Cranberry Braggot
Flying Fish Brewing Company

Cranberry Braggot from Flying Fish. 16 oz can. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA on 20/02/23 for $ 4.00 (Including tax) - $ 0.25/oz. In reefer at store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 24/02/23 (Review 3049). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on bottom of can “# 4281 01/01/24”. Served at 57.7 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 61.1 degrees.
Appearance – 4.25.
First pour – Straw (SRM 3), clear.
Body – Dark Gold (SRM 6), slight haze. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, light gold with center stream of carbonation.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.6 cm, aggressive center pour), white, fizzy, high density, quickly receding to a 0.4 – 0.5 cm crown, and a thin, partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3.5 – Smells weakly like honey. No malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4 – Begins lightly tart with honey flavor. No ethanol (12 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Mild gastric warming occurs, approaching burning. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No cranberry flavor but the tartness remains evident throughout.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, weakly syrupy, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 Leaves my lips sticky. Nicely tart to balance the honey-ness. It has a very pleasing appearance, only lacking lacing. Excellent price-point for the flavor and ABV.

(16 oz can, batch #4281 01/01/24; purchased single off shelf... poured into my Trillium fat tulip)

L: clear, medium-amber colored liquid, very mild haze; tight, bubbly, aged white-colored foam... head recedes into a moderately-thick collar, which maintains till the end; only one thin, lazy streak of lace

S: Belgian yeast character, like an generic golden strong ale... bold, kind of graham crackery malt flavor soon emerges; quite dominant... initially no cranberry, but eventually a subtle undertone of it creeps out; more craisins than juice cocktail... little overt alcohol, though a booze mist hovers... hate to say it, its smell is inviting, if lacking defined cranberry and honey character

T: kind of like a cherry-deprived Mad Elf, but without malt roundness and depth; it's relatively hollow in the middle, while fruity ethanol lingers hot in the jowls in the aftertaste... the aforementioned 'graham cracker' aroma comes across like an xmas-spiced burlap undershirt upon first sip, but takes on a more honey-roasted nut and kind of toasted dry yeast... I would call whatever the nut/yeast thing is an off-flavor... aftertaste is moderately dry, nutty-yeasty, marginally acidic and metallic with latent jammy residuals

F: the first braggot I ever tried was from Atlantic brewery in ME; that had a roundness and a redolent roll that I'm sorry ruined me for other braggot brands... this is not so much a strong ale back-sweetened with honey as it is a Molotov cocktail of tripel malt liquor tainted with syrupy sweets

O: baffled by the 16 oz can (even more baffled that I drank the whole thing in the attempt to dissect; grew on me?!?); guessing they decided the best way to move units was to package it in this?... nearly but not quite as pedestrian as their original blueberry braggot (which I got to try again, hmm); I believe I'd drain poured that after sipping the minimum to capture my review... its strength and stridency and overall cranberry extract multigrain Newton thing is all it gots (2092)

 

The pour that emptied a pint can's contents into a clear glass liter mug reveals a liquid with a color closer to honey than cranberry. There may be a reddish tint, but this is honey colored. Its head is white. Little glass lacing was produced as it receded. It's translucent, much more than opaque. The aroma is confusing, with alcohol probably leading. There's also a vague sweetness, presumably the honey, with some hops. You wouldn't guess cranberry without knowing it was an ingredient, but that's something not known for being pungent. Cranberry is more noticeable in the taste, although its bitterness is overwhelmed by the sweetness of the honey. Overall, this is a sweet drinking, high alcohol brew, with a little extra flavor from the hops, yeast and fruit, but there's more from the honey. It's great at hiding the high ABV within a sweet and relatively smooth concoction. The blueberry version previously offered by this brewery had more of a profile of the fruit and is probably superior to this. But this isn't bad, especially if you have a sweet tooth.