So, there has been all this hype about how great Devil’s Backbone is and how great their beers are– so, of course, you are expecting a totally stellar experience. I mean they have won awards, been featured in articles like 29 Breweries You Must Visit Before You Die, and on and on….

However, I just did see or get it.

Overall the beers were pretty average, nothing stuck out except a couple of the collaborative beers that were available in the bottle (and you have to wonder if that has to do with the collaborator). I call this phenomena the Cigar City effect–average beers hyped up by someone (who does this) to make everyone around the world want the beer but anyone who is local will characterize them as “oh they are ok”.

The staff at the brewery tasting room in Lexington was less than stellar too.  I had to wait and wait for someone to help me and then they pour about 5 tastings all at one time and did a group introduction to the beers. I found that a little off-putting as there was little individual attention to the customers.

What did impress me though was the size of the facility– it is huge.  I assume that they want to do some major distributing. It was about the biggest brewery I had been to, in terms of square feet. I don’t even think Magic Hat in Burlington was that large.

Anyway, on to the beers…

The Vienna Lager is one of their long time award winners and I would compare it strongly to Motorworks Vienna Lager which is also an award winner.  This has a traditional malty lager nose with a slightly sweet taste up front that ends in more maltiness. A solid beer– however, not so sure it is that distinct.

The Dark Abbey did not have a strong Belgian nose but had good herbal Belgian flavors with a bit of toasty malt. My father in law loved this one.

The Wood Aged Dark Abbey Dubbel was the best here and most unique.  This had a nice oak flavor that contributed nicely to the herbal flavors in the beer itself. Vanilla was also prevalent. To me, this was a chardonnay beer!

The Schwartz Bier had a nice toasty, burnt nose with prevalent coffee notes. Although the coffee flavors were strong in the beer, you still go a hint of underlying malty ones.

Aviator is an amber lager.  The nose was slightly sweet but the beer itself didn’t have much flavor.  There were no real caramel malty flavors that I expect from an amber.

Striped Bass Pale Ale has that slightly tar like nose prevalent in beers made with German hops. It has a very German taste as well with only a slight bitterness at the end.

Cattywompus is characterized as a Belgian inspired IPA.  It seemed to have a sort of weird piney nose that might have been a combination of hops and herbal notes but there were underlying hints of citrus.  This is a mild beer with a mild hop flavor and underlying tastes of citrus.

Eight Point IPA is well rounded, very sessionable IPA that finishes with good hop flavor.

Now on to the collaborations….

Devil’s Tale is a collaboration between Devil’s Backbone and Coronado Brewing.  A Black IPA with a nice aroma of coffee (not an overwhelming one) and a hint of hops, this is a really good beer. The hop flavors and coffee are also prevalent in the taste.

The Devil Went to Georgia is a collaboration of Devil’s Backbone and Ninkasi. I was really looking forward to this one but a bit disappointed. This was supposed to be a Rye IPA but I didn’t really get any rye on the nose– the nose was that of a typical IPA. There was also only a little hint of rye at the onset of each sip but it did finish with a nice hop flavor. I’ll stick to Ryeght Angle from Fat Point.

Double Gooch was collaboration between Devil’s Backbone and Fat Head. Classified as an Imperial International Pale Ale, this beer had a good hop nose and bitter finish at the end with a bit of a burn from the alcohol. It is a solid Imperial but need just a touch more sweetness to balance the bitter.

Since my in-laws live in Lexington, VA, just a few miles from the brewery, I am sure that I will be there again. Maybe next time I can figure out what all the fuss is about.