Winters Bourbon Cask Ale

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

12 oz bottle via goldtwins (thanks!). Pours a clear dark amber with a large beige head. Nose is malty with some vanila and a hint of wood. Taste is somewhat sweet...some vanilla, some toasted grains, some mellow earthy hops. Thin mouthfeel, watery light bodied, high carbonation.

Pint draft. Pours red, with thin quickly dissipating off white head. Aroma is bitter oak and bourbon. Flavor is dominated by bourbon, but it is not overpowering. I would have this again in the abscence of better choices. However, one is enough - not a session beer IMO. Judging by the other reviews, I would say that A-B is still fiddling with the recipe. 1/30/07; tried again in same restaurant. No bourbon, all very strong vanilla aroma and flavor. Will not try again.

Bottle - Large, but unimpressive head with no retention. No lacing. Weak spicy aroma. Nice copper color. Some vanilla in the taste. This is a reasonable attempt by AB to create a different product. Not great, but kind of interesting. Much better then their flag ship macro brews. Would drink again.

Not too bad for an AB product. I actually liked this one. Well on tap that is. This BBQ joint up the street had this on tap and I tried it out compared to the bottle. Much smoother and honestly, I wouldn’t have known it was an AB product if I didn’t work at a liquor store. I would have thought it was a Sam Adam’s product. Decent brown color, with a smooth malt flavor.

Bottle: Had a medium brown pour with a small light tan head. Aroma was sweet with brown sugar. Flavor was again sweet with a very light bourbon but stronger vanilla flavor. Finish reminded me strongly of cream soda. Much too sweet and soda like. Needs body, more attenuation, and much less vanilla. Would not buy again.

Purs red amber, relatively clear, with a thin tan head. Nose is malty with some vanilla and spice. Flavor is light, as others have mentioned, with a little bit of hoppy finish. Vanilla and a little spice are the most interesting notes in the flavor. The bourbon is faint, but it and the vanilla get more pronounced as the beer warms. Rather thin.

Nice bourbony malt here. It’s strong and interesting in the smell. The dark tan pour is nice, but the beautiful head disappears way too quickly. Smooth and malty on the taste. There is a little left on the tounge thats ok.

12oz bottle. Pours a clear, amber colored body with a thin, fizzy, tan head that dissipates quickly and leaves a light lacing. Aroma isn’t terrible, but a bit thin. Some dusty nuts with a light, vague vanilla. A light estery fruitiness and maybe a touch of woody dryness. Flavor is graham crackers, nuts, and an artificial vanilla that gives off a bit of a banana bread taste. There is a light cherry fruit and some sort of weird, syrupy tasting candy. Not syrupy in body, but syrupy flavored. Finishes smooth, crisp, and slightly sweet with a good amount of vanilla, a bit of a corny sweetness, and a hint of caramel. Lingers for a shorter duration after a light to medium, smooth body and soft carbonation. Overall, this wasn’t terrible in the least bit, but it simply reminded me of a macro, artificially produced "craft" beer. There was a decent amount of vanilla in the flavor, but it wasn’t natural. I also didn’t get any bourbon whatsoever. I appreciate the brewer’s attempt, but it seems lackluster.