20140705:
The smell of ginger is apparent right out of the bottle.
After pouring, the smell is more or less the same, but the beer smells more like ginger tea than actual ginger root.
Oh my gosh, disgusting: my first sip of the beer reminds me of the taste of traditional medicine and this links back to the smell. There was indeed a ginger smell, but with a hint of traditional medicine.
Repeatedly sniffing the beer, the smell seems to switch back and forth between a nice ginger smell and a more threatening traditional medicine smell.
Unfortunately, upon sipping the beer for a second time, the same horrific taste of traditional medicine is produced and I ponder what course of action to take. Giving the beer the benefit of the doubt, I fit the bottle cap back on and stuff it back in the fridge: perhaps I let the bottle warm up too much.
Meanwhile, my third sip with the glass I already poured was a slightly better experience. The taste of traditional medicine only popped in for a brief moment to say hello before vanishing away for a pleasant sweet aftertaste left on the tongue.
With a little hope, I mix a little orange juice in with the beer that remained in my glass. This certainly made the beer more bearable, but I was hoping the result would be amazing and the saving grace to an otherwise horrible experience.
As a remark, the beer may very well taste good and that my personal tasting may be a combination of waiting too long before opening the bottle (probably best around winter) and the fact that I know what traditional medicine tastes like. (In Vietnamese, traditional medicine is called "thuốc bắc.")
20140706:
Today I grabbed the bottle from the fridge, and gave it a swig, hoping that the beer would taste better if it were colder than it were yesterday. Indeed, the flavor was not as intense as it was yesterday and I would say it tasted better. However, I don't think it tasted good. In the beer's favor, I was able to imagine how I might feasibly enjoy it during the winter season.
Then, suddenly, it came to my mind that I had (Vietnamese) ginger candy and so I decided to have a piece followed by drinking some of the beer. Unfortunately, the candy is perfectly sweet and spicy, and this beer with ginger doesn't reflect the same ginger taste as the candy.
Thus, at this point, I was conflicted on whether I should struggle to finish the rest, or simply let it go. Returning to the bottle, I took one more swig and poured what remained of the beer into a glass for a picture.
I then planned to pour that amount down the drain, but thinking it would be a waste, I drank some of it and took some reactionary photos (no exaggeration). Leaving the glass and coming back some moments later, I managed to chug what was left and interestingly the taste didn't really hit until I finished what remained. When it did hit, it's bad taste came in bursts. Thus, the first picture I took after that final swig is a face which wouldn't indicate the beer tastes bad at all. However, several shots follow which show a rather unpleasant experience (slightly exaggerated).
In any case, I happily finished the bottle in two sittings, but had a rather unhappy experience overall. One shouldn't need to figure out ways to make a beer taste better. It should already taste good. While the beer's one saving grace would be that I had this beer in the summer instead of the winter, a quick glance at various beer reviews show an opinion similar to mine: "I love ginger, but this beer doesn't do it for me."
Widmer Brothers Ginger Barrel Aged Brrrbon '13
Relevant Links:
Ginger Barrel Aged Brrrbon '13 (Widmer Brothers Website)
Ginger Barrel-Aged Brrrbon '13 (BeerAdvocate.com)
Widmer Brothers Reserve Ginger Barrel Aged Brrrbon (RateBeer.com)
Website Information:
GINGER BARREL AGED BRRRBON '13
IMPERIAL BRRR SEASONAL ALE
OUR BREWERS ADDED FRESH CHOPPED GINGER TO A FEW SELECT BARRELS OF OUR BARREL AGED BRRRBON '13, AN IMPERIAL VERSION OF OUR BRRR SEASONAL ALE AGED IN KENTUCKY BOURBON BARRELS, FOR THIS LIMITED EDITION BREW. THE ADDITION OF GINGER COMPLIMENTS THE OAK, VANILLA AND CARAMEL FLAVORS OF THE BEER AND RESULTS IN A UNIQUE, SMOOTH WINTER WARMER PERFECT FOR THE SEASON.
AVAILABILITY: LIMITED RELEASE
BITTERNESS: 40 IBU
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 10.7%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 20.3 PLATO
MALTS:PALE, CARAMEL, CARAPILS, DARK CHOCOLATE
HOPS: ALCHEMY, SIMCOE, CASCADE
