Cold Spring John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale

Whew! That name is a mouthful, isn't it? For this beer session, I have Cold Spring Brewing's top offering. The name of this beer comes from the tale of the American folk hero, John Henry. Click this link for the legendary tale of this man.

3 lick spiker is a term pulled from those same times, when men were manually driving spikes into rock. Apparently, if you were good at your job, it should only take 3 licks with the hammer to get the spike fully driven.

Cold Spring Brewing has been around for a long time under various names, but they started to brew craft beer only a few years ago. I think they are actually more well-known for being a contract brewer, and making other breweries' recipes. I am not very impressed with their own staple craft beers. They're OK, but not something I would need to drink again. However, I was very interested when I first saw this beer from their brewery. It's an American strong ale aged on bourbon oak chips that is 9.1% ABV. Of course I've had this beer before, but now it's time for an official beer session with it.

I pour the 12 ounce bottle of John Henry into my 22 ounce snifter. I'm able to generate one finger of creamy tan head. It falls fairly quickly, leaving a ring of foam around the sides of the glass. The body is a very dark brown, nearly black. It's very opaque and looks quite inviting.

I detect many nuances in the aroma. There is sweet malt that makes me think of toffee. Dried fruit is present, like a hint of raisin or perhaps dates. I definitely can smell bourbon, alcohol, and maybe even a hint of oak. Let's taste it!

The first thing I taste is sweet toffee and roasted malt. There is some bourbon flavor, along with a slight bit of vanilla. A nice bitterness at the finish tries to balance out the malt, but doesn't quite do it. However, the hops do manage to cleanse your palate a bit and get you ready for the next sip.

From the look of this beer, I thought it would be heavier or thicker than it is. There is a medium weight to the body which lightly coats my tongue, but it is not too viscous. It has a moderate to low level of carbonation, which I tend to expect from bigger beers. I'm also getting a nice alcohol warmth in the back of my throat as I drink more. My glass has some lacing as I continue to lower the beer level.

This is the best beer I've had from Cold Spring, not counting their contract brews. It delivers on being a nice rich strong ale with the aroma and flavor of bourbon. Don't drink too many though, because that high ABV will come back to bite you. There are similar beers that I prefer to this one, but that won't stop me from revisiting it from time to time. This is definitely worth a try.