Winters Bourbon Cask Ale

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

Anheuser-Busch Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale -- 12/15/2007 from 12 oz. bottle . . . Aroma: Sweet; Vanilla dominant; Some toffee and spice; Bourbon not discernible at all. Appearance: Clear; Medium orange-amber color; Thin off-white head with poor retention; No lacing. Taste: Medium sweet; Vanilla (more like a sweet extract than bean); Caramel; Some light spiciness and toffee; No bourbon discernible. Palate: Medium thin; Moderate carbonation; Finishes with a touch of hops (just enough to keep it - barely - from being too sweet.) Overall: We’d like to see more (any) bourbon taste, and the vanilla more bitter and bean-like, but we like this beer and look forward to the brief period each winter when it’s available.

12 oz bottle. Very vanilla in aroma. Bourbon is faint. Also, cinnamon. Pours amber with minimal head, mediocre lacing. Extreme vanilla flavor. Very yummy, very different. Kind of watery, though. Lacks depth. Goes downhill with every drink. Gets more and more watery; especially so after half glass. Looks completely flat with no lacing halfway through. Weird beer--never have I ranked a beer so high in aroma and flavor, yet so low in appearance and palate, and then an average overall.

On tap at the Emmitt House in Waverly OH. Clear amber color with a small beige head. Weak caramel and vanilla aroma. Flavor of caramel, some fruits and lots of vanilla at the finish. I didn’t know it was A-B until I looked it up here, and I expected from a "bourbon cask ale."

Draft. Ruby amber beer with a nice off-white head. Vanilla aroma with some sweet malt. Big vanilla and oak flavor with light bourbon and some caramel sweetness. Easy drinking. LOTS of vanilla.

Had on tap at the airport in Ft. Collins. Much better than what you could expect going in. Can definitely notice the vanilla and bourbon effects. Decent stuff.

Not a bad attempt at a craft beer by a macro brewer. Vanilla and oak in the nose, no real trace of bourbon. Flavor hits you with the vanilla followed by malts and caramel. Creamy and mellow, easy drinking. Worth a try, but I wouldn’t buy a whole case.

Born on 10/19/07, the nearly 7 months in the bottle may have done this beer some good as it came off as nicely blended and aged. A familiar yet strange aroma of bread, vanilla, and milk with a faint sour tinge. Light amber pour with a thin swirling head and spots of lacing. Mellow and creamy on the palate with a pleasant finish and good aftertaste. Pretty good in the flavor department. Doughy malt and sugar cookies are tasted. The vanilla is well integrated, comes off as just the right amount. A sweet beer with some holiday spiciness. Calm and enjoyable. I may seek this one out for next year’s release to try it fresh.

This beer pours a clear amber color with a thin head that fades rather quick. The aroma is subtle and kind of malty with some hints of hops but nothing strong. the flavor is kind of sweet and full of caramel malt and toffee. There is some good carbonation and for a cask ale it is not that bad. there are much better spice herb beers out there but this one is surprisingly good.