Kentucky Honey Barrel Brown Ale
Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.

 

 

I like it more than Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, and it has a higher ABV.

 

12-oz bottle into nonic pub glass

A - 2 fingers of medium tan over a deep mahogany body

S - honey sweetness, oak/wood/bourbon

T - honey sweetness, bourbon; lots of wood and bourbon in the finish

M - medium body high in prickly carbonation

O - I've had better bourbon barrel ales, but this is a decent brown nonetheless.

I know, I know, behind the times as usual, but such is the nature of The Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody. I had purchased this at the FGBS when it was last released & set it aside in favor of everything else. I am starting to get caught up so beers that got shunted aside are beginning to come to the forefront.

From the bottle: "Ale brewed with Kentucky honey and ginger, aged in oak bourbon barrels"; "The Barrel-Aged Seasonal Series".

Once again, the excitement and anticipation was almost too much to bear, but I am a master of self-restraint & so I simply Pop!ped the cap and performed a gentle pour into the awaiting glass. Once this was accomplished, a vigorous in-glass swirl raised just over a finger of foamy, deep-tan/light-brown head with moderate retention. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity & cola highlights. Nose had the distinct coconut quality that seems to be a trademark of bourbon and there was a light spiciness, but I do not think that I would have readily identified it as ginger. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but getting there. I could really taste the bourbon in this beer, but it was marred by the spicy bite of the ginger, which seemed to clash and grind against the sweetness of both the bourbon & the honey. Finish was dry, but that was largely due to the almost overpowering spiciness. It seemed like a case of gilding the lily or too much of a good thing is too much. I would also have been hard-pressed to identify it as a Brown Ale. It has been retired, so perhaps they agree with my humble assessment.

 

 

 

A - golden mahogany
S - honey scents sure, but no ginger, not much bourbon either
T - same as smell, nothing to rave about, almost a little metallic. The flavors are not well blended, like they took their stock "bourbon barrel ale" and dropped in a different flavor packet.
M - rich and smooth
O - I don't know what it is about Alltech's brewing process or ingredients, but I can always immediately identify it (in a bad way for me). The beer is fine, drinkable, but I need to stop buying it thinking that I'll be getting something new and interesting.

 

 

Another very good Lexington offering I am really enjoying...

As a brown ale, it is certainly one of the better ones I have had. A reddish hue out of the bottle with tan head that has great staying power with decent lacing down the glass. The smell was mostly honey without any other notes I could pull out. What really surprised me was the feel - smooth, oh so smooth. So much so, it makes it dangerously drinkable which at 10% ABV could be a problem (though in a good way...) I really enjoyed the taste of honey without being overpowering. Overall, a very good brew from one of the brewers I admire.

Couldn't pass this up in the mix six section for around 2 bucks. Into a pint glass.
Fizzy mocha head slowly to nothing. A rather deep dark amber brown. Smell is some honey faint with roasted malts and caramel tones. Taste is mild bourbon, honey like sweetness and some roasted malt in the finish. Body is more on the lighter side but ABV can catch up with you in this brew.

Overall I don't see why this beer is rated so low its a rather smooth honey sweet brown ale "aged" in bourbon barrels. It may not be the best but it still taste rather good.

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz bottle,into a Funky Buddha snifter.

Thin khaki head that doesn't last long.Dark brown with ruby highlights.Very light carbonation.

On the nose I get sweet honey and roasted malts,backed by the slightest hint of bourbon.The absence of strong bourbon notes is a plus in my book.

On the palate I get dark roasted malts,sweet honey,and again just the slightest hint of bourbon...Once again a plus in my book..Maybe just a tad too sweet with the honey,but not enough to kill it.

The body is medium,with a smooth finish.

This isn't the best brown ale I ever tasted,but it certainly isn't the worst...Not sure why all the negative reviews.

I bought this bottle off the single shelf at Binnys. It poured a clear rich mahogany with no head and no lace. The scent had faint bourbon. The taste is white wine like and slight bourbon finish. The Mouthfeel is medium in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it's ok certainly worth a try.

L: deep brown with a thin tan head
S: sweet, honey and bourbon
T: malty, bourbon, smells better than it tastes
F: creamy, medium body, not a great finish, I get some off flavors
O: another disappointment from this brewery... I'm done with them

 

 

I've always enjoyed trying Alltech's weirder barrel-aged offerings, including their bizarre peach wheat beer aged in bourbon barrels and their huge BBA pumpkin ale, so when I saw this I figured "why not?" A big, bold brown ale with honey and ginger, aged in the infamous Kentucky Bourbon Barrel ale oak barrels. Let's see what it's about!

Pours a deep brown/mahogany color with a bubbly off-khaki head that sinks to a half-finger after a while. The coloration on this beer is intense and gorgeous, with some ruby undertones and a swath of creamy foam sticking to the surface of the beer. Each little pour builds a finger or so more of head that bubbles away actively, being borne up by brittle carbonation. Swirling the glass builds up some legs on the foamy collar, dredging up some deeper notes from the darker body of the beer itself. A very nice looker.

Nose is sweet bourbon, maple syrup, surprisingly present notes of spicy ginger and clover honey and some light-roast coffee as well. A bit nutty... some butterscotch and caramel/toffee candy notes in there too. Definitely boozy, with an earthy and conversely-sweet temperament, this brew definitely comes across strong in the nose. It's not quite cloying, as the ginger does some work to help prevent that, but it has a sugary aspect that might hurt it for some people. I figured as much with this one, knowing who made it and what the style was, so I was welcoming that aspect and was not disappointed. Mileage clearly varies on this beer, so take my rating with a grain of salt.

Flavor is surprisingly peppy and well-rounded with a seemingly hefty imperial brown ale base combining sweet and bready malts with a kick of good ol' bourbon whiskey in the mid-palate. Honeyed sweetness appears towards the front and transitions to ginger/spice and light, earthy and grassy hops in the finish. A bit of light orchard fruit here at times. Toasty maltiness provides this with a consonant warming quality when taken in stride with the tannic, chewy oak and sweet whiskey elements. Good mingling of flavors here. It's not nearly as unbalanced as it could have been, and the diacetyl-like notes from the barrels these guys use is pretty nonexistent. The regular Kentucky Bourbon Ale is rife with this note and it makes it tough to drink for me personally, so I was glad to see that it took a backseat here. I think the ginger is kind of an unsung hero in this beer. It's not a prominent flavor, but there's just enough of a measured amount here that keeps this in the realm of enjoyable, thoughtful beer that I can't feel ripped off at all. In fact, I like this quite a bit.

Feel is pretty slick and leans towards the lighter end of medium, especially for the huge ABV. Carbonation is noticeable but not really too explicit for the most part. I was worried this was going to be overly-sweet and brutal to drink based on the nose and my general feeling about this brewery, but this one surprised me with a very good balance of stuff going on.

12 oz bottle poured into pint glass. Bottling date of 10-30-2015?.

Look: Pours a dark red-brown color; clear with attractive ruby highlights. Moderate size light tan head with partial sheets of lacing. Good retention.

Aroma: Sweet malts and bourbon dominate, along with woody oak barrel.

Feel: Medium bodied; very smooth; medium carbonation.

Taste: Lightly sweet with hints of both honey and caramel. Moderate bourbon, yet not very boozy. Faint ginger and light oak. Some honey, caramel and bourbon linger in the aftertaste. Approaches 4.25.

Overall: While not a big fan of this brewery, I found this barrel aged brown to be exceptionally good. Careful: Very well hidden alcohol!

 

I may be one of few, but I really like this beer. Admittedly, there is not much bourbon flavor at all, but that aside, this is a really solid honey brown ale.

 

Aroma is honey, malts and a hint of bourbon/sweetness. The flavor is bourbon, honey, burnt caramel, malts, mild fruit and a mix of sweetness and alcohol in the finish.

Type: 12-oz. bottle
Glass: Clear 8-oz. tumbler glass
From: Jubilation Wine & Spirits in Albuquerque, N.M.
Price: $3.99
Purchased: May 7, 2016
Consumed: May 7, 2016
Misc.: Bottled on March 9, 2016 (I think)

Had high hopes or this one after reading the bottle - ale brewed with Kentucky honey and ginger, aged in oak bourbon barrels. Did not look up the review or ratings. Also saw some other good looking beers from this brewery, but only picked up this single one.

Poured an auburn, dark reddish brown semi-clear color with two fingers of khaki-tan, frothy head. Some bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Below average lacing. Below average retention. (Sight - 3.50)

Smelled a lot of unbalanced flavors on the nose in the beginning, but got better as it smoothed out. Got wood oak barrels, chocolate, roasted nuts, honey, oaky bourbon, caramel and some toasted toffee. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted bourbon, chocolate, roasty nuts (hazelnut?, I think something different), woody oak, thick honey, toasted toffee, vanilla, some rye, very light hints of that ginger that I read about on the bottle, caramel and rough molasses. (Taste - 3.75)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long, oaky, warming finish. (Feel - 4.00)

This was an interesting beer for sure. Liked it, but didn’t love it. Not sure I’d want a 4-pack of this, but would love to try their other offerings. (Overall - 3.75)

3.82 | 86 | B+

 

 

Pours a medium brown color with a white head that recedes to a fine layer of lace. The aroma is boozy, with brown sugar, alcohol and bourbon all being present. The flavor follows suit, sweet brown sugar, nutty malts, and light bourbon. Sweet upfront, mildly cloying but nice flavors so its not that bad. Its actually a bourbon beer with a lighter body and only a semi-dry tannin finish. Overall, this is an impressive bourbon barrel brown.

 

 

 

 

This is sorta an odd beer taste wise. On some drinks i get a bourbon taste, some a honey taste and some a coffee/stout taste, very rarely do they combine. The latter two taste good while the first not so much. I enjoyed it most after having a couple of sailor jerry drinks first so i was already used to the alcohol flavor by then.

 

 

On-tap 2/28/2016 at Pour Farm Tavern in New Bedford, MA, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a very thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is faint but contains roasted malts, honey, maple and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out very sweet with flavors of maple, honey and brown sugar. Then a hearty roasted malt character comes in. There is not much trace of the high ABV. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and a little crisp, medium-to-heavy body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, slightly filling, strong kick, good representation of style, this is a solid beer to drink for a while if you’re in the mood for a high-octane brown ale.