nowhere near as offensive as Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer, for instance, but just a slight and pleasant burn. (I'm not really a fan of spicy food, so chili-heads will probably find this highly disappointing, but those with some exposure to heat will likely feel that the heat is quite pleasant.)

Mouthfeel is moderate-to-thick, and the spice gives this a bit of a stinging sensation on the tongue. Overall I find this a quite decent beer, maybe not made exactly to my tastes (I'd like a bit more chocolate here, giving this a more stout-like character), but it's almost certainly the beer that the good folks at New Holland wanted to make.

My overall BA rating: 3.95/5

Beer Review, Black Wattle Superior Wattle Seed Ale

Barons Brewing Company Black Wattle Superior Wattle Seed Ale

Appearance: Dark brown body, clear, small bubbly head that dissipates almost immediately. 2.0/5

Smell: Clean, malty aroma, slightly sweet. Nutty, almost like a nice brown ale. Hints of chocolate and... cloves? Highly inviting aroma. 4.0/5

Taste: The subtleties apparent in the nose are lost on the tongue. Slightly sweet opener, somewhat malty, but overall a bit of a mush. Finishes a bit tarty, but without the sweetness that that would imply. It's clean but disappointing. 2.0/5

Mouthfeel: Very thin, with hints of chewiness occasionally with what I assume are wattle seeds. 2.0/5

Drinkability: Overall, this is a forgettable beer. The best part of this is the nose.2.0/5

Overall: 2.4/5