Welcome, oh adventurous beer drinker, to yet another rare and exotic style of brew from the Boston Beer Company. I give you Samuel Adams Honey Queen Braggot. It may be that Honey Queen will be the first braggot (or bragget) for many, as this is a rather obscure hybrid brew of beer and mead. Mead of course is fermented honey, and Boston beer uses a fair amount of honey here.

In all my beery travels I’ve only come across a few braggots made by craft brewers. The most notable of these (and first braggot I ever tasted) was Brother Adam’s Bragget Ale from Maine’s Atlantic Brewing Company. It’s still my favorite though Samuel Adams Honey Queen Braggot gives it a good run for its money.

Samuel Adams says this about Honey Queen on the label:

Braggots are rarified brews yet full of delicious flavor. Dating back to the medieval days of the 12^th century these concoctions were blends of mead & beer. For our brew we use a combination of 3 unique honeys each with their own delicate character, which is balanced by a floral hop earthiness and chamomile. This whimsical brew blossoms with flavor and a sweet sting of honey in the finish. Praise to the queen and her colony for this refreshing and satisfying brew.

Ingredients from the website:

Hops: East Kent Goldings, Strisselspalt, & Aramis

Malts: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, & acidulated malt

Yeast: Samuel Adams ale yeast

Special Ingredients: Orange Blossom honey, Clover honey, Alfalfa honey & Chamomile

Samuel Adams Honey Queen Braggot has an alcohol content of 7.5% with only 10 IBUs. The alcohol content is on the low end for the style (Brother Adam mentioned above is over 11%). Most of the straight meads I’ve tasted in the past are in the 20%, which tends to bring up the volume on the finished product. I paid $6.99 for a 22 ounce bottle of this beer, part of the Small Batch series of limited release brews. My bottle has no freshness dating, instead saying you can enjoy it now or age it to further develop rich and unique flavors.

Samuel Adams Honey Queen Braggot pours to a cloudy yellow color with a thick rocky head formation and a sweet honey-butter nose. Taking a sip, the beer has some fresh biscuit malt up front followed by a wave of sweetness, flowery chamomile, rich honey notes, and a decidedly sweet finish. Some earthy hop flavor (but not really bitterness) vies with the chamomile to spice the beer, but overall a rich honey sweetness permeates. The moderate alcohol (for the style) means that there is less attenuation by fermentation, but this is still a very enjoyable brew.

If you’ve never tried a braggot, or even if you have, Samuel Adams Honey Braggot is a good way to satisfy your braggot curiosity.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

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