Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Royal Nektar Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Royal Nektar
Style: Braggot
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: 12

Remember last week during my Cherry Doppelschwarz review when I made a promise to keep up to date with the latest releases in Leinenkugel's Big Eddy series? Well, a promise is a promise and today I have the latest release in the series: Royal Nektar. It's a braggot made with cranberry blossom honey and rye. It's a an odd couple of a combination to say the least.

I'm going to throw this out here, never in a million years would've imagined that Leinenkugel's would release a Braggot because it's a pretty obscure style of beer even by craft beer standards. However the same was said about the Gose-style just a couple years back and it now it seems every brewery is releasing their own interpretation of the style.

Appearance - Fairly clear bright golden color with a fizzy head. There is a lot of carbonation going on in here and there is no lacing to speak of. Maybe it's my glassware but it has a slightly thick appearance to it.

Aroma - Very sweet honey forward aroma with some pale maltiness. I am getting that slight rye spiciness and even a bit of what appears to be Belgian yeasts in here as well, though I could be confusing that with the rye. I'm also getting some light pear notes in here as well.

Taste - Potent honey notes mixed in with light cranberry and pear notes. I am getting some yeastiness in here along with some pale maltiness, the later of which is rather moderate. The rye element of the flavor is surprisingly mild and nowhere near as strong as I was anticipating it to be, but it provides a nice kick to the overall flavor without it being in your face.

As I mentioned earlier, a braggot is one of the last styles of beer that I would've expected from Leinenkugel's. With that said, I think they nailed it as far as the style goes and putting their own spin on both the type of honey and rye used in the brewing process helps out a great deal. I'm hoping the braggot enjoys the same type of resurgence of popularity as the Gose-style has been experiencing as of late.

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Royal Nektar - 9/10

Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler
Style: Kolsch
ABV: 5%

Leinenkugel's has become synonymous with Spring and Summer beers here in the Midwest. Between their numerous shandies, and light seasonal beers, chances are you can't go to any picnic or camping trip in the Midwest without coming across at least one beer from Leinenkugel's.

Which brings us to Canoe Paddler, a Kolsch that is brewed with, of all things, Rye. It's interesting because whenever I see rye used in the brewing process, it's usually with heavier styles like IPAs & Barleywines. For some people, it seems like an unlikely combination but it really isn't for me seeing as how there's a beer that has goat brains in it, which yes, is totally a thing. In short, I've become desensitized.

Appearance - Bright and clear yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is quite thin and there isn't any lacing to speak of.

Aroma - Pale malts and cereal grain on the front of the nose, followed by some bitter hops and a touch of rye spiciness. The white grape scent I'm used to in Kolsch is mysteriously absent in the nose.

Taste - Pale malts and cereal grains once again dominate the palate like they did with the nose. The second half of the flavor is where you get the bitter hops and light white grape sweetness. It isn't until the aftertaste the the rye spiciness starts to make an appearance and it lingers for a bit before fading away.

After having this, I honestly say that I really like the idea of a Kolsch brewed with rye.....but I can't really say I'm a big fan of this. The cereal grains are way too dominant, which makes it come off more as a glorified adjunct lager than an actual Kolsch. It's kind of sad when you think about it because this was a Gold Medal Winner at the World Beer Championship.

At the same time, the palate does feel nice and crisp thanks in part to the rye used in the brewing process and I could see why someone could drink this on a nice spring or summer day. Given my options though, this wouldn't be my first choice as far as Kolschs go.

Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler - 7.25/10

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat Review

Name: Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat
Style: Witbier
ABV: 4.9%

Tonight I've decided I'm going to review something that is a staple to beer drinkers here in the Midwest: Sunset Wheat by the Leinenkugel Brewing Company. If memory serves me correctly, this used to be a summer seasonal release only but it was since been added as a year-round release according to what Beer Advocate tells me.

I also had this beer for the first time a few years ago and thought it tasted rather fruity and thought it was pretty good. Although some would argue that would stem from my underdeveloped palate at the time, but let’s find out for ourselves, shall we?

Sunset Wheat pours a hazy orange color with a very thin head that quickly fade away after a few moments. There is no lacing left behind in the glass and the visible carbonation is pretty high

The nose consists mainly of malted wheat, light hops and a rather strong berry/fruity fruitness that encompasses the overall aroma. It still smells just like I remember it from a couple years ago.

The flavor is also very fruity-forward with some mixed berry notes along with some pale malts, light hops and wheat. The body is considerably light but heavily carbonated which gives it a very particular crispiness when you factor in the flavor.

Even though other beer reviewers are going to disagree with what I'm about to say, I still think this is a pretty good tasting beer. Even after all of the beers that I've had over these past couple years, I still can't find anything wrong with how it tastes. I mean, it doesn't taste amazing or anything of that sort but I just can't bring it upon myself to rip on this beer. I say give this beer a chance and let it speak for itself, and who knows, maybe you'll actually like it.

Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat – 8/10

Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles
Style: Munich Helles
ABV: 5.5%

Leinenkugel's just added a new beer to their year round line-up called Hoppin' Helles. While it's nice to see that Leinenkugels is diversifying it's portfolio, I do find it rather odd; Especially when you consider Leinenkugels other year round offerings and let alone a large brewery adding a Helles-style beer to it's permanent line-up.

With that being said, I'm not really one to judge.....Ok, that doesn't really make a whole bunch of sense because I AM one to judge because we WILL be reviewing this beer.

Hoppin' Helles pours a pale yellow color with some mild looking carbonation. The head on this is filmy but has some foamy volume to it. As for lacing, there isn't a whole lot here.

The aroma starts out with a pale malt scent with some strong lemon zest, mild citrus hop notes, and grains/barley.

The flavor is very earthy and starts with some strong grassiness, lemon zest, citrus hops, barley, and a light malty backbone. Aftertaste is bitter yeasty/mild citrus hoppiness with a dry finish. For a beer that claims to be brewed with 5 types of hops, I didn't really get much of a hoppiness here.

The body is thankfully lightly carbonated and the overall weight of the beer is pretty light. It goes without saying that this is easy to drink.

I know Munich Helles aren't supposed to be overtly hoppy or malty, but Hoppin' Helles seems to be lacking those in both departments. Despite these complaints, this is actually not a bad beer but one that is very easy to drink and enjoyable as long as you don't expect too much.

Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles - 7/10

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
ABV: 8.5%

After a couple of weeks of waiting and searching, I've finally been able to snag a bottle of Leinenkugel's other Oktoberfest called "Uber-Oktoberfest" as part of their Big Eddy Series. I mentioned in an earlier review that the Big Eddy Series is the line-up of stronger beers to appeal to the craft beer drinking crowd which, in my opinion, has been fairly successful in making some good beers.

The other thing you'll probably notice about this beer is it's 8.5% ABV, which is very strong for this style of beer considering that most beers in this category fall in-between the 5-<6.5% range.

Uber-Oktoberfest pours a clear dark amber color with a foamy yet fizzy head that fades away after a few minutes. The lacing left behind is pretty good and rather sticky.

The nose kicks things off with a pretty strong citrus hoppiness and caramel malt notes up front. This is followed up by roasted barley & malts, yeasts and some mild nutty notes.

The flavor has some strong floral hop notes up front with  strong roasted barley, nuts, yeasty and citrus/grapefruit notes. Quite hoppy even for an Oktoberfest beer.

The body is fairly moderate in weight but it feels thick at the same time. The carbonation is actually quite mild compared to Leinie's other Oktoberfest beer.

Well the term "Uber" was properly utilized in the name because this is a strong tasting Oktoberfest. I thought this was rather good. It has some really strong flavors in it's profile, particularly with it's hops and is also bit boozy at the same time. If this were available in 6-packs (as opposed to 4) and a couple dollars cheaper this would be my go to Oktoberfest beer.

It's hard to describe how a stronger Oktoberfest beer tastes after having so many of them, so my advice to you is to try it out and make the call for yourself.

Leienkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest - 8/10


P.S. Keep your eyes open for a special review tomorrow night as I'm going to be looking at something completely different (and awesome!)

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
ABV: 5.1%

Tonight I'm doing something a bit special, as I will be doing two reviews of same style of beer made by the same company, Leinenkugel's. My first review will be their regular Oktoberfest beer, which is released around this time every year and the second beer I'll be reviewing is their Big Eddy Über-Oktoberfest beer.

With the case of many Leinie Seasonals, you're bound to find this in pretty much anywhere in the Midwest, whether it's a bar, grocery or liquor store; Though I'm unsure how widely available Leinie's is available in the rest of the country.

Leinie's Oktoberfest pours a clear orange color and a foamy head with excellent retention. The carbonation has a very mild appearance and the lacing is fairly decent.

The aroma has some light caramel to it, but the majority of the nose is grain adjuncts, cooked corn and some grassiness.

The flavor starts out with a mild caramel and Munich Malt-esque taste but aside from that it's grain adjuncts, corn, and grassiness make up most of the flavor. The finish is also quite dry so it doesn't linger on the palate

The body is quite light but the carbonation is quite intense for what it is, a sharp contrast compared to what I saw earlier.

There isn't really too much going on here: it smells like a typical adjunct lager and while the flavor somewhat resembles what an Oktoberfest should be, it just doesn't cut it. You're better off getting something else if you're looking for a decent fall seasonal.

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest - 6/10