John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale

John Henry Three Lick Spiker Ale is an imperial stout brew style that has been bourbon oak aged. This beer is brewed with three different dark roasted malts creating chocolate flavors and a dark appearance. Oats are also added for additional body and flavor. Combined with the pale and caramel malts, there are over 12,000 lbs. of barley in the brew. Cascade, Willamette, and Alsace Hops are the three hops added for a hoppy tasty and full aroma. After fermentation has been completed with our top fermenting ale yeast, conditioning starts and the fun begins. We condition our brew with bourbon oak and let the extended aging process take over. Hints of bourbon and vanilla from the oak come through in the aroma and flavor. This is a big beer that you can not pass up. [ASA or Imperial Stout?]

3.4

224 reviews

Cold Spring, United States

Community reviews

3.0 Interesting beer. Poured cola ish with a big head. Aroma was dark fruits, fig, plum, some burt molasses or sugar. Some char notes on the nose. Taste was good. Some roast and oak. Slight vanilla. Good flavor, as one user said though, wears on you quickly. For the price, it was worth the try.

4.2 Pours dark and stout like. Big chocolate and burnt malt. Alc presence is nice and not too overpowering. Very excellent brew.

3.2 750ml bottle thanks to caterwaul. Shared with local raters. Mostly clear brown red color. Thin khaki head. Couple bits of lace. Dark fruit, oak, light vanilla in the nose. Moderate bitter, moderate sweet taste, some alcohol bite. Warmth in the nose. Soft, lighter carbonation. More dry finish. Lightly spicy bite in the finish. Caramel malt, light nutty malt. Solid strong ale, kind of biting though. More bite than aroma for me. Could use more of a full body. More bite and harsh taste than satisfying flavor, though maybe my cold is spoiling this

2.8 Pours very dark brown with a thick and foamy tan head...decent lacing and retention. Aroma has boozy bourbon with hints of vanilla, dark chocolate and a slight anise note. Flavor is also boozy...bourbon and vanilla with roasty malts and dark chocolate...a hint of a burnt bitterness, brown sugar and definitely metallic notes. Mouthfeel is medium and the finish is burnt brown sugar and boozy bourbon...unimpressive.

3.3 750 ml bottle shared by DrSilverworm- thanks, Chris! Odd shape, but a nice bottle. Pours a deep clear amber with a small tan head. Aroma of toasted and caramel malts, dark fruits, peat, and earth. Flavor has the same malts, with just as much earthiness and dark fruits, as well as some leaves and a booziness throughout. Light-medium bodied, with moderate carbonation and an earthy, boozy, somewhat harsh palate. Not really my thing.

3.6 750 ml bottle to taster (shared by DrSilverworm). Looks good; cola with foamy light beige head. Smells and tastes of dark malt, roast, oak, and dark fruit. Solid on the palate with a bit of tartness. Enjoyable.

3.7 Dark brown ale with a light brown head. Has a bourbon aroma and a strong bourbon flavor, with some toasty malts in the mix. Sits nice and warm in the stomach. A good brew overall.

2.8 Bottle: Dark brown with ruby highlights, topped with a thin, light khaki colored cap that rests as a mere sheet atop the brew. Aroma is like a winter warmer a la BSDA. Sweet vanilla, burnt brown sugar, toast, molasses, dark fruits; figs, plums, raisins soaked in booze. Light spice, maybe ginger or cinnamon? Heavy oak & wood in the finish. Taste is similar with lots of heavy fig & anise flavors out of the gate. Brown sugar, molasses, oak, very malt heavy with no hop presence at all. Woody & sweet finish with lots of warming booze, especially over time. Not a bad beer, but it can wear on you quite quickly.

3.3 Bottle. Pours deep brown with a beige head. Sweet malts, hints of bourbon, and toasted malts. Relatively restrained; pretty good.

3.2 Bottle at Max’s. Pours a light brown body with thin white lacing. Aroma is oak, vanilla and some alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium to thin with notes of vanilla, bourbon, oak, spice and sugar.

3.5 Bottle at Max’s tasting. Pours a clear brown with a thin white to beige head. Big bourbon on the nose, a bit of vanilla. Medium-bodied, soft vanilla, a touch of warmth, bourbon, a bit thin, some ice cream. Warm bourbon on the finish. Somewhat one dimensional, but it’s a rather tasty dimension.

3.6 $10 plastic pint, Pour 24, Las Vegas, 01/11/13. Headless mahogany with barely a trace beige of halo. Nose raisins and custard. Good custard off the barrel; strudel hints, black chocolate Curly Wurly, cinder toffee. So drinkable. Fizzy but glossy mouthfeel. Good even at 10 bucks a plastic beaker, and something of a relief amidst the butter, fizz and neon of The Strip.

3.6 Pours an opaque cola brown with a thing brownish head which disappears quickly. Aroma is alcohol, bread, coffee. Taste is coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, a bit astringent, alcohol with sweetness tailing off into a pleasant dryness and mild bitterness. A bit more chewiness would help this brew but very nice.

3.5 Dark brown pour. Nose of wood, caramel, bread, and sweet malt. Taste follows the nose with a medium booze kick and a touch of maple. Not bad

3.6 4-pack. I had no idea what this was. I don’t see this as an imperial stout, although styles are always a bit fuzzy. Not much roastiness for me, and not much hop flavor. Some wood comes through and adds bitterness, and I also detect vanilla. It’s a bit sweet at first, but the eventually loses to the oak and bittering hops. Rich and flavorful sipper.

4.0 Bottle: Dark brown, short tan head. Sweet bourbon, sugary caramel aroma. Vanilla cream, oak...nutty, flavor. Very smooth, creamy, smoky. Really good.

3.7 Bottle. Sweet boozy oak, vanilla, and caramel aroma. Dark brown with a small beige head. Sugary malt, spicy oak, bourbon, and vanilla flavor. Medium body, soft carbonation.

3.9 Bottle. Light smoke, milk and nutty toffee malt aroma. Dark brown with small head. Sweet creamy toffee malt with a light bitter herbal finish. Smooth. Very nice.

3.4 Dark brown with a thin tan foam. Dark roast aroma but a notable peppery spice. Black malt bitterness and very dry. Flavor is pleasant but doesn’t last.

3.7 12oz bottle, Ridgeview Liquors Green Bay/WI. ix/2013. Pours deep mahogani with faint off white, big-pored cola head. Oak bourbon and sweet molasses upfront in the aroma, joined in the taste by an old ale dimension of ripened and aged malt sugars, date caramel, very light roast and dark fruits. Did not pick up on what reads as an interesting hop mix, the bourbon oak is too dominant and bittering hops impart a hard to place metallic fragrance. Coats the palate with bareable dark toffee treacle.

3.6 Black color, tan head, pretty good lace/retention. Aroma is vanilla, chocolate, lightly roasted, some pale malts as well. Medium bodied, sweet with moderate to low hop bitterness, very drinkable. Straightforward and dangerously drinkable for 9.1%. Tastes a lot like Innis and Gunn beers I’ve had recently.

3.8 750 ml bottle. Served in a DFH snifter, the beer pours dark brown with about an inch tan head. Head retention is good, and there’s a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like molasses, vanilla, dark fruit, oak and chocolate. It tastes like oak/wood, dark fruit, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, and some molasses. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a bit slick and has moderate carbonation. The bourbon character seems stronger in the aroma as compared to the taste. I liked this brew, but I wish there was a little more of a bourbon kick. Still, for $7.99 a bottle it’s certainly worth trying.

3.9 From notes: Poured deep nut brown with a 2-finger tan head. Nice aroma, with notes of wood and caramel. Body is medium-to-full, slightly oily, with a mild boozy astringency in the finish. Flavor has notes of caramel and cola, with some nuttiness too, giving way to woody vanilla notes in the finish. Very good.

3.3 Black pour. Tart winey aroma. Taste has notes of black currant, honey, vanilla, whiskey and some herbal black tea notes. Fairly creamy with a buttery texture. Some faint coffee notes too. I liked it.

4.0 Very very good beer. Pour is black with a large tan head. Aroma is malty,wood and alcohol. Full flavor stout that is full of wood and bourbon notes.

3.9 Bottle. Pours an opaque dark brown with a creamy light tan head. Light roast malt aroma with some faint oaky vanilla character. Slight roasty flavor with nice body and very smooth

3.7 El aroma es excepcional, con notas en la nariz de whisky y maltas tostadas. Sabores ahumados, lúpulos bien denotados y complejos y un ligero toque de bourbon y alcohol en el retro gusto. La consistencia sin embargo se presenta muy líquida, sedosa y con una inexistente espuma ni rastro en el vaso.

3.3 Draft at Khyber Pass. Tulip. Very dark brown pour with an initially frothy beige head that left lace. Feels like a mild Bourbon barrel-aged Stout. Chocolate caramel. Liquorice. Vanilla. Not overly complicated and the body thins down quickly.

3.2 12oz bottle in a snifter. Pours deep brown with a small, beige head. Aroma of dark malts, some nuts and toffee, light bourbon, and light hops. Flavor the same. Average texture. Boring.

3.3 Bottle. Pours black, no head, low carbonation. Strong bourbon and oak aoma. Flavor as a very unexpected vanilla taste, and dark malts and chocolate in the background. Unfortunately, flavors are not that complex and it is a bit too watery on the palate. This could be an excellent beer with a little tweaking.