Kentucky Mule
The Schlafly Tap Room

11.2 ounce bottle, Batch 4689, 02:2019 stamped on the label. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a slightly hazy orange/amber color with about a half inch off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both decent enough. Aroma is nice but a bit subtle, the brew smells like ginger, lime, bready malt and a bit of bourbon. Luckily the taste has more kick to it compared to the aroma. There's ginger, lime, vanilla, oak, bready malt and bourbon flavors noticeable. I do think this tastes like a Kentucky Mule cocktail, although I don't think the bourbon/booze character is very strong. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's easy enough to drink with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was an enjoyable enough brew, wouldn't mind trying this again in the future. $4.00 for a single bottle.

The St. Louis Brewery LLC "Kentucky Mule Ale"
11.2 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, coded "02.2019" and labeled "Batch # 4689

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what is this supposed to be, some kind of beer version of a Moscow Mule? It's got "ginger & lime" and it's "aged on bourbon barrel chips". The ginger and lime makes sense, but not the barrel aging. OK, we'll see. It's poured a very hazy deep amber colored body beneath a short head of loose white foam that's dropped before I could even finish typing this out. Hmmm... perhaps I have a dirty glass, and perhaps not. The aroma displays the Bourbon barrels which is interesting, and enjoyable. I get a little of the ginger and lime as well, and that's also nice. It's not the brightest aroma but no one ever said it needed to be, and I think they've nailed this one. Very nice. On to the flavor... it's got some nice maltiness to it, and the Bourbon barrel character remains strong. Ahhh! I finally get it now, it's a Kentucky Mule and not a Moscow mule because it's Bourbon based. Now I feel dumb. OK, let's see, what else is there... some of the ginger and lime, but not much. Knowing it's there I can find it but if I had no clue I doubt I'd call those flavors out. Not unlike the aroma though, there's no one saying that it has to be anything, and I like it as it is. More ginger and lime would be nice, but it's good as it is. With that said, if you're a fan of Bourbon barrel aging, this is a good choice for you. To finish up, the head completely dropped and there's no lacing left. You quite often lose head retention in making barrel aged beers as the beer is moved around so much but I still feel it should be better than this. A second reason for the lack of head though is its moderate carbonation which gives it a delicate caress on the tongue. It's medium bodied with a little bit of a dextrinous edge. Is the softer feel a fair trade-off for no head? I'm not sure. I'm enjoying this beer, so there's that; and I have nothing to judge it against stylistically so I've got to go simply hedonistically on my numbers. In the end I'd say it's at least worth trying, and if you don't mind the price probably worth enjoying on a more regular basis (with cellaring of course, I'm pretty sure this is only released once a year).

Review #6,605

 

 

Copper colored with excellent clarity. There’s a fingernail of off white to beige on top. Light lacing. I smell ginger and lime, along with faint bourbon. I’m tasting plenty of lime,ginger, and bourbon. The mouth is smooth and easygoing.

 

 

A-Pours a nice hazy orange color with a generous head and lacing
A-Aroma has abundant Bourbon, ginger and lime hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a wonderful balance of Bourbon, ginger and lime flavors
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A very nicely done and well balanced beer

 

Bottle dated 01/2018:
The clarity on this light orange amber beer's first pour was high, though pours from the second half of the bottle had a bit of haze. Head was off-white on the yellowish side. Nice head buildup and some streams of lace graced the glass.

Nose is spot on for the non-spirit additions. The ginger isn't sharp or pungent, and a ginger ale impression is unavoidable. The lime is more aggressive, but doesn't have any sharpness, either. The bourbon wood chips might be the smoothing agent, as the ever so light charred honey/vanilla sweetness they bring is quite enticing.

The feel is as smooth as the nose is well blended. An almost flat opening hides alight tingle of carbonation that grows slightly as some of the bite of the ingredients comes on. A near clean, even so lightly toasted malt pauses longer than expected, almost making me wonder how none of the scents transferred to the taste.

I start to feel the ginger just before tasting its less spicy, more earthy, "rooty side. The lime follows in lock step right behind it, not sour at all though. This lightly malty ginger lime never seems to grow to its full strength, as the is an almost wooden base that keeps in in check. I can't say if this is more the non-spicy side of the ginger flesh, the barrel chips, or the hops at this point. The bourbon flavors come next, but still under this wooden shroud. It's accent is lightly spicy - without any alcohol burn. It ends up cleaning out the lime, and allowing the ginger bite to gain the late taste with a light lingering aspect.

A very well constructed beer in the sense that the flavors that one would expect from the ingredients are all present, and meld well together. The wooden note and more balanced overall sweetness level lead to something that retains it's beer-like nature.

L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a golden yellow color and a slightly hazy consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, somewhat long-lasting head. Below average lacing.

S: An interesting aroma of honey, bourbon, malt, ginger, and citrus.

T: Tasted of bit of malt (less than average), some bourbon (and the accompanying barrel), a lot of ginger, a tinge of citrus (lime, in particular), and a hint of honey (maybe it's just me). Like the aroma, the flavor is unusual, but it still works. The mixture of ginger and bourbon seems on on paper, but it's pretty tasty.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a lively finish. Light-bodied.

O: An extremely well made and easy to drink beer. Well worth a look.

On tap. Poured a very clear, golden color with a small, white head of foam. It smelled of ginger and lime. This beer tastes like a cocktail with a strong lime, citrus and ginger taste.