Bardstown Brand Ale
Olde Hickory Brewery

Bardstown Brand AleBardstown Brand Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Olde Hickory Brewery
 
North Carolina, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
10%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.04 | pDev: 13.86%
Reviews:
36
Ratings:
50
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 26, 2022
Added:
Mar 18, 2008
Wants:
  18
Gots:
  3
Aged in bourbon barrels
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by pwoods:
Photo of pwoods
Reviewed by pwoods from Ohio

3.67/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Thanks to Kels for splitting the bottle.

22oz. brown bomber poured into a snifter.

A: Deep amber pour, nearly on the copper side. Moderate head on the pour with some retention. Some lacing.

S: Lots of good bourbon aroma with nice barrel notes. Not a huge, dank barrel aroma but assertive and fitting. Rich malts, light sweetness, and maybe some vanilla.

T/M: Big bourbon flavor... a bit too much. Pretty hot, almost like it's fresh. The barrel is still tasty and in control. Hops are mostly gone but a bit of aged hops stuck around. Rich malts. Body is medium full, maybe a bit sticky, with mild carbonation.

D: The massive bourbon definitely lowers the drinkability quite a bit.
Jul 26, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sludgeman
Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled in 2007, gifted by a friend about 2015, I held until Feb 2022. This beer has taught me to keep a much better inventory of my beer fridge and to do some research on the older beers so that I know when to crack them open. Rated this beer a 4.0 but below is my review of a beer I held too long.

Wax seal was intact. No discernable corrosion or other aging around cap.

Not good. I could have drunk the whole bottle, but why waste my time and ABV intake.

I read some older reviews. This beer was hot when it was young but mellowed as it aged. There was a sweet spot around 2017 that I obviously missed. All the flavor aged away and just left some messiness and the underlying alcohol. As I let it warm the beer just became waterier and more tasteless.

A - Pours cloudy orange amber with a half-finger rocky off-white head that dissipated quickly to a rink. Still carbonated!

S – A bit of cardboard, brown sugar, vanilla, oak but no alcohol/spirits. The aroma holds up much better than the taste.

T – Smooth to start with a lack of discernable tastes but finished solventy with apple peel. Just the faintest sweetness in the middle. Plastic and maybe some resinous flavors. No significant maltiness.

MF – Medium light body with a dry finish. This beer has lost all its body. Thin. Warming after a bit, but no alcohol burn. This beer has mellowed.
Nov 26, 2022
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.62/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
10 year old bomber poured into a wine glass appears a hazy dark reddish copper color with a khaki head a finger strong that receeds to a thin film.

Aroma is fruity like raison and quite woody, almost spicy with woodiness coming across like cedar.

Taste is just as woody to the extent that it tastes like cedar moreso than oak. After the woody spiciness dies down a bit, it gives way to some herbal components that are bitter. Light toasted malt backing but this barleywine has really dried out leaving raw woody character to dominate the palate.

Light in body, modestly carbonated. The more I drink this the more watery feeling it seems but still enjoyable.
Jan 12, 2017
 
Rated: 4.24 by midlifec from Michigan

Dec 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by JoninVT from North Carolina

Mar 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4.22 by aleckpa from North Carolina

Mar 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.35 by LeeEvolved from Virginia

Mar 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by spycow from Illinois

Oct 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by KAF from Iowa

Aug 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by bcp5296d from North Carolina

Jun 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Mantooth from North Carolina

Sep 11, 2013
 
Rated: 4.75 by mikeincharleston from North Carolina

May 19, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by JCam9981 from North Carolina

May 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by robwestcott from Indiana

May 01, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by RedneckBeerz from Massachusetts

Feb 26, 2013
 
Rated: 4.75 by bobertkuekn from Virginia

Jan 17, 2013
Photo of cosmicevan
Reviewed by cosmicevan from New York

4.12/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Big thanks to Jon for busting out this rarity at an impromtu tasting on 8/10.
2007 vintage

a - nice murky orange with a thin off-white vanilla head. some streaky lacing, but not much activity. the color is quite nice.

s - really nice. caramel. toffee. some vanilla oak with bourbon. very smooth smelling.

t - a bit of heat, but seems to have held up really nicely. lots of toffee.

m - a bit of a bite for a beer of this vintage, but relatively smooth for a bourbon barrel barleywine.

o - overall, a reallyl nice treat. still has some heat, but the toffee and the wood is excellent.
Aug 17, 2012
Photo of BirdsandHops
Reviewed by BirdsandHops from Oregon

4.36/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
2007 vintage

A: pours a slightly hazy copper with a finger of off-white head that fades into a thin ring with no lacing.

S: lots of caramel and vanilla up front. Oak and bourbon notes follow. Smells great and smooth.

T: similar to the aroma, tons and tons of caramel, vanilla, oak, and bourbon. Super smooth finish with slight yeast and sweet bread notes.

M: thick body with lowish carbonation, this beer is smooth and thick without being cloyingly sweet.

O: a really good beer. Not terribly complex, but delicious and smells great while being super smooth.
Feb 16, 2012
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

4.92/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
rich brownish color with hints of ruby around the edges. A slight bit of light coming through revealed some haze and a touch of sediment. A towering head of almost three inches glazed over the top of the glass and hung around for what seemed like forever before it finally settled down into a nice one finger layer of impenetrable foam. Rich side glass presentation as well just capped off the entire thing just wonderfully. One of the best looking, if not the best looking Barley wine I have ever seen.

The aroma was a heavy hitter right from the start. Tons of bourbon just wreaking havoc, had to let it calm down, revealing some nice hints of woody and earthy tones. Hints of vanilla and of all things chocolate starting to come through now. Very complex and nice, this was shaping up to be a winner already. The flavor was just drop down beautiful. Loads of rich bourbon and wood flavors coming through in the most wonderful of arrangements. Caramel and molasses seamless blended with touches of chocolate and dark fruits. Really just a whole another level of barley wine.
Dec 04, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by EasyReader from North Carolina

Nov 17, 2011
Bardstown Brand Ale from Olde Hickory Brewery
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 50 ratings