Kentucky Christmas
Hopworks Brewery

*archived rating*

Consumption date: 12.04.10

The first time I had this beer I thought it was divine, the blending of flavors and the strength of the ABV. Nice easy sipping beer. I may still have a bottle I'm not sure. It has been replaced with another beer because there was some argument with another brewery over the name. Rated when it was first released. I think that was 2017. It is now Abominable Winter Ale - Bourbon Barrel. As I remember this beer had a higher ABV than the 8% shown.

 

 

 

 

 

It's a poor man's Adam from the wood.

 

 

 

 

 

10oz Pilsner glass, at the Hopworks tap takeover at Underground in Edmonton. This is apparently the Abominable Winter Ale, aged in Kentucky wood.

This beer appears a hazy, almost layered-seeming, and singed bronzed amber hue, with a thin cap of loosely foamy and bubbly beige head, which leaves a bit of sparse, streaky painted lace around the glass as it quickly abates.

It smells of sugary caramel/toffee, acrid vanilla and Yankee whiskey soaked wood, soused orchard fruit - apple and orange, mostly - a bit of savoury spice, and leafy, weedy, and musty hops. The taste is still rather edgy Bourbon County all the way - boozy whiskey, disjointed caramel and vanilla, mild spice - before the heady base beer asserts its provenance, with the bready malt and big citrusy and lesser piney hops dusting off from that initial barrel bash over the head.

The bubbles are more or less sublimated by the woody intransigence, the body a decent medium weight, but just, the smoothness suffering equally and accordingly. It finishes on the sweet side, as the booze enhanced sugary character continues its dominance over everything I liked about the base beer.

Sigh - all these otherwise enjoyable American ales being raped and pillaged by the inferior barrel trappings of the Bluegrass State - say what? And just to add insult to injury here, winter is still more than a wee ways away, at least so far this year, eh?