Heliocentric Bragot - Two Brothers Brewing Company

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

2.98/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Heliocentric would look more heliocentric (sun-centered) if it was bright gold rather than bright tangerine orange. The perfectly pristine liquid is topped by two fingers of yellowish ivory foam that looks attractive enough and is beginning to lay down thin, tattered sheets of lace.

Sorry to say, the aroma is pretty close to AWOL. Multiple sniffs deliver nothing more than pale malt (I guess) and the vaguest hint of musky fruitiness. Shouldn't a braggot smell like honey? If not, shouldn't it smell like... something? To be fair, a wee whiff of honey arrives eventually.

At least there's *something* for my taste buds to work with, although not a whole helluva lot. This is my first braggot, but it isn't at all what was expected. Of course, it's possible that this is just a lousy version. There goes my excitement at trying a new style.

The flavor is reminiscent of a cream ale with a higher than usual ABV. Actually, most good cream ales have more flavor than this. Let's see... sweetened pale malt, a subtle fruitiness and a few drops of honey (if I'm being extremely generous). This stuff needs a flavor hook in the worst way.

The mouthfeel is light-medium and is gently carbonated. Something more full would be better, though I really have no idea what a braggot should feel like. A little more flavor appears with warming, which results in slightly higher taste and drinkability scores.

Two Brothers Heliocentric Bragot is still a letdown that I refuse to let color my opinion of the braggot style. Maybe the brewers can take this one back to the drawing board. Keep the name and label please. They're perfect.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2008 15:14:12 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I have had a few Braggots in my day, so I was stoked when I saw this one come in the mail a bit ago. I decided to open it last night as I was in the mood for a little something different. Nice 220z bottle was served at cellar temp and poured into an over sized wine glass. The initial pour looked like thinned out liquid honey. A god amount of carbonation was visible through the mostly transparent liquid. It really had a ver nice golden shine to it, just as a braggot should with a decent amount of head on top. A one finger high layer of white froth came over the top and faded own to a thin crown that only stuck to the sides of the glass leaving a bare top. Some side glass lacing, esecially when swirled coated the glass. Pretty good look.

The aroma was richly sweet as you would expect. Tons of honey and almost what semed like lavender or flower touches mixed in. Hints of grain and light fruit mixed in, but to be honest it was a little light and could have used that little extra push to make it pop. The flavor was much better though. The initial rush of honey coming across the tongue coated very nicely, and the hints of a touch of grape it seemed liked in the middle, it was sone kind of light fruit. Lots of grain and wheat like flavors mixed in with that hone sweetness. The finish was pretty good, with a peppery like spiceness becoming very predominant and overall really deping the profile. A good feel on this one, as the carbonation was just right and really let the flavors pop. The drinkability was outstanding. There was no dullsness and really did not get tired of the flavor like you can with the style sometimes. No hint of the alcohol made this a nice, light sipper.

Overall this was not my favorite braggot by any means, though I would say it would be in the top five for sure. It was a more then solid effort with a very nice overall profile and a lightness to it that really let you drink the bottle without issue. This is definitly something I would like to try again.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2008 18:03:37 | More by mikesgroove

brentk56

North Carolina

3.33/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a clear honey color (surprise!) with a modest head that leaves traces of lace

Smell: Very very subtle aroma of bread and a touch of honey

Taste: Starts with a slightly sweet bready flavor, with a growing vegetable element by mid-palate; after the swallow the sweet and grainy flavors build modestly

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: I have had homebrewed braggot before so I have a fair idea what the style entails; this one is underwhelming

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2007 02:26:15 | More by brentk56

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.45/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a clear, orange-yellow body with a thin, white head.

Smell: Nose reminiscient of a tall can of Camo High Gravity with only minor honey notes.

Taste: Sweet, honeyish taste with a blending of Steel Reserve and Evil Eye that lasts until the finish. Well, I can't exactly say that was pleasant.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Tongue-coating mouthfeel.

Drinkability: Nothing to bragot about.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2008 19:00:49 | More by ChainGangGuy

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar.

For whatever reason, with the spelling used here, I wanna pronounce it "brag-go" instead of "brag-gət". Anyway, this stuff pours a clear brass-amber topped by a finger of relatively short-lived off-cream-white foam. The nose comprises honey-dripped biscuit, perfume-y white grapes, and cracked wheat. The taste brings in more of the same, though the grapes are a touch on the oaked chardonnay side now (rather than the bold sweetness from the smell), and a vein of funky wood-like wheat spiking through it all. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fluid feel. Overall, a decent enough braggot, but one that leaves me with a slightly odd taste in my mouth. I like seeing the style getting out there again, though...

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 20:15:03 | More by TMoney2591

emerge077

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Named after the 1st modern astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, and his heliocentric model of the solar system.

Poured into a snifter, it reflects a deep amber jewel tone. Two fingers of foam at first, but it soon fades to a bare skim. Spotty lacing eventually forms. Aroma is grainy, very mildly phenolic.

Buttered popcorn, sunflower seeds, and a vague notion of honey all settle into a tacky, malty profile. Thin in mouthfeel, seedy aftertaste.

A bomber can be finished solo, but it leaves something to be desired. Points for creativity...

Brewer's Notes: It is half mead (fermented honey) and half beer. We used all locally produced Sunflower honey from the Naperville area.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2007 03:03:31 | More by emerge077

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

(Served in a dimple mug)

A- This beer has a crystal clear light amber body with a strong carbonation of big bubbles. There is a snow white head that disappears soon after the beer is poured.

S- The note of light pale malt has a cider smell that is a little tangy. The smell is pretty clean overall.

T- The taste of pale malt and field corn comes through with a dry honey note and finishes with a light sweetness. As the beer warms the notes of biscuit malt and white wine come through along with a slight metallic taste.

M- This beer has a light and airy mouthfeel with a watery texture in the finish.

D- The flavors of beer are not very interesting and the mead flavors are very faint and not that interesting. So when they are blended it still tastes rather bland and uneventful. I like this style and this beer didn’t have the qualities that I look for or much taste at all.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2007 15:14:10 | More by rhoadsrage

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled picked up by Lexx.

Pours a clear amber, thin white head forms, no lacing, settles to a thin ring. Smell is sweet, some floral honey, caramel, cereal/oats, grass, very clean aroma, light but nice. Taste is honey, clovers, floral and grass, cereal/oats, bit of bread with a sweet honey aftertaste. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with low to medium carbonation. Not bad, on the lighter side of braggots I've had but still enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2007 18:06:26 | More by Viggo

cokes

Wisconsin

1.73/5  rDev -48.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Clear pale bronze with a spotty ivory lace.
Nose of toasted grain, rubber, and wet yellow dandelions.
It's all obese blonde ale once it hits the mouth, with a sense of dilute grain, corn, starchy yeast and tempered, grassy hops and traces of iron. Honey only barely makes an impression, and it's very vague and towards the close. Then again, I always get a honey impression from grain alcohol, and that's what I get here.
Medium bodied with moments of vapidness and moments of clingy cloying grab. If you were to make an Imperial Blonde/Cream Ale, this is about what it would taste like. And realistically, this should be bottle in 40ozs and sold for $1.29. A braggot this is not.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2007 08:00:14 | More by cokes

merlin48

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle pours a mostly clear peach body with a tiny offwhite cap for a head. Only a few flecks of lace. Aroma is subtle, with honey and rosewater notes. Surprisingly light bodied with restrained carbonation. Taste has a floral hops bitterness that seems lavender. Honey and a subdued caramel malt sweetness balance well. Very easy to sip. This is a style I look forward to sampling again.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2007 14:35:22 | More by merlin48

Vancer

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First, and most likely, the only braggot I’ll have. It certainly is better than a sweet ass mead type, but the style doesn’t do it for me – still to sweet, perhaps this is a desert beer.

Clear amber with almost no white head. Aroma is a weak blond ale type, not much of anything there, it’s like sniffing a honey jar. Taste was kinda a plain jane too, just some bits of a earthy wood, red ale style. 7.8%

Surprisingly dry and crisp, but with that sweetish finish. This may be a perfect braggot, I donno, so I’ll go with all 3.5s

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2007 16:38:31 | More by Vancer

maximum12

Minnesota

2.78/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

My first encounter with a Bragot - appears there isn't much in the way of variety of this beer being brewed these days. Heck, I'd never even heard of it. Neither my wife nor I can recall where or why this ended up in the fridge.

Looks like honey, smells like honey, very sweet, almost no head in either pour out of a 22 oz. bomber.

Taste is sweet but funky. No bite at all, & dead flat, practicaly zero carbonation. There's a lingering aftertaste of licking a goat that doesn't agree with my palate. Strange since the up-front taste is almost sickly, Mike Hard-type sweet.

Mouthfeel is OK, drinkability drops as I go down the glass. The sweetness is too much to drink more than one, & the unpleasant aftertaste worsens with every sip. I may need a Bell's Expedition Stout to wash the Heliocentric out of my mouth.

This is my second taste of Two Brothers & I have to say I'm distinctly unimpressed. No urge to try another.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2008 01:53:16 | More by maximum12

morimech

Minnesota

2.8/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a clear, dark golden color with a dense two finger head that had excellent retention. The head eventually settles to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left down the glass. This beer looks great, unfortunately that is going to turn out to be the best part of the this brew.

Very minimal aroma. Smells like a lackluster amber ale. Some honey and floral hints to add a little interest.

Flavor is not any better. Tastes of honey and green apple. Boring, sweet malt flavor. Cloying finish. Not really a braggot and it certainly does not taste like one.

Medium body with nice carbonation.

Another disappointing beer from Two Brothers. I don't know why I bother anymore.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 19:11:47 | More by morimech

WoodBrew

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The Helio-centric Bragot was number 14 of 15 retro release beers by Two-Bros...I have been sitting on for a while....with the weather breaking it was time to pop the top. The beer poured a honey golden clear with a Boddinton's type frothy head that did not leave much lacing. The scent included whisps of honey mixed with some bittering hops. The taste was very similar to Blue Moon's Honeymoon summer ale....there definitely is a presence of Honey that makes the beer. The mouthfeel was a full bodied ale with subtle carbonation. Overall it was a decent ale and I am thankful that 2Bros decided to retro this one!!!

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 00:21:48 | More by WoodBrew

homebrew311

Illinois

2.93/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Apperance is deep reddish brown with white head. Nose features light grain, honey sweetness, a bit of vanilla, caramel and bread. Taste features watery sweetness, light grains, caramel, and some lager like dryness. Mouthfeel is light and sticky with moderate carbonation. Overall, a lackluster brew with minimal honey character.

Serving type: on-tap

11-17-2012 02:35:35 | More by homebrew311

orbitalr0x

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bomber. Brewed with local sunflower honey. Pours into my glass a deep golden honey color with great clarity. A small bubbly white head on top with mellow active carbonation. Aromas start with a toasted, slightly caramelized grain along with big floral notes. The honey is quite evident and brings in a sweetness as well. Somewhat earthy with a subtle fruity quality.

First sip brings a toasted grain caramel malt upfront that moves into fruity, floral flavors. Midway through the honey becomes quite evident. It brings a sweet, earthy tone to the beer. Somewhat bready with just a hint of grassy bitterness on the finish and a lingering honey afterthought.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a slick quality to the brew. Mellow carbonation works well. The honey seems to add an interesting twist, but overall the beer is refreshing and probably better suited for summer then this cold winter night. Overall, I could see myself enjoying a bottle of this on occasion and hopefully they will brew it again sometime. Cheers to Two Brothers for always bringing something unique with the Artisan series.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2007 01:18:41 | More by orbitalr0x

NEhophead

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -11%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

22 fl oz brown bottle; served in an oversized wine glass.

Slightly hazy, light copper in color. Thin, white head that fades to a pool of bubbles almost immediately. A few spots of lacing with average strength.

Slick, malted wheat aroma with notes of honey and vanilla. Whaffs of musty astringency over toasted, adjunctory grains. Apple and peach esters.

Green apple, pear acidity up-front. Lightly malted wheat with a mild honey and vanilla sweetness. Bland, airy, grain-based middle with notes of lingering tartness and slick alcohol.

Light, medium in body; mildly slick, but more grainy and airy than anything.

A disappointing 'Braggot'. More like a Pale Wheat Ale with a touch of artificial honey. Obviously not a brew I'll be returning to.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2008 21:40:12 | More by NEhophead

brewcrew76

Wisconsin

3.38/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a brilliantly clear golden orange, honey like, with a thin head that disappeared immediately.

S - Honey with a touch grain.

T - Sweet honey with a grainy malt taste and hints of apple in the background. Having brewed a honey pale ale myself it tastes like honey is the dominant flavor in this one.

M - Light and slightly sticky on the teeth. Very easy to drink.

D - A nice take on a not so common style. I hope 2 Bros continues to keep the Artisan collection interesting.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2007 02:08:34 | More by brewcrew76

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

2.45/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Pours a clear dark yellow, almost liquid honey color with a thin and short lived white head. Sweet malty aroma similar to the “blonde ale” found in almost every average to sub-par brew pub in America. Biscuits and damp grains with just an idea of honey. Flavor is initially sweet, malty, and not very pleasing. Rather one dimensional and leaning too much towards a regular and terribly average blonde ale. The finish on the other hand is quite pleasing, spicy, honey sweet, and much more interesting. It just doesn't last long enough to make up for the other problems. Body is light and not very carbonated. Drinkability is low. I don’t find this beer interesting or enjoyable. It’s too sweet and simple and the sweetness seems to come from malt rather than honey.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2007 16:04:29 | More by DaPeculierDane

cvstrickland

North Carolina

3.48/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The drink pours honey-gold with a huge white head that retains very well and leaves foamy rings of lacing on the glass.

Smell is sweet and spicy with an herbal bite.

Taste is honey-sweet and spicy with quite a bit of alcohol heat.

Nice drink, but so sweet it has to be a sipper for me.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2008 13:36:08 | More by cvstrickland

Westsidethreat

California

3.23/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Extemely fizzy like soda. Carbonation chills out after a while, leaving a weak off white film across the top of the body. Decent bit of bubbles proceed to the surface from the bottom of the glass. Body is a clean and sterile mandarin color.

S: Clover honey, biscuits, yellow apples and cider.

T: Starts off mildly sweet and sour at the some time at the front of the palate. Honey is predominant but not cloying. Its actually not a bad flavor…but some off flavors follow it up. Slightly dirty flavor shows up, and I think the only reason you taste them is because the other flavors are so subtle. Delicate floral components come next with nectar qualities following suite. Finishes sort of grainy. Grainy flavors usually go away after you drink the beer for a while, but this one isn’t. Finishes with grainy flavors and lingering honey.

M: Medium body, soft mouthfeel.

D: I’m coming to the conclusion the bragots aren’t one of my favorite styles. Perhaps I just haven’t been drinking the right ones. Very subtle flavors at work here, and I’d imagine it takes master craftsmanship to perfect this type of beer. Dunno.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2007 02:19:40 | More by Westsidethreat

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Heliocentric Bragot pours a slightly hazy golden yellow color into the glass with a big, white fluffy head on top. The foam dissolves slowly to a thick ring around the surface of the beer leaving behind a fair amount of lace on the sides of the glass. Several streams of bubbles are seen rising to the top from the bottom of the glass. It reminds me of an upside down snow flurry.

The aroma has light fruity notes of grapes and a hint of clove. It seems more like a white wine than a beer. Each sip of this medium bodied beer feels dry on the palate with a good amount of fizzy carbonation that tingles the tip of the tongue.

The flavor is somewhat fruity with some spice and malt mixed in. It begins with notes of white grapes and lemon zest. Towards the middle there's a mild spicyness that seems peppery. It finishes dry and sweet with some alcohol notes mixed in. I couldn't really taste any honey, but perhaps that's what was in the sweet finish. Once gone some of the spicy flavor lingers on the palate.

I'm not really sure what I was expecting with this beer. It reminded me more of a Belgian ale than other bragots I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2008 16:54:52 | More by WanderingFool

falloutsnow

Illinois

2.88/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

From: Friar Tuck's, Savoy, IL
Date: None on bottle, but released in November, 2012
Glass: Standard US pint glass

Bragot is not a style I'm familiar with, this being my first, but the description of it being a blend of mead and ale seems to match the characteristics of this particular beer. Two Brothers blended amber ale and mead made from local sunflower honey, yielding and intensely sweet, bright beer with little to no hop presence. The hybrid ale isn't particularly complex, with malt and honey sweetness being the only dimensions offered: I was ready to be done after a half glass. While it's nice to have tried another style, I would have liked to see the brewery re-release a different beer than this. In all, a disappointing end to the 15 Retro Release series Two Brothers was doing this year.

Pours a 0.5cm head of fairly clean white, medium and large-sized bubbles, that dissipates with extreme rapidity, fading to the thinnest of rings around the perimeter of the glass. Head leaves minimal to no lacing along the sides of my glass. Beer's body is transparent, light brown-orange in color, with plenty of visible, active carbonation.

Aroma is fairly subdued overall: biscuit-like with some honey sweetness and a slightly metallic edge.

Flavor is overall sweet, a blending between the amber ale base and honey. Front of palate detects biscuit and caramel-like sweetness. Mid-palate become a bit more interesting, with mild honey sweetness, biscuit and caramel-like sweetness, slight floral notes, and flavors that make me think of a soft white wine. Back of palate has some ethanol, spiciness (from ethanol or hops, it's difficult to tell), and milder honey-like sweetness due to the ethanol being more pronounced. Aftertaste is biscuit-like and grainy, with honeyed sweetness; slightly cloying overall.

Beer is medium to medium-heavy in weight, surprising for the simplicity of the style, but perhaps not so much due to the significant portion of weighty honey in the final product. Carbonation is medium to medium-low in intensity, meaning that this flows slowly, but surely, across the palate. Ethanol is mild, but still felt in the nostrils and back of throat: not particularly pleased by its obviousness. Substantial stickiness across the palate afterwards, likely from the high amount of unfermentable sugars.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 23:22:18 | More by falloutsnow

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Froma 750 into a Cab glass. Have seen issues with dating on 12 oz. bottles - let's see how this is...

Pours a clean, dark natural honey color with solid effervescence and thin, yeasty head.

Strong apple and sparkling wine (not quite champagne) on the nose with lots of mild, slightly sweeet honey. Ample carbonation keeps this one bright.

On the first wave this is very light and austere compared to the nose of it all. Also starts out a little tinny but apple and honey are both still there. A bit dry but decent. Cleans up a bit with warmth.

When cold it's crsp and clean, no caffeine...rather calm for carbonation level, which is a good thing. As this slows up towards room temperature it does circle back to a metal feel with a little more of an alcohol burn.

This is a tweener - when cold the flavors aren't as pronounced as we want but warmth sends it a little bit overboard. Very interesting and decently-made effort that drinks OK early but gravitates towards an uphill battle, albeit a reasonably pleasant one.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2008 06:35:40 | More by IBUnit63

joe1510

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz Bomber
$5.99
Binny's Orland

Only my second Braggot so bear with me on this review. Heliocentric pours a deep dark clear crystal golden. Tiny carbonation bubbles rise to the surface from the middle of the glass. A half finger head ormed on an aggressive pour that fell to a skeleton of a skimming with a solid ring. The body really looks nice.

Unique aroma. Smells of dark honey right up front along with some dampness (wet straw, although pretty weak). Mild toasted white bread is the ale backbone of this braggot. Flower petals as well, hints of lavender. Subtle but good. The last braggot I sampled I remember similiar aromas that were subtle as well.

The flavor is quite a bit different than expected. Somewhat caramel backbone on the flavor, some of that white bread is present but the caramel takes the cake. The dark honey comes through mid-palate with mild lavander. Really softens on the swallow. Nice.

The mouthfeel is the weak point of this braggot. Body is on the lighter side of medium without much activity or smoothness.

This is a libation I could see myself drinking quite a bit of while I lounge around getting fanned by my maidens and hand fed grapes. That's how I imagine it anyways (good luck, right?).

A quality braggot that you have to let warm to catch the nuances. Interesting flavors that I will buy again, if I see more around. Definately a good summer sipper. Thanks again Two Brothers.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2007 04:45:06 | More by joe1510