Winters Bourbon Cask Ale

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

Pours a watery looking translucent burgundy-brown color. Produces an inital loose, fluffy tan head which quickly dissapates to a spotty, wispy film. Aroma is definitely dominated by the vanilla bean which seems authentic (as opposed to an artificially infused aroma). If you like tha aroma of vanilla bean in an ale this will seem somewhat pleasing and authentic. Some aromas of spices and toasted malts also appear faintly in the background. Mouthfeel is very disappointing for a beer of this style. Very thin and watery; no heft or body whatsoever. Weak and wimpy. Flavor starts out with some nice notes of vanilla bean, allspice, nutmeg, and roasted malts but unfortunately quickly trancends into a somewhat medicinal finish. I ended up blending one of these with an Anchor 2006 OSA and one with one of my homebrewed 9.2% abv English Strong Ales which rescued it to some extent. Try one if you so desire, but pass on a whole sixer like I did.

Weak, slightly spicy aroma. The appearance is very appalling; the use of a foaming agent is evident in the massive bubbles that form on the side of the glass. Little to no head after the coarse, fake foam dies down. Surprisingly deep nose with a nice spiciness to complement the malt profile. Unfortunately, the AB chemicals show up on the finish as it grinds against the palate with an extreme metallic feeling. Nice try, AB, with attempting a rich tasting beer, but your macro-brewing ways are clearly evident in this sub-par beer. This is clearly a brew designed by a sophisticated brewer, but has also clearly skipped the steps required to make a solid brew. Maybe if they spend some more time on this one, they would have something going on.

Bottle. Finally got a hold of this... Rusty amber pour with a tall cream colored head. Nose is vanilla, caramel, some oak notes and a hint of bourbon. Taste is big vanilla, caramel, some light bourbon and malt. The vanilla is a bit over the top. Sort of a sugary sweetness to this whole thing as well. Body is light, soft and creamy. The carbonation compliments this as a soft and whispy feeling - sort of dessert-like. Ends with more vanilla, caramel, sweet malts and a touch of bourbon. Good try for AB I guess, but nothing really special.

This spiced ale pours a light red amber color from a 12oz bottle. Small to little head. Aroma is mild, some corn sweetness, some oak, some vanilla and some cherries. A light to medium bodied spiced ale. Malts are caramel and sweet with a touch of oak. Some vanilla. A touch sweet. A little thin a watery. There is a bit of oak/wood bite at the finish. The vanilla and the bourbon flavors are very subdued. There is little to no carbonation, which really doesn’t help any. Drinkable, but a little weird. Mouthfeel is thin. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly sweet with some oak.

Red copper ale with a thin white head. Light malt aroma, with some vanilla. Light malty taste, with sweet vanilla notes. Watery and boring. On tap at Smokey Bones BBQ, Orlando, 4$ for 22on.

Cranberry and cedar red hue. Empty nose, with barely noticeable hints of nuts, fruitbread and spices. Up front it’s common maple and light wood flavors, weak on the palate, light without being thin, and the whole oak/bourbon/vanilla thing is only noticed right at the finish. Not terrible by any means, but mediocre and plain.

Amber/copper, with a tan head. Aroma is malt, vanilla, and sugar. Flavor is sugar and vanilla. Almost more like soda than beer. Just not very good.

Nice amber color. Small, tight head. Sweet and malty with hints of bourbon and vanilla in the nose and the flavor. Liek several raters have mentioned, it’s like an alcoholic cream soda. Not bad, I guess. I’d drink it in a bar if there were no real beers.