Four beverages in, Kentucky hasn't had one that wasn't great. Will that trend continue? Well, this has the fact that it is a porter AND the fact that it is barrel aged going for it. Unfortunately, the peppermint might be a bit too much for me to deal with, depending on how they handle it. I like peppermint, and I even like it in some mixed drinks, but I'm not sure how exactly it will work in a deep, rich porter. Let's see if these wizards can show me their magic!
I expected a slight peppermint smell, but this hits pretty hard as soon as it escapes the confines of the bottle. The head is nothing spectacular, but it is more than I would expect from a barrel aged beer like this. Nevertheless, there won’t be much lacing left on the sides of the glass. The deep ruby beer is more ruby than the official color of Guinness, which is pretty much black to the average human eye.First sip is a chocolate peppermint that reminds me of the odd candy canes where they try to mix peppermint and chocolate in them, and it doesn’t quite work. It’s like a poor attempt at a peppermint patty or the like. Pretty much all of the other flavors are languishing under that peppermint, and there is nothing for them to do but to wait out the peppermint storm.
Tip-in moderate carbonation sizzle with peppermint very forward over some smoke. The middle arrives with a grating peppermint on the roof of the mouth that prevents pretty much anything but the rise in carbonation to be observed. The finish is where a slight chocolate comes to meet the peppermint before becoming even less enjoyable in the trail off.
Bottom Line: Ruined.
0.5/5