Lexington, KY - Horse Capital of the World

BLUEGRASS FLAVORS AND FEEL: 

This is not the first, nor will it be the last, time that I "brag on" the burgeoning beer scene here. With infectious passion, local brewmeisters are thinking outside the box to bring Lexington new and exciting riffs on lagers, ales, stouts, and wheat beers.

The latest of these is Country Boy Brewing Microbrewery and Taproom.

http://www.countryboybrewing.com/index2.html

The enfants terribles who started it all are Evan Coppage, Jeff Beagle, Daniel Harrison a.k.a., "DH." All three are proud to be born and raised in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Their commitment is to making the finest product using only the freshest ingredients.

And what ingredients they are. You may, for instance, find a stout with a subtle infusion of peanut butter.

That seemed so unusual that I went to DH, who has been my go-to source.

He told me: "The peanut butter was our take on a friend's recipe and it has been really popular. We don't use extract or anything fake in our beers, so incorporating real flavors into beers is a challenge, but fun."

There is also a porter with a jalapeno bite. At first I thought it was the body of these darker beers that made them able to stand up to assertive flavorings. What did I know?

"Nacho Bait," aged in barrels with fresh habaneros, has blonde beer--paler in color and milder in taste--as its base.

Not sure what to sample? No worries. Try everything. I've seen people run through the list at one go. At $1.50-$2 for a four-ounce pour, you can and will quickly become an aficionado.

The minimalist taproom does not have a kitchen attached, but there is a blackboard with names and phone numbers of local restaurants that deliver.

As of this posting, Country Boy already has 3,423 friends of Facebook and 1,280 followers on Twitter.

If you go right now, you can surely become the 3,424th friend and/or the 1,281st follower after just one visit, because it is Country Boy's goal, and one where they succeed, to convey the concept:

"Beer First!"