Barrel-Aged Bananas Foster Barleywine Ale
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

Barrel-aged Bananas Foster Barleywine (2025) from Kuhnhenn Brewing. 12 fl oz bottle, purchased 03/03/26 from Half Time. $ 18.18 (Including tax and shipping)/$ 1.52/fl oz. Stored at 40 degrees F at home. Reviewed 14/03/26, review 3706. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Only date is “2025” on the top of the rear label. Served at 50.1 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 57.2 degrees F. On back label “Serve at 45-55 F”.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lit, glows ruby except for opaque center.
Head – Tiny (Maximum 0.2 cm, aggressive center pour). Biscuit, high density and fizzy, gone within seconds; the head rapidly drops to a 0.05 – 0.2 cm narrow bubble ring fed by carbonation, and no cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Weak bananas, hints of butter, vanilla(?). No bourbon, no barrels, malt, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4 – Moderate, slightly sweet caramel and diacetyl. No malt, no hops, no alcohol (14.5 % according to Kuhnhenn website – label not marked). No dimethylsulfide. Comfortable gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium: Slightly syrupy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Fits general BA description, but tends (IMHO) toward English Barleywine.
Final impression and summation: 4 Uncredited label art. Very easy drinking! Most of the advertised flavors are detectable – bourbon and barrel are nearly undetectable, but maybe that’s where the ghostly vanilla comes in.

 

The base bourbon barrel barleywine is familiar and delicious, boozy toffee, vanilla, prunes, and molasses. Plus a little banana laffy taffy. This is fine but I'm not getting a bananas foster vibe. Kuhnhenn does a lot of things well, but Bottle Logic and Tree House do this kind of thing much better.