Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.
Microbrewery
in
Lexington,
Kentucky,
United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co
Established in 1999
Contact
Description
Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. is the producer of award-winning beer and spirits and one of the few joint brewing and distilling operations in the world. Since its founding in 1999 by Irish entrepreneur Pearse Lyons, founder of Alltech. Its Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale® has grown to become the brewery’s flagship brew, capitalizing on the brewery’s proximity to fresh Kentucky bourbon barrels.
7.3/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7
Refrigerated 12 oz brown bottle poured into a glass. Clear caramel with small white head. Aroma is light bourbon, medium body, lower carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is bourbon, some cherry, and some wheat esters. Not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Dec 2025
at 02:03
7.6/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 8
12 oz. bottle
10.0% ABV
Date: 05-22-2025. There is nothing to indicate what the date is for, so I will just assume that it is the "packaged on" date.
$16.49 4-pk @ Publix
AROMA: Sweet with moderate scents of pumpkin which is then followed by hints of cinnamon. As the beer warms, I lose the cinnamon but get moderate scents of banana and nutmeg. Overall, the aromas are a little subdued, but very pleasant, nonetheless.
APPEARANCE: Pours a slightly hazy, medium amber-orange color with a 1 finger, off-white, coarsely-frothy head, that dissipates moderately fast with minimal lacing. It looks fine in my clear glass, I just wish the head lasted a bit longer.
TASTE: As the beer first hits my tongue, I get a fair amount of sweetness. As it transitions to the back of my throat, I get some nice sharpness, that helps to offset some of the sweetness. The main flavor is pumpkin. Which I really appreciate! In my book, if it says "pumpkin" in the title then that better be the main attraction! Other supporting flavors are, cinnamon, bourbon, vanilla, and allspice. Oddly enough, I don't taste the nutmeg even though I can smell it. The finish tends to be a bit "boozy". Especially, after the beer has warmed up.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a semi-course texture that gets a little smoother during the finish. I would rate carbonation as average. While it has a nice feel in the mouth, I would think that something a little silkier would pair better with the sweetness factor.
OVERALL: I really wasn't expecting much from this beer, but the more I sip on it, the better I like. Although, I think I am getting to the tipping point on temperature. When it was cold, the flavors were really subdued. As it warmed, the flavors really opened up without the beer becoming overly sweet. As it warmed even more, I started to get a higher sweetness level than I prefer. For me, I think the best flavor-to-aroma temperature is somewhere around 63℉. At that temperature, I was able to smell and taste, just about everything, without any one thing overpowering the others.
When it comes to pumpkin-pie-in-a-bottle beers, this is the type that I really like. Pumpkin is the star, with the other "pumpkin pie" spices being present without being overpowering. All-in-all I found the beer to be very enjoyable. Color me surprised!
10.0% ABV
Date: 05-22-2025. There is nothing to indicate what the date is for, so I will just assume that it is the "packaged on" date.
$16.49 4-pk @ Publix
AROMA: Sweet with moderate scents of pumpkin which is then followed by hints of cinnamon. As the beer warms, I lose the cinnamon but get moderate scents of banana and nutmeg. Overall, the aromas are a little subdued, but very pleasant, nonetheless.
APPEARANCE: Pours a slightly hazy, medium amber-orange color with a 1 finger, off-white, coarsely-frothy head, that dissipates moderately fast with minimal lacing. It looks fine in my clear glass, I just wish the head lasted a bit longer.
TASTE: As the beer first hits my tongue, I get a fair amount of sweetness. As it transitions to the back of my throat, I get some nice sharpness, that helps to offset some of the sweetness. The main flavor is pumpkin. Which I really appreciate! In my book, if it says "pumpkin" in the title then that better be the main attraction! Other supporting flavors are, cinnamon, bourbon, vanilla, and allspice. Oddly enough, I don't taste the nutmeg even though I can smell it. The finish tends to be a bit "boozy". Especially, after the beer has warmed up.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a semi-course texture that gets a little smoother during the finish. I would rate carbonation as average. While it has a nice feel in the mouth, I would think that something a little silkier would pair better with the sweetness factor.
OVERALL: I really wasn't expecting much from this beer, but the more I sip on it, the better I like. Although, I think I am getting to the tipping point on temperature. When it was cold, the flavors were really subdued. As it warmed, the flavors really opened up without the beer becoming overly sweet. As it warmed even more, I started to get a higher sweetness level than I prefer. For me, I think the best flavor-to-aroma temperature is somewhere around 63℉. At that temperature, I was able to smell and taste, just about everything, without any one thing overpowering the others.
When it comes to pumpkin-pie-in-a-bottle beers, this is the type that I really like. Pumpkin is the star, with the other "pumpkin pie" spices being present without being overpowering. All-in-all I found the beer to be very enjoyable. Color me surprised!
Tried
from Bottle
from
Publix - Winter Springs Town Center
on 03 Sep 2025
at 18:23
6/10
Bitter, big coffee notes. Not much barrel, and low carbonation. It’s fine.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Aug 2025
at 01:49
6/10
Tastes like vanilla cream soda. Not for me.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Jul 2025
at 23:37
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Bottle from Total Wine in Vacaville, CA. Pours gold with a transient white head. Aroma of vanilla primarily with light bourbon and corn notes. Med body. Flavor is the aroma with some light oak astringency.
Tried
from Bottle
from
Total Wine & More - Vacaville, CA
on 28 Jul 2025
at 00:05
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 7
Huge thanks to Erzengel for sharing this! Bottle looks simple but good. Beer in the glass amber coloured, small head. Alcoholic-spicy aroma. Starts intense malty, spicy, not as strong as exspected. Some herbal notes, some cinnamon. More and more warming-malty, shy alcohol, spices again. Finish well balanced. Warming malty. Nice one!
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jul 2025
at 17:33
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
A clear amber beer with a white lacing. Aroma of pumpkin spices, honey, decent sweet malt. Taste of decent sweet strong malt, pumpkin spices, cinnamon, honey.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jul 2025
at 12:53
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6.5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle from Total Wine in Vacaville, CA. Pours amber with a modest beige head that didn't persist. Aroma of amber malt with some floral hop. Med body. It's malty but not all that undry. Balancing hop bitterness. The hops have a bite - so it's more than floral. Sort of toffee and grass/hay. Better than many ambers.
Tried
from Bottle
from
Total Wine & More - Vacaville, CA
on 29 Jun 2025
at 23:46
Bottle from Total Wine in Vacaville, CA. Pours dark brn/blk with a tan head. Aroma of bourbon and smooth toasted malt. Arguably full bodied. Far from dry. Burnt malt bitter. Flavor has treacle, burnt malt and bourbon/vanilla. Good for the "style".
Tried
from Bottle
from
Total Wine & More - Vacaville, CA
on 29 Jun 2025
at 01:38
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
12 oz. bottle
8.0% ABV
Date: 03/31/3025 (I'm assuming this is the bottled-on date)
$14.49 4-pk @ Publix
AROMA: Strong scents of bourbon and cherry followed by mild scents of vanilla and (strangely enough) chocolate.
APPEARANCE: Pours an clear dark-amber, with a thin, light-tan head that dissipates very quickly, with no lacing.
TASTE: I'm first hit with a fair amount of sweetness with a strong flavor of cherry. It then quickly transitions to a mild amount of tartness with mild flavors of bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The finish is slightly dry with just a hint more of that cherry tartness.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a slightly sticky texture. Carbonation is average.
OVERALL: Personally, I would have liked more tartness. Especially for something labeled "Tart Cherry". Having said that, I did find the flavor to be nice. It was sweet, but not overly sweet. And as the beer warmed, the bourbon and oak aromas really started to meld better with the flavors. Which made for a more enjoyable experience.
8.0% ABV
Date: 03/31/3025 (I'm assuming this is the bottled-on date)
$14.49 4-pk @ Publix
AROMA: Strong scents of bourbon and cherry followed by mild scents of vanilla and (strangely enough) chocolate.
APPEARANCE: Pours an clear dark-amber, with a thin, light-tan head that dissipates very quickly, with no lacing.
TASTE: I'm first hit with a fair amount of sweetness with a strong flavor of cherry. It then quickly transitions to a mild amount of tartness with mild flavors of bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The finish is slightly dry with just a hint more of that cherry tartness.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a slightly sticky texture. Carbonation is average.
OVERALL: Personally, I would have liked more tartness. Especially for something labeled "Tart Cherry". Having said that, I did find the flavor to be nice. It was sweet, but not overly sweet. And as the beer warmed, the bourbon and oak aromas really started to meld better with the flavors. Which made for a more enjoyable experience.
Tried
from Bottle
from
Publix - Winter Springs Town Center
on 14 Jun 2025
at 19:43