Aroma:  over-ripe pineapple and tropical fruits.  High malt content, heavy on the Lovibond scale.

Flavor:  it has a viscous feel, leaning towards an earthy bitterness, but more hoppy than malty on the finish.

Finish:  Wonderful, prolonged finished.  Well balanced.  Lengthy layered finish.  Fairly aggressive.  It wraps your tongue with pleasurable hoppy bitterness.

You need to be prepared to drink this beer warm, as that is when the flavor of this beer truly comes out.

They would only serve this to me in a 10oz glass because of the 9.0% ABV. I got the bonus 2oz standard sample prior to order so FU alcohol regulation task farce.

There is zero head to this ale and it’s color is a beautiful amber that bleeds into the oak stained bar. I can barely smell it thanks to a capacity fill in a snifter glass. The flavor…omg the flavor. It tastes so sweet like bananas dipped in vanilla extract. It is as soft as velvet coating the mouth. The after taste lasts for a very long time allowing me to sip and enjoy.

As I slowly drink this down I can smell the smooth bourbon aroma. This is so complete in all stages. I rarely get impressed completely… Perhaps it is the fact that I just finished a rich meal…perhaps I had an amazing day…perhaps I have been thinking of a beer for the last few hours. Perhaps this beer is just that good. Only time will tell… I will update this post during my second session. This is under the assumption that my local Total Wine carries this hidden gem. Hint hint.

As the brew gets warmer, the flavor gets better. I am tasting the evolution of beer. This is like a three course meal. Pure sweetness transitioning to a delightfully complete beer experience. At room temperature the roasted malts come out. The vanilla is dominant throughout the cycle.

5 stars on all sides. This is by far my new favorite desert beer.

I asked the waitress who brewed this beer. It is the namesake and only beer brewed by “Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale”. Mad respect to the brewmasters at ABBA… Keep it up boys!

Color Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
A dark cloudy hazel hue. There is some distinct floaters at the bottom of the bottle…Yeast is yummy though so we are not complaining. This cloudy beer has “a hunk of crap sitting in the middle of it” -DJ Shorty.

Aroma Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Honey and brown sugar combined with definative banana scent…a little spice or metalic aroma is evident to the untrained nose. Do we have a faint paint smell? – Grubby

Head Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
This is no joke, the beer is well carbonated. The frothy foam head will hang out for some time, very merangish.

Flavor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Dances off the tongue, banana and honey prevail. Nearing a belgian style. Mouth coating body, leaning on full bodied and more viscous than most. No bitterness or hop profile to speak of. The carbonation cleans the palate.

Finish Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Soothing ending, with a smooth sweet taste that makes you wait for your next sip. Watchout for the electric kick…we should have measured the alcohol level after cooling the wart.. It’s like time travel Thannk you parrot

“Put it beside the Boones Farm” -Eazy E
“It tastes better then it smells” – Iceburg
“It’s got alcohol in it…at least I’ll get messed up” – Grubby

Color Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Dark as a stout. No light travels through.

Aroma Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Hop aroma is not as strong as anticipated. The hops are there but it has more of a dark somewhat coco aroma. This definately is a dark roasted brew.

Head Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
This is turning out to be the night of missing head (like we are married to our beer). Nothing special to bee seen here. The bubbles on the edge were medium sized and the slight layer on top has a fizzy appearance that lasts and is still.

Flavor Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Is this an IPA or a hoppy stout? The dark malts are simply amazing. IPA are my (Grubby) favorite beer so I tend to be a little more harsh on anything in this classification. I also like a good stout. In my mind this is what a dark IPA should taste like…good dark malt overtones with distinct but not aggressive hop flavor. Dark IPAs have always let me down in the past. Black Raven IPA gives me hope.  Lots of roasted cereal character from beginning to end.

Finish Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The finish is confusing. There is almost a feel that Olde Hickory Brewery brewmasters sat at a bar one night and made a black and tan with an IPA. It works though…it is nothing like I have had before. There is a distinct smoky malt flavor “Welcome to the dark side” indeed. You can sip this and enjoy it as it goes from ice cold to room temperature with flavors evolving as it gets warmer.

The recipe calls for;
4lbs. Light dried malt extract
3lbs. Extra light dried malt extract
1 bag Specialty Malts (Belgin Caramunich, Crystal and German Dark Munich)
1 1/4 oz Perle pellet hops (bittering)
1/2 oz Tettnang whole hops (flavor)
1/2 oz Saaz whole hops (flavor)

Hydrometer is red line at 8.5 prior to pitching yeast.

This beer was designed by Alex Buerekholtz an award winning home brewer. This brew is double dry hopped and could easily be a hop lover session beer.  Death by Hops official page

Color Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Slightly lighter hue then the IP(DT)A…good clarity (clear amber). Exactly what we would expect.

Aroma Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Soft pungent hop aroma – more hop overtones then the IP(DT)A. With a name like “Death by Hops” you would hope to close your eyes, take a sniff and imagine yourself within a specialty floral shop. The hops to hit you in a non-aggressive way that triggers a reaction the Pavlov himself would be proud of. The malts are definately there but the name correlation with the expectation will unfortunately hurt the score here.

Head Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
If this beer has a head we were left out. This could be a factor of a short fill bottle. The lack of head is not a deal killer for us wanting more.

Flavor Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Strong earthy pungent hop flavor, with hints of malt in the back pallet. More malty as the beer warms, with occaisional orange essense. This IPA would be a wonderful compliment to grilled chicken and greens in an outdoor setting. This is a true Carolina brew…perfect for the long Springs and Falls.

Finish Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Bitterness towards the back of the tongue, obviously dry hopped. Lasts a good while but all in the back of the palate.

“Reminds me of Green Man IPA to some extent…but lighter and smoother.” – Grubby

“Rather enjoyable, could be session beer, perhaps better with food” – Iceberg

Northern Brewer Irish Red. 1 Week in Bourbon barrel washed in Irish Whiskey.

Color Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
reminiscent of Irish whiskey

Aroma Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
malty but up front whisky tones…clearly there is some influence of the whisky throughout…whisky aroma is not to overpowering but it is the dominant presence.

Head Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Non existent…this is one week post cask without any sugar. This ale will be majority kegged.

Flavor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
no alcohol burning…there are some hints of vanilla and caramel. A subtle whisky flavor throughout with a mellow maltiness. A touch of hops in the finish mixed with with the barrel char.

Finish Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The beer is impeccably balanced with a medium to light weight in the mouth. Finish is fairly long with sensation more mid palate, leaning on the barrel and whiskey flavors in the back. Lacks the allure of a full bodied ale, whiskey dominates at this point (not a bad thing – tastes damn good!)…leaves us wanting a little more in both flavor and in the pint

“Good winter warmer” -Billiam
“I could drink this all night!” – Grubby

Light formed head
Foggy amber color
Spicy orange aroma
Citrus overtones
Very sweet
Nice bitterness finish
Almost cotton candy after taste
Medium body with great texture

1 Week after Bottling
Color Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Aroma Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Head Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Flavor Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Finish Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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