Kentucky Common
Dreaming Creek Brewery

 

 

Look: This beer is a darker reddish brown color with a bit of a haze going on. A nice thick, tight looking, and creamy head that sticks around nicely. I can see plenty of bubbles rising up throughout this beer. I like the look of this beer quite a bit.
Smell: I smell a bit of citrus on the nose with a light, bready smell as well. Smells pretty good.
Taste: Wow, this is unlike anything I have ever had before. It widened my eyes with surprise. Almost none of this came through from the smell. It has quite a sour note up front, followed by a darker taste. It reminds me of a stout mixed with a tad bit of an IPA. A decent amount of hoppiness up front followed by quite a bit of that malty flavor. At the end, there is a citrusy, almost metallic flavor that gives way to a sweet somewhat floral note. Not at all what I expected to taste from this.
Feel: This beer is super smooth up front with a nice flow that thins out. I like the feel of this beer. You get a good bit of carbonation bite as well. Not a bad feel at all.
Overall: Not a bad beer. I don't believe I have ever had a Cream Ale before and this is certainly a very unique flavor that isn't bad at all. It reminds me a bit of a mix of Irish Red, Stout, and IPA. I would buy again, but not my first choice by any means. I would be curious to try other beers in this category in the future and see how they compare.

 

16oz undated can poured into a mug at fridge temp 5.45% ABV 21 IBU per can. The beer pours opaque light brown with light brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild, slightly tart and vinous. The taste is tangy toasted malt with earthy notes and mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, seems to meet the Kentucky Common profile.

Not exactly common in the craft beer world, but certainly more commonplace with early explorers coming through Kentucky, the Kentucky Common might be America's original beer.

Pouring pale garnet and held in a mild haze, Dreaming Creek's Kentucky Common floats a short but froth head. As its bubbles subside, the keen scent of steely caramel, toasted grain, sweeter honey aromas and a peppery twinge greets the nose with a rustic perfume. As its sweetness coats the tongue, notions of honey, cereal and cola garner intrigue.

As the flavors float along the middle palate, the malty sweetness invites mild fruitiness of dates, grapes and light raisin to balance against the toasty edges of grain with hints of peppercorn and chicory. Trending more cola-like as the session endures, the beer's late palate is also remiss of a lighter version of dubbel ale.

Medium bodied and decidedly malty, the ale's simple sweetness and rustic grain profile is simply a taste of history. Although Dreaming Creek has cleaned this recipe up quite a bit, the ale finishes with a medium-length, cola-like taste.

Deep copper to bronze in color. As my first ‘cream ale’ I impressed at the easy drinking smooth flavors. Very good ale with nice flavors. Will certainly not thumb my nose at this style again.

 

 

A: Pours a clear almost opaque dark mahogany in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass and moderate chestnut brown + ruby red + garnet red + cola brown colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense creamy foamy tan head that reduces to a couple of medium sized patches of medium thick film surrounded by a large patch of slightly mottled thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer and a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of bready + dark + lightly roasted + caramel + toasted malts with a light to moderate amount of caramel + dark fruit (raisin) sweetness. Moderate aromas of earthy hops.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of bready + dark + lightly roasted + caramel + toasted malts with a light to moderate amount of caramel + dark fruit (raisin) sweetness. That is followed by a hint of English ale yeast and a hint of nuttiness. Finally there are light to moderate flavors of earthy hops which impart a light amount of bitterness which fades away quickly leaving lingering earthy + caramel + toasty flavors.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Moderate amounts of dryness in the finish.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a pleasantly dry finish. Enjoyable with a decent complexity to the flavors and aromas while staying on the lighter side and easily drinkable.

16 ounce can, couldn't find a canning date on this. My friend Denis purchased this at the brewery a couple weeks ago and brought back a can for me! Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a dark brown color with a reddish tinge and about a half inch or so light tan head. Head retention and lacing are both decent enough. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like bready malt, caramel, raisins and some earthiness. Taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some grassiness and herbal hops. But I think the bready, caramel and earthy flavors stand out to me. Mouthfeel/body is light/medium, it's smooth, slick and easy to drink with a good amount of carbonation. Good brew if you're into Kentucky Common Ales. I'd drink this one given the chance, certainly worth picking up if you come across some!

I don't know much about the style, but this one was like a drier brown ale.

Single 16oz can from Party Town
Dark amber color with a finger thick off white-head that dissipates quickly.
Effervescent, bready aroma with notes raisin.
Taste follows the nose.
Light body with plenty of carbonation.
I enjoyed it!