Dragon's Milk Reserve: Raspberry Lemon
New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.47
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Michigan raspberries bring depth to Dragon’s Milk and frame it’s chocolate tones beautifully while contrasting its dark, roast character. Lemon zest excites the fruit flavor, brightening the entire experience.
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7.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Beer #7 (of 19) of my 9000th Beer Celebration [9 beers on both sides of #9000th itself] Super deep dark brown coloured body with a thinnish, one to two centimetre light to medium brown head that fades to just a thin layer on top after a few seconds. Aroma of funky raspberry, cough syrup-like note with a light citrus note, but way more on the molasses, caramelised sugars and a big malt note with a lot of sweetness and a fairly noticeable lactose and grainy bite in the nose, but fairly low-key. Medium-bodied; Strong very rich malt and earthy notes show a ton of vanilla, cream, lactose and raspberry notes with a bunch of earthy and nutty flavours towards the end, with a smooth but noticeable malt bite and some robust raspberry flavours that hit nicely, especially at the end. Aftertaste is crisp, very malty with a bunch of sweet sugars that aren't cloying and with a polished raspberry bite and some creamy, lactosey and earthy finishes that are robust, but go down very easily, especially considering the alcohol. Overall, a very nice imperial stout with a big raspberry bite but stronger lactose, creamy, vanilla and nuttiness with a lot of sweetness, but easy-drinking, especially for the alcohol and malt content here, and still complex. The aging seems to have done great things to this one and I'll be excited to sample the other two flavours I have (and bought at the same time) to try as part of this celebration. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle, purchased from GlenRo Spirit Shoppe in Monroe, Connecticut on 10-March-2018 for US$3,99 sampled at my house here in Washington for Beer #7 (of 19) of my 9000th beer celebration [9 beers on both sides of #9000th itself].
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Sep 2021
at 07:35
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Shared bottle, poured to pint glass. I can’t help but to compare this to the original Dragon’s Milk (not head-to-head). Raspberry dominates the nose, then again on the first sip. Lemon doesn’t rally stand out. Hints of chocolate but I didn’t pick up any vanilla that is prominent in the original. Also, booziness of original is masked well by the fruit.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Apr 2017
at 14:57
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Stuu666. Pours just-clear dark brown with a thin tan head. Aromas of chocolate and raspberry. Not getting any lemon. Hints of vanilla, light roast. Taste is more of the same. Light sweet bourbon linger. Solid.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Feb 2017
at 01:24
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Aroma is pretty good - cocoa, raspberry, bit of roast, no lemon. Body is good. But for me, the raspberry didn’t go so well and gives an unpleasant medicinal aftertaste with a long finish.
Tried
on 13 Jan 2017
at 21:47
8.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle at appellation. Pours black, nose is chocolate, meaty, toffee, vanilla, raspberry, taste is sweet, chocolate, tart raspberry, bourbon, coconut.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Nov 2016
at 12:22
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle at appellation... Bottle at appellation... Dark black.. Thin tan lacing... Soft sweet raspberry chocolate roast malts nose... Dark chocolate roast nose... Juicy chocolate. . Soft raspberry toffee chocolate roast malts... Juicy zezty raspberry.. Dark fruits.. Juicy
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Nov 2016
at 12:21
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle thanks to Stuu666. Appearance - close to opaque black with a lovely fawn head. Nose - cherry wood and lemon. Raspberry coming through stronger and stronger. Taste - more chocolate and raspberry. Strawberry and a touch of lemon. Coconut. Palate - close to medium bodied with a creamy texture and a long dry finish. Overall - nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Nov 2016
at 12:21
7.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Draft. Raspberry, lemon, chocolate malt, and hay aroma. Brown with large tan head. Moderately sweet raspberry, lemon, chocolate malt, and mildly bitter hay flavor. Good body. Fruity.
Tried
from Draft
on 11 Aug 2016
at 17:54
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 6/7/2016. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of lightly tart raspberry, lemon zest, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, light coffee, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roasted malt, fruit, and bourbon barrel notes; with good strength. Taste of lightly tart raspberry, lemon zest, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, light coffee, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of raspberry, lemon, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt, fruit, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/silky mouthfeel that is great; some slight roast chalkiness and fruit acidity as well. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is an excellent barrel aged fruited imperial stout. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt, fruit, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV. This wasn’t as big on the fruit as the raspberry-only version; but was extremely well balanced between all flavors. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Aug 2016
at 20:30