Do you like mole? Lots of people do. Mole (pronounced mole-ay) is a very popular type of Mexican sauce that comes in a number of varieties. Everybody knows about guacamole, though that’s more of a dip than a sauce, but when I think about mole I think about “mole poblano”, the reddish brown, spicy sauce that’s great on all sorts of dishes.

Mole poblano is nice enough, but mole poblano beer? You can’t get much better than that. Here’s what New Holland says about this beer, part of their High Gravity series:

Our exploration into the flavors of mole, the legendary sauce of central Mexico. Malty aroma and rich, cocoa-laden body laced with an invigorating tinge of dried chilies and coffee.

As classic mole poblano sauce is made with chili peppers and chocolate, so is New Holland Mole Ocho. The beer has an alcohol content of 8% by volume and is available in bomber bottles and on draft. I have seen a few New Holland beers on draft here in Georgia, though never in the bottle. My sample was received by the very generous Chuck Triplett.

I, of course, adore spicy foods. There are other chili beers on the market, but they don’t often have enough spice or heat for my tastes. Cave Creek Chili Beer was the first chili beer I tried and is still the spiciest. I like the Serrano pepper in each bottle, though the base beer is not all that exciting.  Rogue Chipotle is built on a better brew, but has less heat. Recently, Samuel Adams released The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock, a nice enough beer with more spice than the Rogue, but still not enough for my tastes.

New Holland Mole Ocho Pours to a deep reddish chestnut color not all the dissimilar to a red mole poblano sauce. The head formation is moderate but creamy and tan colored, the nose promising with nutty chocolaty malt and a hint of spicy pepper. The palate is chewy malty up front, toasty nutty with chocolate and a hint of coffee. I’m reminded of a doppelbock in the malt profile. The peppers take over next, at first subtle as they dance across the tongue and the back of the throat. They intensify into the finish, and leave a subtle peppery burn on the tongue in the aftertaste. The peppers dry the beer with perhaps the lightest amount of hops and warming alcohol.

A very nice beer indeed, the pepper and dark malt really work together wonderfully here. I think the beer works all the better for having higher gravity and a big body. I also like the spicy heat here, as well. Other beers made with chilis sometimes just don’t place enough emphasis on the heat. When I drink a chili beer, I want to know I’m drinking a chili beer. New Holland Mole Ocho certainly delivers on that score.



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