It’s been since November that PorchDrinking has been able to feature a new brewery in the Collaborating for a Cause series, but ending the drought is Nebraska’s Jukes Ale Works. This brewery team—like many others in recent installments—were quick to show their support for Alex Kidd. Their dedicated effort included an exclusive, draft-only reincarnation of their Bayonet barleywine to help raise money for Alex Kidd and his family.

The Jukes Cause

Jukes Ale Works, a family-owned brewery, has always had a deep-rooted passion for craft beer. They love the vibrant culture, the festivals, the diverse atmosphere—everything about the beer-brewing community. Their vision and dream of sharing their love for beer and brewing came to fruition in 2019 when they opened Jukes Ale Works in Olde Towne Elkhorn, Nebraska. The family had lived in the area for nearly 50 years, and the small town’s atmosphere and energy was the perfect canvas for their labor of love.

Although Jukes brews a huge variety of styles, its team has always been particularly passionate about barleywine. On May 17, 2023, just one day after Alex was hospitalized and diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, Jukes shared a special, limited tapping of its original English-style barleywine. In their homebrewing days, the Jukes team had sent a bottle of Bayonet to Alex Kidd, and found it well-received. Kidd’s encouragement gave them the validation and confidence to continue pursuing their brewing dreams. So it seemed only fitting that they brought back the original Bayonet recipe for a limited batch with all proceeds going to the Kidd family GoFundMe during their time of need.

Fully Husked

Alex Kidd started a Facebook group in January 2017 dedicated to all things Barleywine. Dubbed “Barleywine is Life,” the private group—complete with a full list of barleywine holy days and other malt-fueled shenanigans—has gained a cult following and is an absolute must-join for any lovers of the style. You can even find a few members of the Jukes family active in the group.

Barleywine is Life ended up being a great way for Jukes’ team to share information about the fundraiser release. On May 18, just a day after the announcement of the Bayonet release, Brad Jukes updated the group, sharing that the first sixtel keg was nearly kicked in less than 24 hours. As always, the support for Alex was incredible to see, and the remainder of the V.1 batch of Bayonet did not last much longer.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to track down any crowlers of V.1 Bayonet for this installment of PorchDrinking’s series. That said, Kyle Jukes and the Elkhorn team were incredibly generous in sending the PorchDrinking team a Jukes care package to support Collaborating for a Cause. Their box included a bottle of V.2 Bayonet, Chain Fall barleywine, and a handful of other crispy goodies. Huge thanks to the whole Jukes crew for making the review portion of this article possible!

Bayonet

V.1 (May 2023)

Bayonet V.1, a monstrous expression of barleywine released for Don’t Drink Beer, was aged for 14 months in a combination of Buffalo Trace Experimental and 1792 High Rye whiskey barrels. The finishing ABV rang in at 13.4%. While only available on draft, Jukes patrons could take crowlers to go while supplies lasted.

V.2 (October 2023)

While the V.1 thread of Bayonet base was transferred for secondary aging in 1792 High Rye Whiskey barrels, V.2 continued to slumber for an additional five months in its original  “Experimental” Buffalo Trace barrel. Jukes released the V.2 vintage of Bayonet  on Oct. 21, 2023.

V.2 Review

The V.2 Bayonet pour has some good viscosity—deep ruby coloration with the smallest amount of off-white head. It quickly settles into an almost non-existent ring around the body of the beer.

The nose immediately hits with a malt-heavy prominence. A beautiful barrel presence quickly follows—torched oak, slow-burning embers, sun-baked asphalt and rising levels of toasted barrel spice as the temperature climbs.

The palate is reminiscent of that fantastic complexity of aromatics, however, it comes on with a bit more sweetness. Notes of caramel and stewed dark fruits lead the way, following on the mid-palate with smoked molasses. The finish is bold and estery, mildly bittering and with some low-level hop character.

Bayonet’s medium-full mouthfeel is perfect for the style, accompanied by a low but present carbonation. The finish brings with it equal parts dry and bitter. The length of the palate and the warmth from that 13.7% ABV extend well into the next sip.

Chain Fall

V.1 Bayonet was Jukes’ English-style barleywine aged in a combination of Experimental Buffalo Trace and 1792 High Rye barrels for 14 months. Some of that base continued resting in Buffalo Trace to become single-barrel V.2 Bayonet. But a portion of the V.1 Bayonet treatment was then transferred to a single grape brandy barrel for an additional 15 months. And thus, Chain Fall was born.

This massive double-barrel barleywine was released in September 2024 in anticipation of Jukes’ fifth anniversary. The PorchDrinking team considered it only fitting to also include Chain Fall in the review portion of this installment, as it is very much a part of the same journey.

Review

Chain Fall’s deep, dark abyss hardly reacts to the disruption from the pour, with almost no discernible carbonation bubbling up. Beautiful legs lazily chase the receding liquid as the glass swirls.

Chain Fall opens up on the nose with smoky raisin juice and toasted marshmallows. After some time to warm, the sweetness intensifies, introduced appropriately with rich, enticing notes of grape jam and burnt honey. Trailing are whispers of peppery spice.

Right from the first sip, the palate does a fantastic job playing off the complexity of the nose. But it also introduces something entirely new. Sweet and smoky intermingle on the front end of the palate—campfire ashes and caramel-dipped grapes. On the finish is a touch of drying oak and rye malt.

Just like with Bayonet, Chain Fall has just the right weight to it. The carbonation is low, but there’s enough there to adequately cut the slightly syrupy, heavy weight of this 15% beast. It’s alarmingly smooth, but with a noticeable warmth on the finish to lend a fantastic length to the profile.

Supporting the Kidd Family

Since 2025 began, there have been quite a few updates on Alex Kidd’s journey toward a hopeful recovery. After a series of three lung resection procedures to finish out 2024, his care team conducted a CT scan that didn’t reveal hoped-for progress.

Fast forward to March, the next hurdle was dealing with metastases—cancer that has spread from its original location (the primary tumor) to other parts of the body. Made up of static tumors in Kidd’s lungs, the masses had shown concerning growth. After consulting with his lung surgeon and oncologist again, his care team determined two options as the best next steps: to continue with radiation and chemo, or apply for a clinical trial for experimental immunotherapy. Alex chose the latter, locking in the last slot of a 50-person trial. He now commutes more than two hours to City of Hope in Duarte, California, for an aggressive series of chemical treatments intended to shrink the tumors in his lungs.

As always, the PorchDrinking team is keeping the Kidd family in our thoughts and prayers. City of Hope is one of the top cancer treatment and research centers in the country, and his family and care team are hopeful about the outcome of the trial and advancing to the next stage of recovery. Thanks to everyone who has continued to follow his journey via PorchDrinking, and we’ll be sure to provide updates as we know more. Stay strong, Alex!

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