Marionberry Braggot

Pours a very deep, reddish mahogany with a small head of fine, light-tan bubbles that is persistent. As a braggot (which is a mead, but blended about half with a beer) there is a light honey note in the aroma (with floral and orange) along with a lot of raspberries and some blackberry. The underlying beer is a malty caramel with low floral hops and slight cocoa and background sweet chocolate notes. Fairly strong but clean alcohol (as typical of meads) leaves some fast teardrop legs behind. The taste brings out more of the raspberry and blackberry character, a very slight honey, and black raisins, caramel and a very light sweet chocolate. Medium body and medium carbonation, with a creamy and smooth mouthfeel lead to a medium-sweet, long and fruity finish – just very slightly syrupy, as if the fruit additions were not fully fermented. This braggot would pair nicely with a lightly spiced pork tenderloin – the fruit in the braggot acting as a marinade sauce for the meat.