Dogwood Winter Ale 2003 (Whiskey-barrel aged)

Formerly brewed at Dogwood Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: April 15, 2004
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewery
Appearance: very dark reddish brown, frothy tan head
Aroma: sweet aroma with lots of vanilla
Flavor: sweet malt flavor with a good oaky character that fades into a bitter finish, just a quick touch of a mild alcoholic burn, warming after only a couple of sips

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: March 01, 2005
Source: home keg
big sweet vanilla character, yummy

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: March 13, 2005
Mode: draft
lots of sweet vanilla in both the aroma and flavor, over shadows any of the belgian esters, almost cloying at first but settles down quickly, need to boost the carbonation a bit

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: July 09, 2006
Mode: draft
still a lot of sweetness but the oaky vanilla is really nice, still some hot esters but not overpowering,

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: August 23, 2006
Mode: draft
probably the last entry for this fine brew as the last keg in existance is down to the last couple of snifters, big chocolate, whisky, oak, and vanilla with nothing being the promant profile as everything is very well blended, nice fruity sweetness with a slight alcohol edge

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: December 13, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: 5N
crawford had a hidden keg and tapped it at the new Five Seasons, tasty as ever with the whisky, oak, and vanilla coming on strong

Name: Winter 2003 BA
Date: March 06, 2008
Mode: draft
Source: Ale Atlanta
this dog won’t die as a keg shows up at an ale atlanta meeting, whisky is fading and very well balances the chocolate of the base beer, lots of fruity

On tap at the Brick Store Pub: Pours a very dark robust brown with a dense, but thin off-white head. Aroma of alcoholic bourbon whiskey, with some light caramel malt and decent complexity. Body starts semi-sweet, malty, and complex with lots of Jack Daniels flavor. Oak, tar, and molasses lead to a tart and puckeringly dry finish that does an alright job of masking the alcohol. I didn't really recognize the Dogwood Winter ale flavor under the Jack Daniels, but it could've just been that the profiles matched well. Overall a very fine brew, I just wish it was more widely available.

Tap at KP’s cellar. Poured a tawny color. Moderate whiskey aroma with caramel and some roastiness. Flavor matched malty with a whiskey backbone. Smooth mouthfeel, light carbonation, and medium bodied.

Thanks to KP for sharing this one. The beer pours a dark brown color from a growler. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is brown sugar and molasses, some oak and bourbon. A medium to full bodied Double. Malts are brown sugar, fruity and sweet. Very smooth. Oak and bourbon flavors are very evident. Mellow and very easy drinking. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

KP’s Fest. 1 liter swing top. Pours a deep ruby almost bright brownish and a fizzy small head. Spicy aroma - light cinnamon and nugtmeg, sweet caramel malts, light bourbon, oaky and some high alcohol hints. Flavor of dried fruits, bourbon, sweet malts, more spice, and an earthy light bitter finish with more alcohol. Relatively smooth finish and full mouthfeel.

This was a very satisfying outing from Dogwood. Not on the overly complex side, tastes like a dubbel that has been aged for too short of a time in Jack Daniels barrels. Rich, smooth and creamy, with a hint of woody whiskey bite. Very good, but very tame.

A rare find recently at the 5 Seasons. A random offering was made and had the privilege of sampling. Apparently this was the 5SN Winterjack that was once on tap up in Alpharetta. Deep rust color. Sweet aroma of cherries, vanilla, and some spiciness. Flavors are of a well made malt character along with some chocolate notes. Finishes off with a sweet flavor that resembles White Grape juice, but without the tartness, then add some smooth vanilla aftertaste.

I FINALLY tracked this one down. It took me a 9 days from the day the first keg was tapped, but I did it. A 12-page paper kept me back on the first two days I planned to try it (the first time because I was too tired after my all-nighter to risk a beer before the 45-minute drive home. The second because I slept until 3 p.m. the next day and had to work at 4 p.m.) The third day that I was able to and made an attempt, the bar I went to had just sold out, less than a week after the keg went online. That'll probably be their only keg of the stuff this year. Finally, I found an unemptied keg of the stuff at Brick Store pub in Decatur on Sunday, a full 9 days after Summit's was the first of the bars to tap a keg of it. It poured nearly black into the elegant long-stemmed tulip glass The Brick Store is serving this in. The head is thick and creamy, almost like it's nitrogen dispensed, but it's not. The too-light-to-be-cream-too-dark-to-be-khaki head lingers and remains thick throughout the experience. The aroma starts out a little weak (despite serving their beer warmer than Summits, the 40 or so degrees F it was served was a bit cool to start with), but opens up nicely as it warms, into an inviting whiskey and vanilla bouquet. The sweet, rich malts of the original beer (it was really more porterish than dubbel-like the first time around) meld nicely with the bourbon. The combination of the slightly Belgian yeast spiciness, bourbon and the malts send the olfactory region of the brain into fits trying to figure out what's going on and spits out all sorts of weird interpretations: bubblegum, cloves, vanilla, anise, chocolate. The body is extremely smooth and creamy. The odd thing is that my wife hates the dark malt flavors and whiskey, and yet, she actually liked this beer. Just amazing.