Winters Bourbon Cask Ale

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

12oz bottle: Pours a brownish red color, somewhat bubbly. Small brown/tan head, very quickly diminishing. Very malty, metallic aroma, not balanced. Malty, a little vanilla on the end. Bourbony. Smooth finish. Bland.

(02.04.06) On tap at RFD Washington, Washington, D.C. Clear amber hued ale with small white head. No discernable carbonation and aroma. Medium bodied ale with oily texture that starts with sweet malt with spicy/caramel/vanilla flavors. Finishes with sweet malt aftertaste. No discernable wood and bourbon flavors. No hop flavoring or bitterness. Very malty and mouth-coating sweetness, like fermented sugar water. A mediocre overly sweet winter brew with a misleading name - the beer doesn’t taste bourbon cask-conditioned in any shape or form. R.F.D. called it "Jack’O Winters Bourbon Cask Ale" - a sexy name. Had I known that AB brewed it, perhaps I would have stayed away from the get-go. Also, if the beer name isn’t deliberate misleading consumer advertisement, then I don’t know what is.

10/7/07 From the bottle. Aroma is vanilla and low roast bready malt forward with a light alcoholic note. Appearance is a very nice light copper with a very low off-white head. Flavor is a slightly sour vanilla note forward fallowed by some slightly grainy sweet malt and no hop character. Mouthfeel is medium/high bodied with low carb texture and moderate creaminess. Overall, this is just not easy drinking, but might get better with time.

Date: 12/2/2008 Source:Food Lion Carmel dominated aroma with a touch of vanilla and not a trace of bourbon in the aroma. Clear dark golden with amber highlights. Caramel maltyness with some vanilla and very little bourbon or wood character in the flavor. Very clean finish for an ale. Cloying sweetness. Rather disappointing.

I had this on tap at the hospitality area of Sea World, Orlando. Served in a plastic cup, so lost points on appearance and aroma. With that said, on tap, this is actually a good attempt for the masses. A bit watered down for the likes of most of us, but very drinkable for non beer folks. And it was free. So, you know. Extra points for free beer. Always.

Burnt amber in color, a bit thin in body compared to the flavor. Big time vanilla aroma and flavor. I think this would have been much better if they upped the alcohol and made it a bit chunkier in body.

Pretty funky appearance actually. An odd reddish pour with a thin tan head. Vanilla aroma with some alcohol and vegetable in there as well. Highly carbonated, medium-bodied I guess. Strong, sticky sweetness. Caramel. Finish reveals what could be a decent malt presence if it weren’t for all the vanilla and booze. Not very good.

12 oz bottle, born on Halloween 2007- poured transparent light brown with moderate carbonation. Aroma of malt, notes of vanilla and bourbon. Hits the mouth with a medium body, notes of fruit, vanilla, and bourbon- finish very lacking. Possibly AB’s best offering- and that’s not saying much.