Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale | Craft Beer Review

Alltech Lexington Brewing out of Lexington, Kentucky had recently introduced their Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale and I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised as I sat down to get a taste. This 5.5% ABV cream ale has a nice smoothness to it and caused me to be reminded of the flavors from drinking cream sodas when younger; they really did do a good job on the style. And at 22 IBU it has a nice sweetness to it from the malts and it all tended to come together nicely in my opinion. The vanilla and bourbon come through nicely and for one that is not usually a cream ale fan, I would have no problem drinking more of these. In fact I did, but check out my video here to see my other thoughts on this beer that surprised me.

Brewer Notes:

A perfect blend of vanilla and bourbon notes make this cream ale irresistible.

Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale is our take on a classic American style of beer. We took a cold-conditioned cream ale, brewed with a hint of flaked corn and bourbon vanilla beans, and aged it in freshly decanted bourbon barrels for a minimum of two months. Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale's medium body and 5.5% ABV make it the perfect barrel-aged beer for an all day event.

Press Release: Victory Brewing Cage Radler Release

Victory Brewing’s Cage Radler will make its 2017 debut this week and I wanted to give you some facts on this refreshing summer drink!

·       Similar in flavor to the more commonly known British shandy, a radler consists of a 50/50 blend of beer (often helles lager) and sparkling lemon soda or lemonade, to be served in beer gardens during the summertime.

·       The style of beer comes from the German word for cyclist: radler.

·       Our Cage Radler –so named for the water bottle “cages” attached to most bike frames– is actually formulated quite simply. In keeping with tradition we mix our own Victory Helles lager with sparkling lemon soda. The result is a light and crisp, malty drink with an abundance of zesty lemon flavor, enjoyed perfectly at home, on the trail in a can, or in a summer beer garden by the litremas.

·       We taste tested many different blending proportions around the brewery to find the perfect blend of lemon and lager, but ultimately we all together decided on the traditional 50/50 split as the best tasting.

Beer Run Video: A Look Inside PartyTown

So I decided to make a beer run and thought it would be fun to bring you guys along for the ride. Party Town in Florence, Kentucky is one of the stores in my beer rotation and often proves to be a nice store for finding many beers, and especially beers from other countries. There always seems to be some good choices and deals around, and it’s always fun to find them. Come along inside as I take a look! And if you are in the Cincinnati area then here is their website if you decide that you may want to visit: https://partytownky.com/.

Samuel Adams Ella Blanc IPL: Some Hops With That Lager

I do like a hoppy lager and happened to stumble across this one on a past beer run. The Ella Blanc IPL from Samuel Adams is an India Pale Lager that comes in at 6% ABV and 65 IBU, so yeah, hops were standing by. A nice color of a beer, this one ended up being a pleasant surprise for me. In all 5 hops are used as well as 3 malts, and a decent balance is definitely achieved. But enough with my rambling check out my video here to see all of my thoughts on this seasonal brew.

Brewer Notes:

The hoppiness of an IPA and the crispness of a lager collide in this IPL. Australian Ella hops add notes of orange peel, pine, and tropical fruit while German Hallertau Blanc create hints of floral, grassy, and herbal basil. Together, their playful and inventive hop character makes for a complex, unique flavor.

STYLE - Indian Pale Lager

AVAILABILITY - Seasonal

HOP VARIETIES - CTZ (Columbus Tomahawk Zeus), Cascade, Centennial, Ella, Hallertau Blanc

MALT VARIETIES - Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60, and Flaked Oats

COLOR - Deep amber, SRM: 12

ALC. BY VOL/WT - 6.0% ABV - 4.8% ABW

IBUs – 65

CALORIES - 194

CBP #C19 - Saddle Mountain's Aviation & White Claw's Black Cherry Hard Seltzer, Rod J Beerventures, Wicked Weed Buyout - Cold Brew Podcast | podcast garden

This past week I had the opportunity to speak with the Cold Brew Podcast and discuss all things beer. You can hear what was discussed by checking out the link below which of course I encourage, but also take time to listen to many of the other topics as well as they put on one great show.

CBP #C19 - Saddle Mountain's Aviation & White Claw's Black Cherry Hard Seltzer, Rod J Beerventures, Wicked Weed Buyout - Cold Brew Podcast | podcast garden

Malt Liquor Monday: Natty Daddy

A recent hangout with my buddy Eric from EricALionsFan talking Natty Daddy and some other beer oriented topics. Yeah we may have chosen a brown bag beer for this one, but we had a blast and covered other topics affecting the craft beer market. Check out the video here!