New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve with Toasted Chilies

Today, I have New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve with Toasted Chilies in my glass.  Years ago I used to say Michigan was my favorite beer state.  After all, they had Founders, Bells, Dark Horse, and New Holland.  I hadn't had bad beer from Michigan.  Later, some of these breweries began to disappoint me.  I didn't care for Dragon's Milk as much the third time compared to the first.  It seemed a little boring in a by-the-numbers sort of way:  not bad, but not especially interesting or good either.  But now I've heard a lot of buzz about the Reserve bottlings so I had to hunt one down.

Smaug's Breath, as the Chili de Arbol bottling is affectionately known, doesn't disappoint.  The chili peppers add a toasty heat and smoke counterpart to the sweetness lent by the bourbon barrel aging.  For an 11% ABV beer, this one is deceptively smooth, even after less than a month and a half of aging.  If I had a complaint about Smaug's Breath, it would be that the mouthfeel comes off a bit thin in points.  Perhaps a little aging will help to fill this out, but I was impatient.  I should mention that this is one of four in a series, though unfortunately I wasn't able to find the other three.  In short, maybe New Holland is a little better than I've regarded them recently and it's time to give standard issue Dragon's Milk another shot.  Keep your eye open for the Dragon's Milk Reserve bottlings, if you can find them!