Brewery: High Falls Brewing Company, Rochester, NY

Brewery Description: “JW Dundee’s Honey Brown is the Original Honey Brown lager. First brewed in 1994, Honey Brown satisfies consumers looking for a fuller flavored but easy to drink beer with a crisp clean finish. In brewing Honey Brown, we use a dark pilsner style lager and add just the right amount of Manitoba Wildflower Honey. This creates a smooth Honey flavor that fades to a crisp dry finish. We use just enough hops to dry out the honey’s sweetness without lending any unpleasant bitterness to the finish. We continue to receive accolades from premium tasting competitions including a Gold Medal at the 2002 World Beer Cup.”

Brew Style: American Dark Lager, 4.5% ABV

Recommended Glassware: Dimpled mug, Lager, Stein

The Ugly Truth: Sorry for the lateness, but I somehow managed to dehydrate myself to the point where I was sick. Not surprising given the god awful heat down here at the moment. Alright, JW D’s Honey Brown is something I actually used to drink a lot of and used to love. Now that I’ve been doing these reviews for over a year now, not so much anymore. The lager pours a chestnut brown in color, with a quick reducing head on it. The aroma is actually pretty hearty, with some sweetness to it. I found the beer to be light to medium body, with a bit of sweetness to it that bordered on being tangy. I guess that was the honey, but it was frankly hard to be sure. I did catch the hint of the hops in the flavor, but I got absolutely nothing on the finish or aftertaste. To me, it almost seemed like the taste of it hit a certain point and then just quit. There was just nothing really remarkable about the finish or aftertaste to the point where I didn’t even really notice them. I am, as I have frequently become, a little surprised that this won a gold medal at a World Beer Cup since I’ve had other honey lagers that have been much better. Maybe those ones weren’t around in 2002.

Verdict: My compatriot “Honeybee” Dundee told me to give this one a 5 out of 10 bottlecaps.