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 Big Eddy Cherry Doppelschwarz Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Cherry Doppelschwarz
Style: Schwarzbier
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 27

While getting everything ready for this review, I decided to find out when was the last time I had reviewed anything from Leinenkugel's Big Eddy series. After all, it is a series that has yet to disappoint me and there's always something new coming out of it. So imagine my shock when I discovered that the last time I had actually did a review from the Big Eddy series was back in September 2013 with their Uber-Oktoberfest, an Imperialized version of an Oktoberfest beer.

Well today, I'm back with their Cherry Doppelschwarz. Judging by the name, you'd guess that it's a cross between a Doppelbock and a Schwarzbier, right? Wrong! The word Doppel means......say it with me......Double in German; So it's actually an Imperial Schwarzbier that just so happens to be brewed with cherries. I've also received word that the newest entry in the Big Eddy Series is a Braggot brewed with rye so expect to see a review for that in the not-too-distant future.

Appearance - Very dark brown/black color that becomes a dark shade of crimson when held up to a light with little in terms of visible carbonation. The head is quite thin and filmy with some decent lacing to boot.

Aroma - Potent caramel malt and black licorice notes with some mild cherry & toffee sweetness. I'm also picking up on moderate smokiness and some mild roastiness here as well.

Taste - Moderate smokiness paired with chocolate-covered cherries along with some toffee sweetness. I'm also getting that mild roastiness and light black licorice notes. The aftertaste is made up light smokiness, toffee malts and some roastiness.

Though I didn't find anything particularly earth-shattering about this beer, the concept is definitely executed quite well and the end result is a nice, flavorful beer. After having this, I'm convinced that I really should start paying closer attention to the Big Eddy Series again.

Leinenkugel's Cherry Doppelschwarz - 8.5/10