Review: New Holland Cabin Fever

Review: New Holland Cabin Fever

I spent last weekend in Northern Michigan snowboarding, and what better beer to commemorate such an occasion than one called “Cabin Fever?” I picked up an individual bottle in a mix-and-match six pack on my way to the eponymous cabin.

The head is a nice tan color, and sticks around for a loooong time. I tend to be lazy when I pour, leading to a tall head on my beer, and I had to wait quite a while before I could even finish pouring from the bottle into the glass, because the head did not recede. The beer itself was clear, but a rather dark brown.

The aroma is pretty nutty, with both “brown” and “black” (hazelnut) notes. Yes, I describe flavors by color. I also describe body by terms like “tastes wet,” so I guess readers should be used to a… different style from me.

The first sip… wow. There’s a very strong alcohol flavor on the tongue, but it doesn’t linger for long. The taste is deceptively strong, as this is “only” a 6.25% beer. There are the standard flavors you expect from a brown, with malt and nutty flavors, though it’s maybe a bit drier than you might expect from some browns.

The aftertaste is mostly nutty, with some malt. There’s bit hop bitterness, but not a whole lot. The important flavors here, clearly, are the malts and nuts.