You all remember the Cherry Oak Doppelbock which was the first in Widmer’s new(ish) Brothers’ Reserve series, right? Right. The #2 release is out now, and it’s a doozy:
Prickly Pear Braggot. Our friends Paul and Sandi brought this one over last weekend, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first commercial beer I’ve seen that is a Braggot (also Paul’s contention) and/or is brewed with prickly pear fruit. (A Braggot is essentially half mead, half beer—that is, it’s brewed with roughly equal portions of honey and barley malt.)
It’s a 10% ABV sipper, with a airy fruit character over a sweet and lightly-hopped body. Definitely interesting, and I’ll need to try another bottle for a longer review, but I suggest getting to the beer store and picking this up if you can. You may not run into another Braggot again outside of homebrewing circles.