Brrrbon - See You In 2011

A few months back, Widmer announced their third release in the Brothers' Reserve series. The first (Cherry Oak Doppelbock) and the second (Prickly Pear Braggot) were both reasonably decent, but the headline for the third had me pretty excited: Barrel Aged Brrrbon. That would be Brrr (Widmer's winter offering) aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels for four months. I like Brrr. I like barrel-aging. You can see why I'd be intrigued and (possibly) drooling. This was targeted as a must-try when it hit the shelves.

On Friday I was able to pick up a bottle at John's along with a few other things. The stats:

Malts: 2-row pale, Carapils, Caramel 10-L, Caramel 80 L & Dark Chocolate
Hops: Alchemy (bittering), Simcoe & Cascade (Aroma)
ABV: 9.4%
IBU: 40

I'd like to be able to give some flavor characteristics other than "there's a hint of caramel bourbon flavoring", but I'm unable to do so at this time. This is because the 9.4% was punching me in face on every sip. Front end, middle end, back end - booze, booze, and more booze. The heat off the alcohol was extremely difficult for my taste buds to navigate, but there were one or two sips where I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Halfway through warming up, I got an very nice mix of some sweet vanilla/caramel with the malt/spice of the Brrr. I just wish there were more of those moments instead of fighting through it.

Predisposed to like this, I'm a little sad that I can't sing it's praises right now in this incomplete form. Brrrbon will, in all probability, be an enjoyable beer when it matures a bit. I'm planning on picking up another bottle and putting it straight into the Beer Cabinet of Perpetual Darkness - we'll say hi again around Halloween of 2011. But, yow, straight-up green with this stuff? Only if you have developed an ability to ignore boozy heat and find the underlying flavors. Even then, it's going to be a challenge.

Reviews on-deck from the weekend: Alaskan's 2010 Smoked Porter, Deschutes' Hop Trip, and a realization that Ninkasi's Believer is a wholly different beast on-tap than what I remember out of the bottle.