12 oz bottle, usual stubbie presentation from Tyranena, thanks go out to Kevin for a chance to crack this one.
Fairly innocuous looking, mid-brown pour with some creamy head but not much lace.
Nose and taste reveal quite a lot of the bourbon character, in fact a bit more than I was expecting. I’m not a huge fan of bourbon aged beers, but an American Brown Ale does at least seem like a sensible place to put such a thing, and this works fairly well. The bourbon notes are not exactly strong, but they do make a fairly steady appearance all the way through the drink. They also have the effect of tempering any overtly hoppy note that the American versions of brown ales tend to give. For me that’s a really good thing, since the last thing I want in a creamy, smooth brown ale is a bunch of in your face hops. As much as I’m not keen on bourbon in my beer, if we are talking about a brown ale then it is a preferable flavor than a bunch of aggressive bitterness.
Smooth with a few other liquor (rum) tastes too, I like this a little more than I thought I might. It does feel a little thin to me, and that seems to be the one “faulty” area.
Having said all of that, I bet if you enjoy bourbon aged beers then this beer is one that you will enjoy.