Winters Bourbon Cask Ale

Brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
St. Louis, Missouri USA

toast, vanilla, red, amber, tan foam, medium sweetness, lightly bitter, medium bitterness, lightly sour, medium body, sticky, lively, Definite vanilla presence, not quite what i like though

12 oz bottle, born on 11/10/06. Pours a clear reddish amber with a fine light tan head that leaves some lacing.

The aroma is subtle - sweet vanilla and some tar.

The flavor is pretty subtle as well. It is mostly vanilla with a little bit of a spicy hop finish. It has a strange kind of tarry vegetal aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium and a bit watery.

Overall, an interesting concept for AB, but a little off. It is pretty bland and watery with some off-flavors.

Had on tap at Helga’s in Augusta GA. Very sweet aroma that you would think would be impossible to have in a beer, but sure enough, very sweet. Had a sample of this that at first thought not bad, then the sugary sweetness took over and realized that a pint glass of this would be too much to handle and would get old way too quick. Carmel in color, lighter then one would think for a cast ale. Long lasting head. Just can’t get past the sweet vanilla taste. Like a friend of mine said, it would be like drinking warm vanilla ice cream. Not high on my list of beers to get.

Very Vanilla.... Very sweet... too sweet. I only had a sample, but I would imagine a paint would get old very fast. Disappointing

27-Feb-07 (12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Call me naïve, but I really expected this beer to be a lot better than it is. One sip, and my first reaction was, "This is awful!" Sweet, artificial-tasting vanilla and winter spice completely dominate the initial flavor in gaudy fashion, and it’s not bad, but as soon as I swallow the beer, the vanilla develops such a brutally disgusting aftertaste, a wince quickly contorts my face. The aftertaste is so strong, there is no point during which I can actually taste the underlying beer itself -- and God help us if that’s by design. Given the sweetness, the only thing I can come up with to describe the malt character is caramel candy, maybe some toffee. I guess one might say there is some bourbony oak here too, but everything just tastes like generic-brand flavoring. Light bitterness on the back end doesn’t help. Sweet vanilla, winter spices and caramely malts in the nose. Moderately carbonated, medium-bodied (but thinning out in the finish), and just generally a sugary mouthfeel. Ruddy, dark-amber in color with perfect clarity. Pours with a thin cap of light-tan bubbles that quickly and completely fade away within minutes. Overall, this is a complete flop. I just don’t get it. If you’re going to go through the cost and effort to brew a "craft" beer, why not make it at least palatable? Honestly, with how dreadfully bad the aftertaste is, I’d drink an ice-cold Budweiser over this vile stuff any day.

This beer is anything but disappointing. I was very satisfied with it and it left no bad after taste or syrupy feeling in my mouth. It reminded me of an ole fashion root beer float. And yes I understand that beer is not suppose to taste like that but it is nice to experience a change every once in a while. I think AB did a great job with this seasonal beer.

Flavor hits you up front with vanilla and oak, with the vanilla having an especially sweet characteristic that can get to be a little bit much about halfway through the drink. Also a little bit of spice in the background, but just a hint. Not a bad beer, but the flavors sort of fall apart at the end.

had this in the past and liked it, but basically mooched off of my friend MIke at our poker game last night and just stole the bottle out of his hand. (I know it wasn’t cool but hey...) first impression - creamy mouthfeel, well carbonated, tiniest bit fizzy. softly refreshing. smells a lot like earthy woods, vanilla and alcohol. taste of vanilla is even stronger as well as the alcohol. its a bit like cream soda with intense sugary flavoring stirred in. woodsy, earthy, smokiness. middle to finish permeates with strong, caramel and sweet malts. subtle hints of hops. this beer has gotten really low ratings overall which surprises me. is it the best beer I’ve ever had? certainly not. but its really quite tasty. I would’ve had more than one if it’d been my beer to drink.