Barrel Aged Brrrbon (Widmer Brothers)

On a search for the Stone Vertical Epic '11, I happened upon a little liquor shop near my home. I had been once last year and found a few decent brews (Rogue XS RIS and the last bottle of FFF Behemoth in town). I walked in and was dismayed by case after case of your standard yellow swill. I found a half a shelf of premium finds that must have been left over from the previous owner.

This Fall 2010 Release (Limited Release #3) was sitting on the shelf in its un-priced thin brown box. I grabbed a box and asked about the price.....$7.99. I don't think they knew what they had. Any decent beer bourboned up is good for me. I went back to the shelf and grabbed two more. I figured it would be a good brew for a winter weather kind of day. If I didn't have such a winter stock already, I probably would have grabbed the rest!

General Thoughts
Look and Smell: It was an amber/ruby color. It poured with a frothy, off-white head. It gave off that slight vanilla and caramel you find in a bourbon.

Taste: It had a bit of a sweetness to it with the dry oakiness. Nice balance. The booze flavor was light for this 9.4%. It was also a lighter consistency that I was expecting. It was a good way to start off the winter weather. A light warmer. As I kept drinking it, I really smelled the bourbon. As it warmed it had the distinct taste of a properly bourbon barrel-aged brew.

From the box:
For this special release, we've taken our winter seasonal Brrr and aged it in Kentucky bourbon barrels. Hidden in the beautiful dark amber color are aromas of vanilla and caramel that complement perfectly the presence of bourbon. Soft oak flavors transition into a sweet yet slightly dry finish. After aging the ale for four months, the malt and hop complexity of Brrr has melded harmoniously with the bourbon barrels and become a truly one of a kind beer.