Mint Julep
Excel Brewing Company

a strong ale style brewed with spearmint and aged in bourbon barrels. part of me thinks it would have been better to drink this fresh, like the time it spent cellaring let the mint fade a bit too much, but i like the idea, and the execution here is superior to some other attempts i have had at this sort of thing. the beer is a liquid caramel looking color in the glass with a similar viscosity and not much head to it at all. it smells like muddled mint, but kind of gone off, like when you leave it in the fridge too long and the leaves get all dark and wilty. its still herbaceous enough to cut through the obviously dense malty body, caramel and toffee richness abound, and the whiskey is there but seemingly not the oak. the flavor is good, the mint cuts the heft in an appreciable way, but this is still really sweet and really alcoholic, and it both fills me up and tires me out pretty quickly. that said, the flavor is quite interesting with the bourbon and the mint going weirdly well together, and all the body really extending and stretching out these flavors. its sweet sure, but it works. with more carbonation, a fresher mint profile, and just a little more of the barrel itself, this would be a winner. i suspect this crossed the best by mark awhile ago, but it was still a fun one to crack into! these guys are making some mighty ambitious brews!

 

 

Pours an effervescent auburn with near zero head.

S: Mint & Bourbon

T: Follows the nose, plenty of dryness, some raisin & cherry up front. Mint, cherry, elderberries, oaky dryness as this warms. Mint, cherry, & a little Bourbon in the finish, plus figs, a little Countreau (sp) as well in the finish

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation

Lovely take on the style, well worth a go. This is a nice intro to this brewery