Dark Heathen Braggot
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

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From:
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Braggot
ABV:
16%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.47 | pDev: 13.54%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
18
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 22, 2015
Added:
Dec 30, 2011
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Reagan1984:
Photo of Reagan1984
Reviewed by Reagan1984 from Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -28%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Thamks to Masterski for providing another interesting beer from Kuhnhenn.
I think this is my second or third braggot.

Pours with a moment of foal that toally vanishes. Looks like soda, complete with the carbonation. The color of the beer is like a barleywine. Deep Amber with a lot of burgundy notes.

Aroma is like sherry. Also smells like mead. (honey notes and sweet)
My god, sherry or port. Honey notes in the sweetness here as well. So sweet and mixed with alcohol flavors. Drinks almost exactly like sherry or port, just a little thinner in body.

Nasal vapors of sweet alcohol. Not sticky, but very sweet.

Have to say, this isn’t really my favorite, but still happy to have had a chance to try it.
Apr 01, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by t2grogan from Arizona

Jan 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by bleedsblu from Pennsylvania

Jul 22, 2014
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.44/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Thanks to Retsinis for sharing this at Oneinchaway's tasting.

2011 Winter Solstice.

Pours a clear honey orange with a foamy tan head that fades to nothing. No lacing on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, caramel, toffee, and alcohol aromas. Taste is much the same with honey and cardboard flavors on the finish. There is an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat and sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that smells really nice with the honey presence but the flavors are a bit oxidized at this point.
Jan 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by POTABLE83 from New York

Oct 18, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Bigtwin from Michigan

Jun 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by spycow from Illinois

Mar 10, 2013
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

3.43/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from Winter Solstice 2011. Served in a tulip.

A - Tiny white foam quickly settles to nothing. Mostly transparent amber-brown body.

S - An odd mix of honey and floral mead notes with dark toasted malts and bread from the triple bock. The flavor juxtaposition is strange and doesn't totally mesh. Some raisin, date, and black cherry reside in the periphery, along with a lightly smokey note. There's nothing 'off' or offensive; the flavors just feel incongruous.

T - The taste is a bit better, mostly because the mead flavors dominate the Dark Heathen ones more thoroughly. Beyond the sweet honey, floral, and fruity mead flavors there is light hints of raisin, dark breads, and umami from the beer component. I know that sounds kind of terrible, but it's actually not. On the positive side, alcohol is quite well concealed.

M - Smooth, medium-full body. Very low-to-no carbonation. Chewy, sticky, and mead-like texture. Again, not a ton of alcohol after a year in the cellar.

D - For a 16% braggot this was surprisingly easy to drink. That being said, the marriage of flavors was not a good one, and the beer and mead duke it out with no one really striking a decisive blow. I'd rather have both components on their own, thank you very much.
Jan 04, 2013
Photo of cosmicevan
Reviewed by cosmicevan from New York

3.49/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
big thanks to bierenutz for the bottle hookup! enjoyed from my kuhnhenn snifter.

a - brew poured a fairly lifeless semi transparent ruby brown. no head to speak of, but a subtle ring of bubbles on the surface of the glass. but what do you expect? it's a braggot.

s - big burst of sweet honey and liquor. has a very dessert smell to it. kind of fruity and berry like. definitely makes my taste buds water from the dessert like sweetness.

t - SAH-WEET!!! holy moly, i've just been knocked out by a sugar explosion. cloying is a word that i don't use often, but first impressions are just that. the booze is extremely well hidden if not masked only by sweetness. lots of cherry, honey, and pastry. the heat is not evident in the flavor, but this is a dessert drink to be shared by many...this 12ozer might be a bit of a chore, but heck, i finish my chores!

m - fairly lifeless aside from just a sweet explosion. at 16% this bad boy really hides the booze and it is a liquor, not a beer.

o - overall, what would you expect? for a style that the number 1 isn't even a 4, it isn't the most accessible. i haven't had many braggots, but find kuhnhenn to be able to create a drinkable braggot and the dark heathen is pretty decent. if you are coming into this looking for something that compares to a beer, you best check your head at the door. if you are looking for something unique and interesting and...well, a braggot, this one is worth a shot, but my recommendation is to not tackle this alone, go forward with a few friends and pull it out at the end of a session or a big meal. a few ounces after dinner seems to be where this one should sit.
Jun 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by jh1982 from Nevada

Jun 16, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by monitorpop from Michigan

May 20, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by klipper from Michigan

May 14, 2012
Photo of Bung
Reviewed by Bung from Michigan

2.56/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
12oz. Strong amber colored pour, just a few bubbles within and on top.

Aroma, sweet, grapey, sherry, alcohol.

Taste, Honey, sherry. At least the alcohol is not here, oh wait yeah it is. I believe this is pretty accurate to style, I just obviously don't care much for it. Not overtly sweet, but too much for me. Pretty basic and way too fusal-y for me.

Medium bodied, minimal carbonation. Certainly coating. Gigantic abv is very marginally masked.

Not sure meadbraggot is my thing, though I liked Wyerbachers much more.
May 10, 2012
Photo of StraightNoChaser
Reviewed by StraightNoChaser from Georgia

3.82/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Not sure if this is the right spot or not. What I've got is certainly a Kuhnhenn Braggot and is marked 16% abv. It is not marked Dark Heathen and has a Winter Solstice 2011 on top the label.
appearance: No head at all. Looks almost like sherry or dark bourbon.
smell: sweet honey with a hint of spice and sourness.
taste: Rich and sweet with a slight alcohol bite (nowhere near what one would expect from 16%).
overall: Quite good. Very heavy obviously. A dessert or aperitif sipper.
Mar 04, 2012
Photo of BBP
Reviewed by BBP from Canada (ON)

3.94/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Not sure what a braggot is supposed to look like, so i'm hesitant to give this a low appearance grade. No head and no lacing but it looks like either were close to forming a little.

The aroma it's all honey and nectar. A hint of malt sneaks through.

Taste is like the aroma. Incredibly simple but appealing as well. I'll be honest; I don't get much else but honey but still enjoy it a ton. Less sweet than I anticipated.

Moderately thick and a medium weight. The finish is moderately dry and slightly sticky.

Overall it was a solid beer. The only downside was that it's so simple. Liquid honey with the sweetness under control.
Jan 29, 2012
Photo of woosterbill
Reviewed by woosterbill from Kentucky

3.45/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle into a medium-sized Duvel tulip. Thanks to Chris for sharing.

A: Clear, still honey-brown body. Ok.

S: Sweet, flowery honey on top of serious mustiness. Very sweet, very boozy, very mead-like.

T: Musty up front, with intense honey in the middle and a sweet, boozy finish. Tasty, but not great.

M: Flat, sticky medium body. Not bad.

O: This was definitely a let-down, in that it has all the sweetness and hugeness of a crazy Kuhnhenn concoction without being terribly interesting. This just tasted like generic, slightly over-the-hill mead. I'd hate to have to drink a whole bottle by myself, but enjoyed getting to try it.

Cheers!
Jan 23, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by JAHMUR from Connecticut

Jan 12, 2012
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a medium brown uncommon colour for a mead product. The smell is buckwheat honey and old ale. Sherryish and bourbon notes, the honey is in the secondary. Complex sweetness and not too sweet: A nice balance with the hops. Above average mouthfeel. Good drinkability, but at this abv, a sipper.
Jan 02, 2012
Dark Heathen Braggot from Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 18 ratings