Braggot Brett
Brouwerij De Molen
- From:
- Brouwerij De Molen
- Netherlands
- Style:
- Braggot
- ABV:
- 9.5%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.9 | pDev: 11.79%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Dec 15, 2020
- Added:
- Jan 28, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
SCORE
87
Very Good
87
Very Good
Braggot with Pilsner and Caramalt, Saaz for bittering. Barrel aged on Wild Turkey and Bordeaux barrels with brett. Lagered with pine honey.
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Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
3.25/5 rDev -16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
3.25/5 rDev -16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
"Braggot Brett." Barrel aged (ostensibly in Wild Turkey and Bordeaux barrels). Brewed with pine honey.
16.8 plato. Pasteurized. 8.50% ABV. EBC 45. 20 EBU.
BOTTLE: The usual De Molen minimalist white-and-black label with text only and no art. Brown glass. 33cl format. Branded black pry-off crown cap. Purchased at Plan B in Rotterdam earlier today.
HEAD: ~1.5-2cm. White colour. Nice consistency - sticky, frothy, of moderate thickness. Leaves even lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. ~3 minute retention.
BODY: Copper-amber. "Honeyed" comes to mind as a descriptor. Murky; nontransparent. Translucent. No yeast can be seen within.
Appears well-carbonated. Not a unique or special look for a braggot, but I can't wait to try it all the same.
AROMA: I thought the pine would be more pungent; I get some, but not much. The same goes for the honey; I thought there'd be more mead-like honey sweetness. Bordeaux wine kind of eclipses the base beer (blend?), possibly to its detriment. I pick up on no Wild Turkey nor any overt oak. There's a blip of brettanomyces funkiness at best. The aroma is a bit reticent overall, suggesting a possibly imbalanced barrel aged brew with woefully inadequate honey presence given the style.
Frankly, for a beer called "Braggot Brett," it's surprisingly devoid of both braggot and brett(anomyces) notes.
TASTE: Cedar, sourness (~1-2 out of 10 in terms of intensity), twangy oak, some pine, tartness (possibly from wine). Honey is found only when I really search for it - and that just isn't what you want in a braggot. Brettanomyces doesn't really appear to my palate; no overt funkiness or anything. It's an odd hodgepodge of notes, but really only the wooden notes and wine make overt appearances. I find no Wild Turkey whatsoever; call me crazy.
It's not imbalanced, just unbalanced. For a brettanomyces-fermented braggot, it drinks light on both brettanomyces yeast and honey. Average depth of flavour. Flavour duration and intensity are also average.
I do like it for what it is, but it leaves a lot to be desired.
TEXTURE: Unnecessarily dry, with some unwelcome coarseness in there too. What is it with (recent) De Molen beers and this parching, rough presence on the palate? Medium-bodied. Unrefreshing. A bit overcarbonated. Not as sticky or full-bodied as you'd hope for in a great braggot.
OVERALL: Brettanomyces yeast is poorly showcased, and the barrel character steals the show away from the base beer (base blend?). Where's the honey, incidentally? Honey is the cornerstone of this style; without its overt presence, you just don't have a good beer in the style. I like what they were going for, but the execution isn't there. There's no harmony of texture and taste, but there are some nice elements here; they just fail to come together into a gestalt whole of a beer. I love to see more braggots being brewed, but a braggot without honey/mead is like a coffee stout without coffee or an IPA without hops - why bother?
Discerning drinkers will be disappointed, if only because we've come to expect far better from a brewery as accomplished as De Molen. Still above average for a braggot, though (if only because there are so few).
C+ (3.25) / ABOVE AVERAGE
Apr 04, 201616.8 plato. Pasteurized. 8.50% ABV. EBC 45. 20 EBU.
BOTTLE: The usual De Molen minimalist white-and-black label with text only and no art. Brown glass. 33cl format. Branded black pry-off crown cap. Purchased at Plan B in Rotterdam earlier today.
HEAD: ~1.5-2cm. White colour. Nice consistency - sticky, frothy, of moderate thickness. Leaves even lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. ~3 minute retention.
BODY: Copper-amber. "Honeyed" comes to mind as a descriptor. Murky; nontransparent. Translucent. No yeast can be seen within.
Appears well-carbonated. Not a unique or special look for a braggot, but I can't wait to try it all the same.
AROMA: I thought the pine would be more pungent; I get some, but not much. The same goes for the honey; I thought there'd be more mead-like honey sweetness. Bordeaux wine kind of eclipses the base beer (blend?), possibly to its detriment. I pick up on no Wild Turkey nor any overt oak. There's a blip of brettanomyces funkiness at best. The aroma is a bit reticent overall, suggesting a possibly imbalanced barrel aged brew with woefully inadequate honey presence given the style.
Frankly, for a beer called "Braggot Brett," it's surprisingly devoid of both braggot and brett(anomyces) notes.
TASTE: Cedar, sourness (~1-2 out of 10 in terms of intensity), twangy oak, some pine, tartness (possibly from wine). Honey is found only when I really search for it - and that just isn't what you want in a braggot. Brettanomyces doesn't really appear to my palate; no overt funkiness or anything. It's an odd hodgepodge of notes, but really only the wooden notes and wine make overt appearances. I find no Wild Turkey whatsoever; call me crazy.
It's not imbalanced, just unbalanced. For a brettanomyces-fermented braggot, it drinks light on both brettanomyces yeast and honey. Average depth of flavour. Flavour duration and intensity are also average.
I do like it for what it is, but it leaves a lot to be desired.
TEXTURE: Unnecessarily dry, with some unwelcome coarseness in there too. What is it with (recent) De Molen beers and this parching, rough presence on the palate? Medium-bodied. Unrefreshing. A bit overcarbonated. Not as sticky or full-bodied as you'd hope for in a great braggot.
OVERALL: Brettanomyces yeast is poorly showcased, and the barrel character steals the show away from the base beer (base blend?). Where's the honey, incidentally? Honey is the cornerstone of this style; without its overt presence, you just don't have a good beer in the style. I like what they were going for, but the execution isn't there. There's no harmony of texture and taste, but there are some nice elements here; they just fail to come together into a gestalt whole of a beer. I love to see more braggots being brewed, but a braggot without honey/mead is like a coffee stout without coffee or an IPA without hops - why bother?
Discerning drinkers will be disappointed, if only because we've come to expect far better from a brewery as accomplished as De Molen. Still above average for a braggot, though (if only because there are so few).
C+ (3.25) / ABOVE AVERAGE
Reviewed by Marius from Netherlands
4.25/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Clear amber pour, no head to speak of - it looks a lot like a fortified wine. Musty, sour smell, macerated apples and strawberries, a lot of honey and some pine. A lot of pine in the taste, kind of resinous. Honey present in there as well, and white wine plus alcohol.
Oct 15, 2015
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