Well, Lonerider Brewery of Raleigh, North Carolina, you’ve let me down for the first time. I’ve enjoyed a number of your beers so far and enjoyed them all, but I have to say I was really looking forward to a special tapping of a limited release version of your Deadeye Jack Porter. Deadeye Jack is a seasonal beer for Lonerider, part of their “outlawed” series in fact. Here’s what they say about it on their website:

A wandering Lonerider, never staying in one place too long. Deadeye Jack represents our seasonal porter consisting of a strong malty background with hints of roasted chocolate, subtle sweetness and low hop bitterness.

It wasn’t the usual Deadeye Jack I was drinking, though. Oh no siree Bob. You see, Lonerider beers were the featured Beer of the Month at Taco Mac for August of 2014, and on the third Thursday of that month, each location tapped a keg of Lone Rider Deadeye Jack Reserve Aged in Jack Daniels Barrels.

These kegs are on until they aren’t, one per store, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. So needless to say I was there for the tapping, and I wasn’t the only one: I was pretty much surrounded by folks lifting glasses of Deadeye Jack.

Like the traditional Deadeye Jack, Lone Rider Deadeye Jack Reserve Aged in Jack Daniels Barrels comes in at 6% alcohol by volume. I paid $7.25 for a full 20-ounce mug, and I did get a free Deadeye Jack glass to take home with the purchase.

My mug of Lone Rider Deadeye Jack Reserve Aged in Jack Daniels Barrels arrived a jet black color with a thin creamy tan head and soft chocolate and light booze in the nose. Taking a sip, Deadeye Jack is certainly a smooth and chocolaty porter with a medium mouthfeel. A bit of vanilla and chocolate pudding with just the subtlest hints of whisky show up, too, but you really have to hunt for any value the whiskey aging adds. In fact, the more I sipped the more I realized I was really not getting that much booze at all, although I did get a pleasant grassy bitterness in the finish.

I wasn’t the only one, either. The general consensus was that this was disappointing, lacking in character from the aging. To my taste it was probably not aged long enough, and was a quick promotional effort for the brewery. I will certainly try the standard Deadeye Jack as I liked this as a porter, but for a whisky aged beer, and especially at $7.25, sorry folks but Lone Rider Deadeye Jack Reserve Aged in Jack Daniels Barrels is not a beer I would buy again.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler



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