Big Eddy Royal Nektar
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

This is the 2015 brewing with a best by date in October of this year.

The beer pours out into a Duvel glass a nice clear amber golden yellow color with an almost 1/2" ivory head that recedes fairly soon to an irregular island thinly covering part of the liquid. Sipping leaves a few patches and scattered speckles that mostly slide back down to the liquid.

The aromas include green orchard fruits (e.g., apple, pear) along with some honey, some bready malt and a noticeable bit of alcohol.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose with the fruits and honey leading the way and with some bready malt mixed in. There are touches of white pepper and some earthy grassy hops that also show a touch of very light bitterness. The alcohol is noticeably present but not unpleasantly so. However, the warming effects of the alcohold begin to show up after a few oz.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and crisp with the ongoing light carbonation. The finish is medium in length and begins as the sweetness and other flavors gradually taper off and disappear into a nice dryness that invites another ship.

Overall I'd say that this beer shows that Leinenkugel can indeed make a respectable beer and I don't think their corporate ownership matters all that much. While I don't expect to go out of my way to have this beer again, I certainly wouldn't avoid having another and would be most likely and willing to have one following a meal. With this much sweetness its really more of an after dinner sweet treat and because of the sweetness I'm certainly am not going to have more than one at a time even if they were free. Furthermore I'd recommend sharing even the 12 oz bottle with a friend. Since this is my first Braggot it was hard to keep style in mind and rate on other than enjoyment.

 

 

 

Pours very clear deep orangey-yellowish hue. Slight head that quickly dissipated. Sweet smell with a tinge of spiced alcohol. Rich taste of honey, spice and herb. Finish is not as boozie as you would expect from a 9.5% ABC. More mellow than anything. Paired nicely with cheeses and crackers. Probably a nice dessert beer as well.

 

 

Aroma is honey, fruit, grains/malts and slightly nutty. The flavor is honey, fruit, noticeable hops, mild rye and a long and slightly sour/spicy/alcoholic finish.

An excellent example of the style from JLBC-2012 vintage in a growler via Jungle Jim's Eastgate. This fine ale pours a murky glowing orange color wit a light head of off white foam that settles to a thin ring, light pool, and light lacing. Nose of rye spiciness, honey, and light herbal notes. Flavors exceed the nose with sweet mead touched butterscotch and rye on all sides, strong booze in the middle, and a touch of herbal bitterness on the rear. Nice mouth feel, slick coating, and lightly effervescent. An excellent braggot. Cheers!

 

L: Pours hazy red tinted amber under a rapidly dissipating ½” off-white foam cap.
S: Honey, floral, rye spice and some light biscuit aromas.
T: Starts with a trace of malt and then the honey comes through accented with alcohol and tye spice. Has a nicely balanced flavor profile with moderate bitterness in the background.
F: Medium body and medium carbonation. O: An interesting braggot that is easy to drink.

 

 

Picked this up not only for the ABV but because I haven't had many Braggot beers in my reviews (only one in fact)

A - Wow an actual 1/4 inch of head that fades out quite slowly. Beer is a honey bright orange color with a slight haze.
S - Rye malts as expected more of a berry kind of smell than honey really. Malty with little ethanol.
T - Slight booze quickly to dry rye mead and a decent level of honey sweetness. Finish is slightly bitter but the rye does good to balance.
M - Not bad for the ABV its smooth and somewhat herbal but easy to go down.

Overall no regrets on the purchase only got a single for a couple of bucks. For the style it was pretty nice nothing I would seek out again though.

 

Growler from Albertsons. Honey sweetness, as expected, dominates aroma and taste. Orange copper body with airy head. Straight forward Mead, hints of rye on the back end. Leinie’s rises again....

 

 

 

Aroma has honey, floral notes as well as some fruitness (apples, pears, green grapes)

Taste is boozy...more fruity with the same fruits as mentioned above....honey is there but not dominant.

Overall I don't have a lot of experience with braggots but this is a solid effort....nothing I would be telling all my friends to buy but ok for a four-pack.