Brewhouse Rarities: Mint Julep Ale

Draft at Maddy’s. Clear golden color, see pic please. Since I just had a week-early maibock, I figured why not have a month-early Derby drink? One the positive side, this is an interestingly close imitation of the actual julep. On the negative side, I’m not generally a fan of beers that imitate cocktails, mainly because I’m not a huge fan of cocktails. That said, I wax nostalgic for my first trip to the Kentucky Derby, junior year of college, with Dave from LonGisland. We got cheap tix to the infield, and when it started to rain heavily, soneone jimmied a lock on a nearby service building. We noticed we could see the races through little slits in the wall next to some sort of rectangular boxes. Our view improved when we pulled the boxes out of the wall - we could see the finish line! My friends watching on TV saw these heads poke out of the tote board - we had removed the lighted boxes that displayed the betting odds. Oh well. I thank Flying Dog for bringing back that memory. Also, the aroma has subtle mint, subtle whiskey. The taste is lemony vanilla, minty with light bourbon and subtle tannins. Works on multiple levels.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 9/18/2016. Pours slightly hazy golden straw color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big mint, lemon, lime, berry, pear, pepper, honey, cracker, wood, herbal, floral, grass, light bourbon, and yeast earthiness. Nice aromas with good balance of mint, honeysuckle, pale malt, and fruity yeast notes; with good strength. Taste of big mint, lemon, lime, berry, pear, pepper, honey, cracker, wood, herbal, floral, grass, light bourbon, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy bitterness and lightly tart/tangy on the finish; with lingering notes of mint, lemon, lime, pear, pepper, honey, cracker, wood, and herbal/grassy earthiness on the finish for a short bit. Nice robustness and balance of mint, honeysuckle, pale malt, and fruity yeast flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Good amount of dryness for bitter/spiciness as well. Medium carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, crisp, and lightly grainy/sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish. Overall this is a good spiced blonde ale. All around good robustness and balance of mint, honeysuckle, pale malt, and fruity yeast flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. This was a very well done blonde ale style-wise; just a comes off a bit weird with the spice additions. Still a nicely enjoyable offering overall.