New Holland Cabin Fever

Founded in 1996 by friends Jason Spaulding and Brett Vander Camp, New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan has an annual outturn of approximately 30,000 barrels. They started distilling spirits in 2005. Cabin Fever is a traditional brown ale brewed with three barley variations (2-row, Munich, chocolate), wheat, and rye and fermented using American Ale yeast.

Behind door #8: New Holland Cabin Fever, Brown Ale, 6.5% alc., 12 oz. bottle

C: Darkest brown with a creamy white head

N: Abundant roasted malt with hints of vanilla around the edges, quite yeasty

P: Yeastiness transfers to the palate with more roasted malt and building chocolate notes

F: Shorter than anticipated but some of those roasted malt notes linger as does a little of the yeastiness, hints of coffee in the distant background

In conclusion: An easy drinking, very pleasant brown ale. I could happily knock back a few of these in an isolated cabin somewhere in the mountains.