Looking for ales with some honey sweetness

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Schnaq, Jan 19, 2021.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Schnaq

    Schnaq Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2021 Arizona

    Hello, my fellow beer people.

    I was hoping that someone on here could help me find something. A certain flavor profile, I guess you could say.

    Recently I started thinking about the idea of mixing an ale with mead. I thought it would be great to have a good, strong ale with the nice sweet, crispness of the mead. Not too sweet, of course, but something light and noticeable. When I started researching this idea online, I discovered braggots. But every braggot I looked up was flavored with some kind of fruit. What I'm looking for is just a good flavorful ale with a little bit of honey sweetness. No fruit or anything like that. Basically, what I would think they would have drank back in the days of the Vikings and the Saxons.

    Could anybody recommend anything like that? Are there any breweries that make anything similar to this?
     
    ChicagoJ, officerbill and jonphisher like this.
  2. FBarber

    FBarber Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,325) Mar 5, 2016 Illinois
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    ChicagoJ, Schnaq, Urk1127 and 3 others like this.
  3. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    ChicagoJ, Schnaq and FBarber like this.
  4. SierraNevallagash

    SierraNevallagash Initiate (0) Sep 23, 2018 Maine
    Trader

    Welcome to BeerAdvocate! There is a fantastic community here, with many people who are willing to lend help and advice, and I strongly encourage you to explore the other forums once you've (hopefully) found your answer, and check out all this wonderful place has to offer!


    I really suggest you look into some English-style barleywines. True, some examples can lean pretty sweet - perhaps not as sweet as truly sweet mead, but sweet. Others can be much more balanced, lending those (particularly if they're lighter in colour) honey, caramel, apple, fig, graham cracker, sultana notes. Cognac and Calvados barrel-aged English barleywines can really accentuate those fruity apple/white raisin notes, while lending some oaky tannins to dry the finish out a bit. The blonder, the better (for this flavour profile. Big hoppy or dark chocolatey/roasty barleywines won't have this effect, but on the lighter end of the spectrum, I think there's a chance you'll really enjoy these, if you like that big, bold, semi-sweet honey/caramel flavour profile.

    Can you still get Helldorado from Firestone Walker in AZ? It's a blonde barrel-aged barleywine. J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale (Calvados Cask-Aged variant) is also a great choice for this, with a bit more of that fruity pop to it. That would be my suggestion.
     
    #4 SierraNevallagash, Jan 19, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2021
    ChicagoJ, Schnaq and dcotom like this.
  5. dennisthreeninefiveone

    dennisthreeninefiveone Pundit (980) Aug 11, 2020 New Jersey
    Trader

    The Swarm from Twin Elephant Brewing in Chatham NJ.
     
    Schnaq likes this.
  6. dcotom

    dcotom Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,637) Aug 4, 2014 Iowa
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Welcome aboard, @Schnaq! A style you might want to check out is the braggot. It's sort of a hybrid style combining the qualities of beer and mead. Good luck!
     
    Schnaq likes this.
  7. Insomniac

    Insomniac Initiate (0) Nov 5, 2019 Canada (ON)

    Fuller’s in the UK does Honey Dew Organic Golden Ale but not sure of availability where you live.
     
    DiUr, smbslt and Schnaq like this.
  8. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I’d suggest googling honey beers and under untapped they show a list of ales brewed with honey. I’m afraid most might be fairly regionalized, but in AZ it’s possible Cali beers might bleed over.
     
    Schnaq likes this.
  9. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    If you are accustomed to hops hopslam has a distinct honey flavor.
     
    VABA, eppCOS, ChicagoJ and 5 others like this.
  10. MistaRyte

    MistaRyte Pooh-Bah (2,681) Jan 14, 2008 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    This... any beer brewed with a honey addition. Lickinghole Creek has Nuclear Nugget (aka poor man's VA Hopslam)
     
    KentT and Schnaq like this.
  11. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Hopslam has already been mentioned but permit me to emphasize that the sweetness of this beer is encouraged by aging this beer. I prefer this beer fresh when sweetness is not as prominent and I personally do not enjoy 'old' Hopslam but maybe this is what @Schnaq is seeking.

    Cheers!
     
    Schnaq, SFACRKnight and nc41 like this.
  12. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Know a guy who likes it with a year on it, sounds perfectly awful.
     
    Schnaq and JackHorzempa like this.
  13. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Didnt you know when you age a DIPA it becomes a barleywine? :smirk:
     
    Rug, officerbill, o29 and 4 others like this.
  14. Urk1127

    Urk1127 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,790) Jul 2, 2014 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have one in mind that should be “fairly” easy to find depending on your imports. Not something you have to trade for ffs

    https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1781/99580/

    Perla Miodowa

    and if you want to trade. Flying Fish Blueberry Braggot out of NJ does not taste like blueberry in the slightest. Just honey.
     
    Schnaq and FBarber like this.
  15. Schnaq

    Schnaq Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2021 Arizona

    Thank you so much, everybody. I knew I was going to have a great community around me when I signed up on this site. I will definitely do some more research and look into all of the suggestions you guys gave me and I'll post my results. Again, thank you very much.
     
    Jaycase, ChicagoJ, FBarber and 2 others like this.
  16. Urk1127

    Urk1127 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,790) Jul 2, 2014 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Use postimages.org and copy the link to paste in the photo picture above this text box and join the what beer are you drinking now thread. The virtual bar.
     
    Schnaq likes this.
  17. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    If an 'ale' isn't such a critical item to you, I recently had this beer compliments of @PA-Michigander https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13371/530072/ from VooDoo Brewing in Meadville, PA, and it had the best honey flavor that I've ever experienced in a beer. I think you'll have to trade for it because this seems like a small brewery with limited distribution. The only thing that says it is a lager is the label on the can, so don't let the ale requirement restrict you.
     
  18. Jo_Renish

    Jo_Renish Initiate (0) Nov 10, 2020 Vermont
    Trader

    If anyone out there has a bottle of Honey Bunch that The Alchemist put out about a year and a half ago, that would be the move for this one. So much rich honey in a strong ale!
     
    Cashbail and Schnaq like this.
  19. CaptainHate

    CaptainHate Initiate (0) Apr 22, 2006 Ohio

    Jackie O's Wood Ya Honey is a barrel aged wheatwine brewed with honey. I like it quite a bit.
     
    Schnaq and FBarber like this.
  20. elliot23

    elliot23 Crusader (498) Jan 27, 2009 Maryland
    Trader

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.