Widmer Brothers Brrr Seasonal Ale

Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Sampled on 10/22/08. This American Strong Ale pours a medium amber color from a 12oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. The aroma is caramel and fruity. A medium bodied American strong Ale. It tasted like a ramped up amber ale. It does not have any of the Xmas spices I might have been expecting. The malts are caramel and sweet. The hops are piney and floral. Interesting beer. Fairly smooth tasting. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter

Caramel and Chocolate malts pair up to give this beer an intense deep, glowing red color and a billowy head fueled by the ample carbonation. The nose is all of citrus and candy-sweet malt up front and slowly yields to a warmer, more subdued malt character. The palate follows suit and offers a very nice interplay between sweet malt and bitter hops. While predominantly a hoppy beer, this one finishes clean, crisp and surprisingly well balanced. Strong carbonation provides some body, but the mouth feel is just bit thin, if anything. Otherwise, very drinkable and not the least bit boozy from the relatively high ABV. My samples were enjoyable and somewhat reminiscent of another cold weather favorite of mine - Schlafly Christmas Ale - particularly in the aggressive hop profile. Kudos to Kurt and Rob Widmer on what should be a welcome addition to the craft winter seasonals lineup for winter ’08!

Dark orangish amber with medium head. Nice mild sweetness with assertive citrus hops. Finishes with moderate bready malts. Enjoyable, and not at all what I expected for some reason. Actually, a bit too bitter to finish and could stand a little more balance. Solid.

Dark amber ale, with a huge creamy eggshell white head. Hoppy aroma mostly, citric.Some toasted malt.Hoppy, lemony ,good bitterness at and, but body of the beer is well supported by busicuity malts. Good enough on the palate..i like the very long lasting hop bitterness. Nice beer, pretty similar to the W06..maybe a bit spicier though.
Earlier Rating: 2/21/2006 Total Score: 3.4
New offering from Widmer..same simple styled label as the W’05. Dark coppery red, clear, with a small tan head. The aroma is rather on the subdued side, what there is is mainlly malty with a hint of piney hoppiness in the back. this is a rather malt dominated ale to start off..semi sweet then the hops take over and leave a long lingering bitterness. Not bad mouthfeel atg all..quite good in fack. Not a bad beer at all from Widmer, i had three. This is a good shot at a Red ale..but still nowere near as good as Deschutes Cinder Cone Red.

Bottle. Poured deep red with foamy white head. Aroma of hop and citrus. Hop, citrys and a bit of candy in the flavour. Medium hop finish. Not quite like a strong.

Rumor is that this is just one of the W series beers relabeled, but I’m not sure on that. Pours darker copper with a tall white head. Malty start with a big citrus hop finish. Notes of caramel and chocolate. Pretty nice big malty IPA.
Earlier Rating: 12/13/2004 Total Score: 3.2
On tap at the Widmer Brewery. Pours a transparent amber with a small white head. Light fruity hoping in the aorma, some citrus hops. Flavor starts with just a touch of fruity malt, finished off by a bigger bitterness. Citrusy hop finish, with slight grapefruit notes. This was a nice hoppy brew, easy drinking and smooth. This brew should replace the springrun IPA as their bottled spring brew.

Re-packaged under the "Brr" nametag for the 08 Holiday season. Someday maybe Widmer will actually make a beer that I enjoy drinking. This wasn’t it.

2008 Bottle - Pours a coppery red with a large off-white head...aroma is huge, soapy and piney, a very interesting brew...Starts off with a bitter bite, and slowly leads into caramel-y malts and finishes slightly sweet, with the bitterness apparent in every stage...not an overly hoppy brew, but moreso than its winter counterparts...