I was first pleased to meet Pilgrim’s Dole at a cheese market located in the heart of a Chicago suburb. It made an impression on me and was pleased to find a bottle through the random use of a Groupon…I digress.
In color, its practically a chameleon. Under the initial light it was a dark brown, with hints of amber, yet in another room, the barley wine was practically red, like a tulip glass full of cranberry juice. The nice layer of head settled without lacing, creating a neat little lid of off-white. The scent was most definitely distinctive barley wine, alcoholic, sweet, malty, all blended to a pleasing mixture, coaxing me to sip. There is an earthy quality on the tongue, it weaves its way through the caramel, smooth and rich brew. There is a sour cherry note, like a bowl of them had been soaking in liqueur and then thrown in on brew day. That sourness pulls through the whole swig, down to the finish which is a bit stinging and quite alcoholic.
Trying to place the ‘wheatwine’ in this brew was less easily done this go-round. In my first experience it seemed to tone the astringency of the barley wine, it was less harsh and made for a smooth, pleasant experience. This time, however, it felt more like I was drinking an intensely alcoholic spirit, rather than a beer smoothed out around the edges. My experience with barley wines is, admittedly, not incredibly diverse. It could be that I have had too many aged varieties and too few without, but it seems to me New Holland’s rendition needs either a few months in a barrel, or a year in my cellar.