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The label didn't look familiar to me. Mind you, all of the beers from Lexington look kind of the same, but they'll have some different name and different coloring. When I picked it up, the seller indicated to me that this was a brand-new style of beer, and I should enjoy it. Mind you, I think he said I should enjoy every single kind that I've purchased from that particular establishment. However, in this case, I'm inclined to believe that he'll be correct. I've grown fond of barrel aged beers, and I am particularly fond of barrel aged stouts. Ales have a dubious record on the site, but will see if this one was in the right categories.
It pours with a lot more head then a barrel aged beer should have, but I'm not going to complain. I might complain about there not being any lacing, as I'm evidently not going to get any. Once the head goes away, a few bubbles remain clinging to the sides at the top of the beer, but they won't be sticking to the sides of the glass. The color is an interesting transition from orange at the bottom, where the glass is thinnest to a burgundy right about the middle. The aroma is heavy alcohol, and I wanted to smell hops, but I'm only smelling watered-down whiskey.
First sip has a good mixture of a relatively light malt that is full of character combined with the oak and alcohol that comes with the whiskey. The finish is dry, but the overall effect seems a little bit sweet. It tastes pretty good, and the malt is doing a very good job of countering the grains of the whiskey with its own flavor. I should be content to sit this for quite some time, but then this review would never get done. I need to swig.
Tip-in is moderate carbonation atop an almost wine-like mixture of alcohol and malt. I know that doesn't sound like a wine, but the mouthfeel is the same, and the malt is clearly not strong enough to overcome the wood from the whiskey. The middle sends too much carbonation to the roof of the mouth while the rest of the beer becomes watery underneath, but flowers and caramel can still be picked out from the wood. The finish really lets you know that this was aged in bourbon barrels, as the whiskey and its dryness overcome any thirst-quenching effect of the center of the beer and alcohol grabs on for the dry trail off.
Bottom Line: An interesting version, but there may be a reason we moved on.
2.75/5
