Kentucky Ales' Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale - Draft (8/10)

Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co. (also known as Kentucky Ales), produces Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.  It's an ale aged for at least six weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from Kentucky distilleries.

The bottled and draft versions of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale resemble one another, but are different.

The draft pours a clear brownish amber color with thin white head that dissipates almost instantly.

The aroma is a mix of butter and bourbon.

The flavor is similar to the aroma.  It's got a strong butter-like element up front, followed by bourbon and barley malt, with a mild hops finish at the end.  It's definitely a beer you sip rather than gulp.  That's probably a good thing, considering it's also an 8.2% alcohol by volume beer.

The bottled version of the beer is similar. You get the bourbon up front in the aroma and flavor, but the buttery element seems to stay out of it.  Although butter is a flavor you normally don't want in your beer (as it can imply bacterial or yeast problems), I don't find it offensive in this beer.  It seems to play well with the oaky and bourbon notes.

Beer Advocate rates Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale an 85 or "very good".  Rate Beer is a bit tougher on it, giving the beer only a 59 overall.  I like Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale a lot, and my rating is much closer to Beer Advocates.  I give it an 8 out of 10.

The bottled version of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is available all over town.  I've seen it at Kroger, Giant Eagle, and virtually every other beer retailer in town.  I doubt you'll have trouble finding it.