Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter

Review Date 12/1/2023 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Imperial Porter   Brewery: Alltech   Country: USA   State: Kentucky   $ Per OZ: $.31 (B)   ABV: 8%

Decisions, decisions. I had to make a decision. Should I buy a single bottle of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter, or pull the trigger on a 4-pack? I was on the fence, you see, and although normally I might have just tossed the 4-pack into my cart, it was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and my cart was already full of Christmas goodies. When I finally checked out, my tab came to $225, although I am not telling you yet if that included a single bottle or four of the beer at hand. Soon, though. Soon you will know.

Now let me just say that had this been Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Peppermint Porter or Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale, there would have been no debate. In my cart a 4-pack would have gone. I didn’t see either of those beers, however.

A thought occurred! I was returning on Black Friday to pick up whatever special release beers graced the store shelves that day, so why not get a single, try it between now and then, and if I liked it, I could always pick up more. They had plenty in stock, after all. So that’s just what I did.

As it turned out, I’m glad I bought the single, but before I elaborate, here’s what Alltech says about this beer:

Kentucky® Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter is brewed with cocoa nibs and 100% barrel-aged to build out a rich full body porter with notes of bittersweet chocolate, roasted malts, oak, vanilla, and rounded out with a sweet toffee finish.

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter has an alcohol content of 8% by volume and was running $14.99 a 4-pack at Total Wine when I got my single. This beer is new for 2023. Does it replace the Peppermint Porter as a winter seasonal? That beer is no longer listed on the brewery website.

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter pours to a jet-black color with a moderate head of creamy tan foam and a nose of dark chocolaty cocoa. Taking a sip, the beer is medium to full in body, rich for a porter, and immediately hits me with a tangy sourness that doesn’t belong here. I get more of the cocoa the nose promised and no booze at all, and the finish is again (infected) sour. I am glad I only bought a single, but maybe this is just an off bottle.

Would I buy it again? Maybe next year, yes. The cocoa element was interesting enough to make me consider this. Really, though, I want some contribution from the barrel aging, and I got none. The sourness is another negative here. I cannot recommend this year’s version of this beer, however.