Honey Brown

The JW Dundee craft pack I bought last week at Kroger contains six different craft beers; American Pale Ale, American Amber Lager, Original Honey Brown, Pale Bock, India Pale Ale (IPA), and Hefeweizen. The craft pack provides two bottles of each beer style, twelve brown longneck bottles with twist-off caps in total.

JW Dundee’s Original Honey Brown was a World Beer Cup Gold Award winner in 2004 in the best specialty honey lager or ale category.

Source: http://www.jwdundee.com/AlesLager/HoneyBrown/

Appearance: Looks like a mix of apple juice and mostly flat ginger ale, except slightly darker. There are some carbonation bubbles, but it’s not overly foamy or fizzy.

Smell: I found no one overwhelming or overriding smell. Unfortunately I have a head cold and my sense of smell might have suffered. I do pick up a hint of toasty caramel smell, but overall I would say Honey Brown doesn’t have a strong aroma.

Taste: As the name implies, Honey Brown does have a mild honey taste, but it’s not overpowering. I also detect a hint of molasses, but the overall taste isn’t too sweet.

Mouthfeel: Honey Brown feels smooth and light in my mouth.

Drinkability: Easy to drink and it doesn’t feel too heavy in my gut. I’d like another!

This was my first time trying any of JW Dundee’s products and the first time I’ve tried honey-flavored lager (at least to my knowledge). I would definitely recommend JW Dundee’s Original Honey Brown to others and will likely buy more myself. It’s one of those beers you can drink with a meal, not too sweet and not too bitter.

"The Dundee family began with Honey Brown Lager in the early 1990's during the height of the craft brewing resurgence. Introduced by then brewery head Jack "JW" Wehle, Honey Brown was a full bodied lager brewed with natural honey provided by Wixon's Farm in the Finger Lakes town of Dundee, New York. The brand was an overwhelming success that defied definition as a style and grew to tremendous acclaim, garnering several medals at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.

In 2004, Pale Ale and Amber Lager were added, making the JW Dundee name a true craft brewing family. By 2006, a variety of seasonal styles were introduced including an award winning Pale Bock, an American style Hefeweizen, a boldly hopped India Pale Ale, a robust Porter and a hearty holiday favorite - Festival Ale.”[1]

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[1] http://www.jwdundee.com/OurStory/