Mule Kick
Bent Run Brewing Co.

The pour is reminiscent of a nice tea, but with an ivory colored head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing. At all.
The taste is, well, not what I expected. I’m not sure what went sideways, but the normal dark fruit is subtle instead of dominant, and the bourbon is MIA. Maybe it’s the oak that I’m tasting. Very curious.
Not all bad of course, just not what I expected.
The feel is lightly viscous, just a little less viscous than expected.
OA, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, just not what I expected.

Mule Kick from Bent Run. 22 oz bomber, bottle 30/100. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA on 20/02/23 for $ 24.00 (Including tax) - $ 1.09/oz. On room temperature shelf at store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 24/02/23 (Review 3049). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Served at 55.9 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 60.6 degrees. Note: the bottle suggests 48 -52 degrees, but I’m going for a warmer quad temperature.
Appearance – 3.75.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, rub] and hazily translucent.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.6 cm, aggressive center pour), bone, fizzy, medium density, quickly fizzing away, leaving neither crown nor cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3.5 – Smells weakly like malt and fruit. No hops, no yeast, no bourbon. There is also a bit of an oily sweet aroma, like candi sugar and weak lubricating oil.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins slightly sweet and weakly malty. No ethanol (10.5 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Mild oral warming occurs, approaching burning, but never gets to my gut. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – thin, watery to weakly syrupy, basically no carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) This loses points for rapid loss of head and no lacing. The initial viewing is unremarkable although the rear-lite ruby is quite attractive. The flavor is atypical for a quadruple, maybe because of the bourbon barrel. Surprise! Not every style of beer is improved by bourbon! Leaves my lips sticky. I won’t be making any special trips upriver to this brewpub, although if I’m headed to the Southern Tier of NY, I may stop by.