B Nektar Necromangocon

Sometimes we're not just about craft beer. Sometimes we feel the urge to expand our horizons. In case you hadn't noticed, we enjoy the occasional mead, particularly when it comes from our friends at Brothers Drake, who had a lovely ginger-chamomile mead at Comfest this year. When I saw this come on the market, I knew we had to try it. It's from an up-and-coming meadery from Michigan; it is flavored with mango and black peppercorn; and it has so many references to Nathan's favorite movie series, Evil Dead, it's not even funny. Did you see the artwork on the label? Heck yeah, we're in. No need to even think twice about it.

It pours the color of sauvignon blanc, with a few bubbles of carbonation dancing on the side of the glass. The aroma is lovely, smelling of a lovely unoaked chardonnay with just a hint of honey, mango, and black peppercorns. Taking a sip, it's quite the opposite of the demonology expressed on the label: this is heavenly. The initial taste is of a decent pinot grigio, which quickly turns into honey sweetness, then the black pepper kicks in and rides the wave of the rest of the sip. The mango is very understated and seems to underlie the entire drink. The pepper ebbs and flows on the back end of the taste, alternately tickling the tongue and fading away, then coming back with a spicy bite, and again fading. It's delightful. This is some of the best mead I've had. It feels a little sticky in the mouth, mostly from the honey (mead being a honey wine, in case you weren't aware), with the bubbles lending a moscato-like lightly carbonated texture to it.

I'm sold. I want more. I want to try different flavors of B. Nektar. I want to go steal Nathan's half of the bottle. This is really good. I hope there's some of this around in the fall, when I typically think of drinking mead. I definitely want to head up to Ferndale and stop in and drink some mead with the folks at B. Nektar.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

So, to point out, I have my monster next to me... I love my Gia kitten.

B Nektar's label describes it as such:
"Swallow this...
Many years ago, a mysterious book was discovered by a group of friends in a Ferndale, MI basement. A translation of its contents revealed the recipe for an ancient beverage using mango juice, honey, and black pepper. What they didn't realize was that creating the beverage had dire consequences. Stricken by fear after its completion, the friends tried to contain the terrifying forces into this very bottle. Once opened, however, no one can say for sure if it can be conquered. Defend your soul or join us...

B. Smart - B. S-MART"
Evil Dead Trilogy references- group of friends in the woods in Michigan, ancient, mysterious book translated, "Join us!" and the Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart....  I'm sold. Plus, clearly the label having a picture of the Necronomicon similar to the Evil Dead 2 era the Necronomicon. Double sold.

This has had time to warm, so let's see how this stacks up.

 This pours a clear golden color with decent carbonation. The aroma is sweet, like a Gran Spumunte, with hints of mango and honey. Oops. Dipped my nose in this while catching the aroma. The initial taste is mouth-rocking. There's so much happening here. There's a lighter white wine like front, then a blast of honey and mango that dominates until the end, followed by a tinge of peppercorn on the backend to add to the complexity of this. I agree with Jennie that this has a Moscato like vibe, being as it's sweeter and carbonated, but at the same point, it's not cloyingly sweet. There's a bit of tang to balance with the sweetness, then the slight peppercorn to offset it, yet adding a whole other dimension at the same time.

This is damn good. Too bad it's from that State Up North.

5/5 caps

-Nathan-

Side note- this was released into distribution areas around the end of March, and we're some of the first people to review it.