Atlantic Brother Adams Honey Bragget Ale

Brewed by Atlantic Brewing Company
Style: Mead
Bar Harbor, Maine USA

22oz bottle. Reddish amber color with big white head. Sweet aroma of honey, alcohol, and fruit; most notably pear and pineapple. Flavor starts with sweet honey, then gives way to a strong alcohol finish. This is an interesting an d enjoyable brew.

22oz. bottle. Light auburn with a small off-white head. Delicate honey aroma with a heavy alcohol presence. Melted caramel melds with a sweet nectar floral honey character. Faint breadiness and mild alefruit in the finish, with sustained honey flavor that shifts towards a spicy floral-ness. Mouthfeel is a light medium, somewhat dry, faintly hot.

Pours a clear russet with a fizzing head. The aroma is alcohol backed up by a caramel malt melding with honey. It’s a bit hot from the alcohol, but this is not off-putting. Pretty tasty overall.

Bottle at 44F. Poured clear dark color with moderate off-white head with fair lacing. Heavy dark honey and spicy aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture. Medium raw honey spicy sweet flavor with a rich sweet finish of moderate duration. Pleasing barleywine flavor.

Sampled as part of a 19 beer blind barleywine tasting: Transparent copper orange pour has a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Sweet, earthy, grainy malty aroma has some mild light fruity notes. Body starts with a touch of biting carbonation, lightly sticky, grainy caramel malt with a touch of grapefruit flavor and a drier bitterness toward the finish.

2001 vintage sampled in June 2006: Pours a transparent amber mahogany with a thin ring of off-white head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt and floral clover honey. Body starts with a rich, sweet, complex malty flavor and drier honey complexity with some oak. Finishes slightly warming with a good sweet balance. Could hide the abv better, but seems to have aged well.

This is my first ever taste of a Braggot, and considering the rarity of the style, who knows when I’ll come across another. The label also calls it barley wine style ale, so at least it has some peers in that category. The look was clear, reddish amber, and lightly carbonated, which was pretty similar to most barleywines. The aroma was deeply fruity and very intoxicating. The presence of the honey was clearly apparent with each deep breath. The taste was quite sweet and winey and the first sip had me worried if I was going to like this. As I got used to the sweetness, the caramelized, spicy, and slightly sour underlying flavors revealed themselves. The hops were not always apparent as their wispy citric dryness was easy to miss. What surprised me was the rather modest level of alcohol burn. I was anticipating a big bruiser with the 11.5% posted ABV, but this was more of a gentle giant. The sweet flavor did however make this only suitable for sipping. A little thin on the palette, but that is understandable, since honey used was likely all eaten up, and proportional to volume the grain bill was rather small. Quite a satisfying drink, and I’m going to have to cellar some to see how time can add maturity.

Bomber from Porterhouse; Nose of clover honey, caramel malts, appley fruitiness, and clovey spiciness; dark copper color with a small off-white head; flavor is mildly sweet with caramel, and some dark fruit notes like a Belgian ale and some alcohol lasting into the finish.

1998 Vintage. Thanks to someone at Johns Party. Dark brown amber color, no head. Aroma is sweet, honey dominates over the beer in this one. Flavor is the standard blend of honey and beer, the beer stands back in the flavor to, taking a backseat to the honey which is floral and appealing to the mouth as well.