Legacy Bourbon Barrel Hedonism Red

Formerly brewed at Legacy Brewing
Style: American Strong Ale
Reading, Pennsylvania USA

Kennett 06. Pours a hazy bright orange with a thin diminishing head. Straigh up sharp and hot bourbon aroma and sweet sticky caramel malts- pretty hot though. Sweet sharp malt flavor with lgith vanilla and solventy esters, somewhat fruity and dominated again by a hot bourbon burn in the end. Citrusy hops in the flavor as well and the bitterness competes with the alcohol burn. Too much bourbon.

Flat pour, roused up a small offwhite head that faded quickly. Fairly hazy amber hued brew. Nose of whisky and wood, faint citrus notes if huffed hard. Thin bodied, flat, sorta watery. Thin oak and whisky flavors, grainy malts, hops? A hint malty. Finish is dry, thin and fast.

KSBF 2006. Pours a lightly hazy brownish amber with a small bubbly off white head. Aroma of light bourbon, hops some caramel malts. Flavor of caramel, vanilla, light bourbon and more of the hops. Very toned down compared to the regular version. Not sure I liked what the bourbon aging did to this one.

On tap, Kennett Square Fest 2006. Poured a dark brown with a little bit of a reddish tinge under a small beige head. Aroma was dominated by bourbon vapors right off the bat, followed by toffee and caramel maltiness, oak, and dark fruits. The flavor was as bourbon centered as the aroma and gave the impression of a highly alcoholic beer despite the regular Hedonism being only 7%. There was alot of malt below the bourbon but you could tell more from the mouthfeel than the actual taste. Mouthfeel was full bodied and slightly sticky with pleasant soft carbonation. Overall, one of those bourbon barrel aged beers that seems to be more of a showcase for the process than a way to make a better beer.

On tap at KSBF ’06... Appears a hazy brown, caramelized, cola color with a small, soapy, off-white head that slowly fades out. Little spots of lacing are left around the glass. Smell is of bourbon, oak, vanilla, caramel, and subdued hops. Taste is of the aromas with a bit of a bitey harshness that’s either from the oak tannins, or the residual hoppiness that is trying to crawl through the bourbon oak aging. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sweet, bitter, with oaky wood lingering in the swallow. Overall, not a bad experiment.

On tap at the KSBF ’06 [Cask]. Poured a deep amber color with small sized off white head. Aromas of wood, vanilla, light bourbon and a trace of citrus. Tastes of stronger bourbon, wood, and citrus. The bourbon tastes were too strong and overpowered the other tastes. I’m usually a fan of BA beers, but the bourbon tastes (and I like bourbon) really didn’t add anything - actually took away from the hoppiness I liked in the regular Hedonism.