New Holland Brewing Company- Black Mad Hatter India Pale Ale: Hatters Gonna Hat (Part 2)
Monday, July 18, 2011 at 5:30PM | by Jason 
Man, what a week! My third week at the new job and besides loving it, it drains every ounce of energy right out of me. Thank God for the weekend! With three Hatters left to go in the Hatters Gonna Hat series, trying to decide which one is going to be tough because I just don’t have the brain power to make a decision. I think that enjoying the Two Brothers Hop Juice Black the other night, I might just be in the mood to see how the two compare. Typically I haven’t been a fan of the Black IPAs but between Clown Shoes’ Hoppy Feet and Two Brothers Hop Juice Black my opinion of the style is starting to change. I just hope that New Holland Brewing Company’s Black Mad Hatter India Pale Ale will keep my opinion heading in the right direction.
New Holland Brewing Company classifies this brew as a Black India Pale Ale (BIPA) and their website briefly describes Black Mad Hatter India Pale Ale as, “A blackened version of Mad Hatter brewed with black malt for a dark, roasty sweetness to the base of the flavor profile. Finishes with a strong Centennial hop character from dry hopping.”
Black Mad Hatter India Pale Ale pours a chestnut color with a ½” latte colored head. The aroma is citrus hops/hop resin (similar to West Coast IPA) up front with some mild roastyness and a faint hint of chocolate and coffee in the background.
WOW! Yep, I’m really starting to like Black IPAs. Black Mad Hatter IPA is freaking delicious but at the same time very different from Hop Juice Black. Whereas Hop Juice Black was sweeter, Black Hatter is roastier with subtle hints of coffee but definitely IPAish. The flavor is a semi chocolate/malty sweetness at first then transitioning to a roasted malt/coffee flavor with a citrus/earthy hop taste throughout the finish which is roasty and crisp. I’m actually at a loss for words. I really don’t know what to say other than WOW! This is not what I was expecting and I am extremely impressed with New Holland’s Black Hatter so much so that I need to go hunting for more. Well done New Holland, well done!!
ABV: 5.56%
Consumed: New Belgium Globe Glass
Verdict: Buy A Case
