About
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.
5.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
355ml bottle from Utobeer. Very pale gold, clear, thick white head. Some lemon and lime on the aroma. Touch of white wine vinegar too. Yes light and easy quaffing, but this white wine vinegar thing won;t go away and I’m not sure it’s supposed to be there. Decent fullness in the mouth. Not quite a kolsch as there isn’t enough yeast character, but it’s decent enough if you want something cold to drink easily. If a little sour.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Feb 2011
at 12:26
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle. Interesting but not my cup of tea. It’s fun to try a smaller bourbon barrel beer, and the size doesn’t seem to be the factor putting me off. It’s just intensely sweet in aroma and taste. There’s so much vanilla, caramel and bourbon in there that I was having some trouble getting it down at first. It reminds me of watered-down bourbon, which doesn’t sound bad to me, but it’s just overwhelming, ultimately. Mouthfeel is fairly thick. I’m astounded that this beer is only 4.5% abv because it has some serious booze notes from the barrel. It smells a lot like a just-drained glass of Buffalo Trace or something. In the right frame of mind, I might really like this beer, but it’s definitely not an everyday thing unless you can’t get enough of sweet bourbon notes. Appearance is a clear gold with a smallish white head. Very interesting beer. Edit - the beer is definitely not 4.5% abv. The abv is listed on the bottle as 8.19%.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2011
at 21:24
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Courtesy of trimon77 pouring clear deep gold with off white head. The aroma has oak, vanilla and then mild booziness at the end of the draw. Smooth aroma that lacks beeriness. The taste is nice with sweet vanilla mixing with sweet malts, a sense of roasted malts, then some oak and bourbon. Smooth barrel forward brew.
Tried
on 06 Nov 2010
at 15:24
3.9/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
Refrigerated bottle poured into a shaker. Pours a clear amber with small tight white head. Not much lacing, highly carbonated, and aroma is light sour. Taste is metallic corn, some toffee/caramel, and some grass. Disapointing compared to their bourbon barrel ale.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Sep 2010
at 17:47
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
On tap at The Pub (great place) in downtown Louisville, Live on Fourth and had in bottle. Pours a clear light amber with small off-white head. Some lacing, medium carbonation, and light bourbon aroma. Taste is caramel malt, nice bourbon, a little oak with nice vanilla in the finish. This one is underrated get one.
Tried
from Draft
on 29 Jul 2010
at 19:21
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Sample at the 1st annual Columbus Beerfest on 05/28/10 (as "Kölsch"): The beer pours a clear pale yellow-orange color with a thin and fizzy white head that burns away steadily. Fruity aroma with some lightly spiced hops in the background. Light body with flavors of floral hops, fruit and grain. The finish is short and fruity. Average overall.
Tried
on 30 May 2010
at 15:49
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Bottle from a trade with phaleslu. Pours clear amber color with white head. Aromas of bourbon, vanilla, oak. I’m also getting some coconut; weird. The usual flavors from a bourbon barrel; bourbon, vanilla and some oak. If you star with a beer that isn’t so good, barrel aging can only improve it so much. Medium body with average carbonation. Not bad for what it is. Thanks Peter.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Mar 2010
at 18:19
3.5/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 3
On tap at the Vintage Estates, nice place. Big foamy head. Crystal clear yellow. Slight off aroma; a little vomity, but in a beery way. Plastic flavors. Astrigent and bold. Artificial at times. Weird and ropey finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 12 Dec 2009
at 12:17
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Light golden color. Buttery vanilla, light bourbon nose. Very butterscotchy, bourbony mouth. Very smooth. Nice.
Tried
on 02 Sep 2009
at 10:31
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
WOW is just an understatement for this amazing beer, and I think this low score really does not do the beer any justice. Everything you might have been used with other Bourbon aged beers come to a clash with this beer. Instead of a strong beer base aged with bourbon, they actually use a low abv beer that they age in bourbon barrel. The result is just extraordinary. The aroma is loaded with bourbon, it feels like sniffing a glass of whiskey, the alcohol just engulfs your smell. That being said, I cannot help but notice that with the brewery being in Kentucky, they have had access to some really fancy barrels as the nose is just purely amazing. Taste is once again loaded with the wood, barrel, bourbon mouthfeel with extra touch of vanilla. Only let down is that the actual bourbon - whiskey comes across a lot stronger than the beer itself. Either a miss or hit depending of one’s style. Definitely a different approach, interesting, highly drinkable beer. Taste really does feel like it is way over 4.5%, give this one a good try.
Tried
from Can
on 10 Jan 2009
at 22:37