Old McHatter: New Holland Farmhouse Hatter

I was happy to see a couple of the new New Holland Hatter Series at the store during the last beer run.  The Hatter Series is a collection of IPAs taking a variation off of New Holland's year -round Mad Hatter IPA.  Some of the variations include Black Hatter - Black IPA, Rye Hatter - Rye PA, and Oak Aged Hatter - Oak Aged IPA.  I chose Farmhouse Hatter, a Belgian style IPA.  I wanted to start with this one because it sounded like it was combining two of my favorite styles, IPAs and Farmhouse Ales.

22 oz bottle poured into a Karmeliet tulip. Huge fluffy light tan head floats and bobs on the surface. Amazing retention and wonderful sticky lace abounds. The body is a copper color with a mild sediment haze. This is a very exciting beer to look at.

The smell is mild, but all the notes are there. The fruity/citrus hops are predominant, but I still get trace hints of a Belgian yeast funkiness. I'm thinking the large foam cap is trapping a lot of the smell in. The taste releases everything that was contained in the smell. Large, juicy grapefruit flavors, but then finishes dry with a mild Belgian yeast tartness.

The mouthfeel is mild and very dry. The New Holland website says the Farmhouse Hatter has an ABV of 5.07%, but it feels a little higher than that. It makes me want to go out and try the other Hatter variations. At $4.99 a bottle it's an easy way to explore the different variations.