[10/10 Update: Official word from the brewery: John Henry will be released in December. Distribution will start in MN, IL, and CA with the initial production of 300 cases.]

It looks as though Gluek Brewing, Minnesota’s largest brewery, will aim to appeal to the beer geek crowd with a new “ale aged on bourbon oak chips.” No information about John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale, to be released under Gluek’s Cold Spring label, is up on the brewery website yet. The beer will be packaged in 12 oz. bottles, a welcome change (for some) from the increasingly popular 22 oz. bombers.

This beer was supposed to come out as early as late spring but must have hit some snags along the way. This comes from the May issue of Beverage World:

“Lenore also has another beverage set to launch this month, a project that he says is, ‘the thing that is closest to my heart.’ John Henry, a brand name that Lenore has owned for about seven years, will be resurrected into a ‘craft-style product’ that is designed to represent the time period Lenore spent working on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad where he broke the record for the number of ties spiked in one day—135. On the John Henry label, Lenore relays, there is John Henry, the legendary steel driver, doing a full roundhouse swing with a spike maul and the words ‘3 Licks Spiker Ale.’

Brewed with chips from bourbon aging barrels, John Henry is described as having the aroma and hint of bourbon flavor. ‘It’s going to be one of the Top 10 best sellers in the United States before I’m done with it,’ attests Lenore, who is setting up a national distribution system for the brewery.”