Joining the Brothers’ Reserve Series this year from Portland, OR’s Widmer Brother’s Brewing Company is Barrel Aged Brrbon, considered a winter warmer style brew.  To make it, Widmer took their annual Brrr seasonal winter warmer and aged it for four months in Kentucky bourbon barrels.  The result is a smooth bourbon infused beer that packs a punch and warms the taste buds – as well as the rest of you.

And that’s exactly what I needed on the first truly cold day of Montana’s winter season.  Yes, I know it is still fall, but when the temperature is 18, the winds are heavy and pushing the wind chills below zero and the light snow is drifting into the storefronts, I have no need for technicalities.  My ears were freezing and the Rhino happened to be half way between where I was and where I was headed. Darn.

Widmer Brother’s Barrel Aged Brrrbon pours a clear dark amber color that even looks like bourbon. Well, if you poured a pint glass full of bourbon, which I don’t recommend. It has a fairly which white head. The aroma was fairly faint, but with whiffs of malt and bourbon. There is an almost creamy, full mouth feel with a pronounced bourbon flavor and hints of caramel and vanilla.  I get a mild hop bitterness in the dry finish. Most barrel aged beers I’ve tried have been stouts and porters, so it was interesting to taste a one without the roasted malt undertones.  At 9.4% abv (and 40 ibus), this is a beer to be careful with and the color certainly belies the punch that awaits.

If you stop in at the Rhino in Missoula soon, you can try both Widmer’s regular Brrr seasonal and the Brother’s Reserve Series Barrel Aged Brrrbon on tap.