Year of New Beer: Snakes On A Plane, West 6th Brewing Co (Lexington)

Written By: Dion on 11/23/2019

As I've gotten older, navigating this beer "journey", I've become less enamored with hype and reputation, choosing instead to focus on local and quality. And if you've followed me for a while, you've undoubtedly heard me say that in the Lexington area, we are spoiled. All of our breweries make really good beer. A select few have taken it next level. At this point, we know that any Snake Cake variant will be good. This is no exception. The nose opens with a big barrel kick, dropping caramel and brown sugar over chocolate, bourbon, and charred malts. Hints of shortbread and spice with warmth. To have a barrel-aged stout compete on the national level, it has to have some body. Thickness. This, like all Snake Cakes, nails it. While a touch hot initially, this warms really well to allow the cookie spices to pop. A little ginger, a little shortbread. Honey, chocolate, and a syrupy char all work well with the hints of sea salt across the mid-palate. I'd be lying if I said I could taste the pretzels beyond maybe the salt. To quote Chris, pretzels "are only there to get beer cheese to your face". Finishes slightly sweet with notes of espresso and a light campfire char. Really nice. This, along with the legendary Snake Cake and German Chocolate Snake Cake will be available on Black Friday. If you get there when they open, you may be too late, so come early and wait with the beer nerds, you won't regret it.