New Holland Brewing Co

A+ beer, B+ grub.
Date of Visit: 9÷12÷15
New Holland was one of the breweries we were most looking forward to on our tour of Michigan. What we didn’t know was that they had a solid restaurant to boot. Their beers are all fantastic, and they even had a few vodkas made in-​house, which were perfect for the Bloody Mary bar they offer during brunch. Honestly one of the best bloodies I’ve ever had, and easily the best bloody bar I’ve seen — You could fill up on the additions alone (bacon, olives, peppers, cheeses, meats, shrimp, etc.).
As for the food, we ordered a lot of standard fair (burgers, pizza) and most were satisfied with their dishes. Nothing extraordinary, but solid for a brew pub. I had the Whitefish Po’boy, which was very tasty, but could use a better bread option (traditional baguette, maybe?).
All in all, this is a place that offers average food, but exceptional beer (and that’s ok)!

This place is a joke. If 1 of these unfortunate service-​related events would have happened I would have been fine, but all factors combined have led me to take to Unilocal.It was a crowded Saturday night so we found a place at the bar, and were acknowledged after several minutes. We asked the bartender, his name was Will I believe, for a beer recommendation. He said «I like them all.» So… thanks… I guess we’ll figure it out for ourselves, not like this is your job or anything. So my husband got the spicy dragon’s milk. When Will followed up with us, we told Will he wasn’t crazy about the beer choice. Will then proceeds to say «oh I don’t like that beer very much, I like Beer x, or I like mixing Beer A and Beer B together, or I go more for this style of beer.» Turns out he did have an opinion just apparently didn’t feel like sharing it when we asked. Then when Will wasn’t around, we asked a female bartender a question and were given a short, unfriendly answer and were dismissed. Quite a disappointing experience for such a cute, quaint little town in appearance. Not to mention the patrons who refused to give up their empty chair so both of us could sit at the bar so they could have a place to rest their feet.
So, New Holland Brewing, I would like to remind you with this post that I am likely your target consumer being a WASP from Chicago and everything. I will however, never be returning, and my word of mouth marketing on behalf of your business will be very similar to this post. Negative.

I’ve visited a lot of brewing companies in Michigan and wanted to try New Holland. Went here on a Sunday afternoon with my family and was very happy with the experience! New Holland Brewing Co is a really nice pub, and I recommend a visit to anyone who likes good Michigan beer.
Location/​Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅. Right in downtown Holland, it was very easy to find and to grab parking nearby. The atmosphere inside is warm and welcoming, exactly what I expect from a brew pub!
Service: ⁵⁄₅. Very helpful, knowledgeable servers. We asked for several beer recommendations and loved everything we tried. This was pretty significant, because the staff convinced us to try some things we never would have usually ordered. Great job.
Food and Drink: ⁵⁄₅. New Holland beers were EXCELLENT. This was my first time having many of them. Make sure if you’re visiting to order a flight of beers so you can try many of them. Some favorites were the pumpkin ale and the dragon’s milk stout. I was really surprised by how much I liked the stout – I am not normally a stout person! But it was one of the best on the list. Food is also very good. Try the pepperoni pinwheels for a tasty appetizer.
Overall: 5/​5, would visit again!

When I think New Holland, I think ROAR! GROWL! FIRE BREATHING!!! In other words, I think of Dragon’s Milk. Dragon’s Milk was one of the first craft beers I had and helped mold me into a beer snob monster. Dragon’s Milk beer has been around since 2001 — yes 2001. Dragon’s Milk was around since way before the craft revolution hit. When I recently had a wedding up in Michigan, I knew going to the motherland of Dragon’s Milk was a must stop spot for this mother of dragons. Skoriot ñuhyz zaldrīzesse ilzi!!!
GOT High Valyrian speak, Khalessi reference.
New Holland Brewing is in the middle of a college town on a quaint street filled with little shops & businesses. It’s a brewpub so you don’t need to worry about eating first and their food really delivers. Plus, if you go on a weekend, you may be treated to some great live music. My friend and I were able to get a table right away on a Saturday night, right by the band and we saw the entire second level was pretty empty. The live band was fabulous playing a mix of their original songs, 80s covers, 90s covers and covers of current hits.
The atmosphere at New Holland is way chill and it’s like you are in an olden times tavern that is amped up with some new technology like computerized menu boards behind the bar. I felt like I was in a true hometown type of brewery filled with wood everything, décor paying homage to their various brews and cool bottle chandeliers.
Our server was just lovely the whole time, joking around with us and discussed the brews a bit. Really what’s great about New Holland though is the food & drinks, so I’ll get on with it!
Eats n Deets —
+Mushrooms and Toast $ 8 — Mushrooms on toast pretty much like the name lets on. I like mushrooms. I like toast. Yet something wasn’t overly amazing about this dish to me. I’d skip this appetizer in the future
+Pork Belly special $ 15 — This is not a normal menu item but it was so unique & delicious, it should be! A huge honking piece of perfectly cooked pork belly was over a bed of creamed corn, topped with arugula & roasted peach. Interesting ingredient combination that made for an explosion in my mouth. If they ever have this special on the menu when stop in, get it!!!
Flight options at New Holland rock! You can get any beer you fancy in the flight. Really almost all tasting portions were $ 1.50 each (with DM being $ 2 and some seasonals for $ 2.50) and they are big tasting portions! Loved it! Ideally you’ll want to pick 6 at a time as that’s how many their heavy silver holders have space for. You fill out a menu with what you want which makes for a very organized flight ordering experience. Sarah likey.
Dragon’s Milk was absolutely their best beer on the menu. It’s a strong 11% Bourbon Barrel Stout so after just a goblet of it, you’ll be feeling slightly tipsy. They also had Dragon’s Milk on cask which was cool to try but I liked the regular better. They seem to always have some type of kombucha (slightly alcoholic tea) on draft and the night I went it was Pina Colada. Very cool! Be sure to get whatever kombucha they are offering the night you go! Such a unique and fun option! Plus if you like it, they are lower in percentage than nearly any beer (usually kombuchas are 2−3%
Other’s on tap the night I went and was lucky enough to try were CoPilot (California Common), Into The Rabbit Hole (Helles Bock aged in whiskey barrels), The Poet (oatmeal stout), Monkey King (saison), Mad Hatter (their signature IPA which was great to try straight from the source), Blue Bradberry (don’t be shocked but this was a blueberry fruit beer), Blue Star Bitter (English Bitter), & Ichabod Ale (their signature fall pumpkin beer). Honestly I didn’t find any of these to be amazing but all were pretty decent. I ended up just getting more Dragon’s Milk after ripping through my tasters.
Come for the beer, stay for the food. Now that you’ve had your cliché fix, you may proceed with your regularly scheduled day.