Loading ...I’ve had Bluegrass Brewery’s Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout before, and liked it very much, so I felt like I pretty much knew what I was going to get with Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale: a slightly heavy beer with a pleasant and sometimes pervasive whiskey nose. That’s just about exactly what I got.
I love this beer.
Despite the apparent novelty of aging a beer in a bourbon barrel (it seems like more and more brewers are doing it–but I don’t know what the history of this is. Care to fill me in?), the qualities of KBBA are more complex than just the boozy swagger of whiskey dumped into your beer: this isn’t a willy-nilly boilermaker of a beverage. Here’s the way I can perhaps best put it. The whiskey scent that overpowers your first whiff tells you that Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is serious. The first drink tells you that it’s wonderful.
Unlike the few other bourbon-aged beers I’ve had in the past, KBBA isn’t so much a “sipping” beer as it is one that you take full drinks of and enjoy accordingly. While the whiskey overtones sit atop the Ale’s flavor, there are really pleasant oaky and fruity undertones to the beer’s flavor as well. These make for a nice, complex drink that’s probably best suited for an aperitif or, if you’re feeling kinda adventurous, a dessert beer.
The one thing I wanted to do while drinking Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale was prop up the ol’ feet, lean back, and nap a little between swigs. The beer has a long finish that I found to be very nice–less sophisticated beer drinkers (like me) might say that it could be a bit too long.
Overall, I’d score KBBA an “Excellent” on TCM’s “Crap to Superb” scale. It’s an easy beer to drink, and it’s a fun take on the bourbon barrel aging process. On top of that, you’ll interest your friends at the next barbecue you bring it to. Lexington Brewing Company scores a hit here, as far as I’m concerned. You should be able to find KBBA in a few spots around NKY and Cincinnati.
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We became “acquainted with KBBA during a weekend in Cincinnati this past summer to see our Dodgers play. Besides enjoying the fabulous Salsa Festival, we came across Nicholsons Pub and found this delectable brew on our first try. Ok, wife found it, I ventured into some now unremembered ‘other beer’. We spent most of our eating and celebrating time at the pub taking in our new and possibly, permanent, favorite beer. The only problem is we are a good five hours from any retail liquor establishment to purchase this. I just hope that when we do make that road trip, the bottled brew WILL be as good as the brew on tap. Go Blue!