Kill Devil Brown Ale (Brothers' Reserve Series) - Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

ThickNStout

Georgia

4.03/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle from Total Wine (Kennesaw, GA). 11.99. Served in a Terrapin snifter. 

Pours an opaque brown, thin and light around the edges with a half finger pale head. Spotty lacing.

Smell is very sweet with strong booze, vanilla, oak, brown sugar and obvious molasses.

Even sweeter than the smell is the taste. Molasses plays a starring role with vanilla/rum, woody, sugar and toffee flavors. The alcohol is well hidden. 

Medium body and well carbonated. Sticky feel. Long, sweet finish.

Overall I enjoyed this one. I'm glad I split the bottle because it's a whole lot of sweet. It worth a try but not sure if the cost is worth a repeat investment. 

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 18:49:00 | More by ThickNStout

maximum12

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another Widmer bomber. 22 oz. bottle split with my wife during an unGodly hot stretch of Minnesota weather. 101 today. Isn't this MinneSnowta? WTF?

Pour is that peculiar brown with red peeking around the rounded edges of the beer. Nose isn't anything special, light malts, bits of rum. Have to suck plenty of oxygen to even get that.

Kill Devil. Brown. Rum. It's clear on the label & there are no roller-coaster twists here. Moderately rum-forward but also strangely rum-quiet; it's there, but prevalent only due to the absence of any other strong flavors. Light malts come through. Little candiedness, nice chunk of caramel. Actually grows on me as it warms, & the strength of this brew is the drinkability. The base brown is quiet & inoffensive & the rum is nice, so it just slips into silence. My belly is very quiet.

Good beer. I'd like the base beer to bring more to the party, & that might catapult this into the castle.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 03:45:36 | More by maximum12

GregSVT

Texas

3.9/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into a snifter

A: Pours a clear brown with a nice light tan head that fades to a ring and leaves some lacing on the glass.

S: The nose starts with notes of a regular imperial brown like light chocolate malt. As it warms I get the molasses, vanilla, and rum. There's also a slight banana aroma that's very interesting and must be from the rum.

T: The taste starts with vanilla, malt, slight molasses, and rum and the finish has that crazy banana from the nose. It's not overly barrel or overly base but a decent combo of the two.

M: The feel is on the lighter side of medium but it has a nice creamy feel.

O: This was a decent attempt but I would have liked to see them use a heavier beer like an Imperial Stout. It's still tasty and I would recommend it for anyone that likes rum barrel aged beers.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 02:44:00 | More by GregSVT

bum732

Maryland

3.13/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

S: A very raw mollases and earthy grassiness. A little wood in the finish.

L: Fairly clear brown, some ruby highlights. Not much head, some clear carbonation.

T: Toasty malt with an earthy sugary note. Low bitterness with some sugar like qualities finishing semi-dry and quick.

M: Medium full body, medium low carbonation. Alcohol detectable.

Interesting beer, don't really get the rum. I really wanted to like this beer since i love rum so much. That and i wanted to make a homebrew similar to this, good to know it doesn't really work.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2012 01:37:12 | More by bum732

Gmann

New York

3.1/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a chocolate brown color with a short wispy tan head that settled into a light ring. Meh

The aroma is of brown bread, slightly nutty. Some brown sugar sweetness. Raisin pops through as well as an extremely subtle rum note. Decent but not super strong.

The taste is of a standard brown. Lightly toasted bread, caramel, and tea like flavors. The barrel aging tastes of cheap rum, mostly boozy without a good rum's deep sugary flavors. Really just no good depth of flavor here. The flavor is thin.

The feel is light, almost watery. The carbonation is prickly. Despite being light, the beer has a sticky finish. The ABV is a tad harsh.

There is some flavor here and nothing is gross so it is hard to kill this beer. However, for a rum barrel aged brew, it is quite lacking. Lacks major depth.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 03:19:57 | More by Gmann

Greywulfken

New York

4/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: amber brown with beige head; motes and lacing after head quickly settles into thinness

S: a little woody, some of the molasses and rum slips out - didn't pack much of an aromatic punch

T: get the rum barrels early, sweet, with some molasses and vanilla in the background; hints of toffee; warming improved the taste and brought out some dark fruity undertones and blended the molasses sweetness with the dry woodsiness nicely

M: medium to thin, sweet and dry compete for the finish; slight tacky aftertaste

O: I've only had a couple of brown ales, and I've only had a couple of Widmer Bros' beers... A good beer, but maybe it's the style that leaves me a little flat, however, had to come back to this as I finished the bomber - a better beer in closing than I gauged initially - reminiscent of a BSDA without the Belgian yeasts; really grew to enjoy the molasses meets dry rum flavors. Definitely worth a buy, definitely better as it warms.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 21:40:01 | More by Greywulfken

ATLbeerDog

Georgia

3/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a dark amber/copper color that appears to be a tad flat. Hardly no head or lacing whatsoever. Smells of medium roasted malts and a small splash of booze. First sip is surprisingly dull as all the stuff that is supposed to be in this beer are only slightly present. There are some rum notes present in the finish but I shouldn’t have to hunt for the flavor. There are slight flavors that are rather sweet from the molasses and a bit of oak but seriously folks this tastes more like an average base beer with a few hints of pecans slipping thru.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 20:03:19 | More by ATLbeerDog

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.1/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked up at Bier Thirty at least a week ago... Poured tonight into my slim tulip... thin tannish head .. the brew is the expected deep brown..

Nose is oaky with plenty of dry molasses notes and sorta raisin elements... a bit of nutty maltiness with warmth.

Pretty oaky.. some rummy notes when it is colder that dissipate as it warms..

Thick and malty.. the molasses punctuates the flavor with a bit of sulfur.. again a bit too much rum for my liking.. malty flavors are thick enough to pull from a deck of descriptors... toast, nutty, dark caramel, "brown malt".. etc. In the end, this is too sweet for me.. the residual sugars combine with the malty essences to just go overboard.

Palate is pretty heavy with a decent carbonation but not enough bubbles to help strip the lingering flavors away for even a second.

?? If I buy another, it will be to forget about it in the cellar for at least a year... I doubt it will do any good, but maybe the sugars die back a bit and the barrels come out.

3/3.5/3/3/3

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 05:19:24 | More by JohnGalt1

mactrail

California

3.63/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark amber chestnut color in the Ommegang chalice. Pleasantly sudsy with a coarser, prickly carbonation on the tongue. Medium mouthfeel; while malty, it's not really thick. The caramel and gingerbread scent is rather nice.

I think this has more molasses flavor than any beer I've tasted. Dark and a little sulphury, the blackstrap less-refined kind. The barrel contributes a subtle boozy flavor, it definitely tastes like rum. Actually more like rum and Coke with a spoonful of molasses. The sweetness is more in passing and the finish is certainly dry. A deep fruity note of dried plums with some licorice adds to the weirdness. A dry candy flavor, if that makes sense. Powerful but doesn't taste particularly of alcohol.

Lots of hops contribute to the dark and bitter tang. Not my favorite barrel-aged beer by a long shot, but it's an intriguing brew. If you like the dark, rich sweet flavors with a hoppy bite, this should do it. From the 22 oz bottle in a box from Liticker's in Ocean Beach.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2012 05:23:33 | More by mactrail

ryanonline

Florida

4.23/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a very clear darkish brown with lighter brown highlights thick foamy head, very light lacing.

smooth and spicy, lil bit of cinnamon and sweet candied sugar. not much else.

taste is much more roasty, and somewhat clean. still has a sweetness to it, but much more subdued. faintly getting some piney hops in the background. Not super amazing but great for what it is.

mouthfeel is quite excellent. smooth and light and lightly bitter. dryish finish and a bit of slickness to it.

super drinkable.

awesome beer, a bit too expensive for a more or less simple beer. Still really good.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 03:46:36 | More by ryanonline

Docer

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: (3.5)

- Pours a clear dark mahogany brown with a subtle finger of off-white head. Settles to a thin island and medium ring in the glass. Overall a rich and sleeper-like looking brew.

Smell: (4.5)

- Rich roasted grains, brown sugars, caramel, big toffee aromas, vanilla, and light rum. Somewhat earthy and grassy. Overall smells like desert. Super good smell.

Taste: (3.5)

-Caramel sweet, candy rum, vanilla oak, and nice tart grain and hop balancing notes. Just a touch earthy and grassy, light esters, big vanilla and overall dark roasty sweetness. Just a bit of an off flavor of tartness from what must be the house ale yeast. Perhaps a different yeast and some bottle conditioning might have done this one better.

Mouth Feel: (4.0)

- Nice medium body, quite creamy and smooth. Bit cloying and chewy, and finishes a bit dry. I like dry. Certainly some serious bittering in this one. Not bad.

Overall: (3.5)

- This brew has some nice barrel character, and is quite tasty. It only lacks a little in overall uniqueness with the flavor and feel. Perhaps even too large of a production for the style? Yeast? It hits some wonderful aroma marks, flavor is a little average, but I like where the brew is going. I like what Widmer is doing. Kudo's for that at least. But not my favorite in the reserve series. I still think I like the first special brew better. The Double Alt (which was the 25th Anniversary beer prior to the first Brothers Reserve Series release).

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2012 01:43:00 | More by Docer

JustinQ

California

3.7/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12.99 for 22 oz Bottle

Serving Type: 22 oz Bottle poured into snifter

Appearence: nice off white head, ruby red/brown color, alot clearer then expected.

Aroma: Slightly boozy, sweet, caramel. No hops or Diacetyl.

Taste: Dried fruits, Bitter but balanced very well with the sweetness. The brown ale character is somewhat over shadowed by the rum flavors.

Mouthfeel: Thick and dry, Warming.

Overall: Great beer but not quite worth the money. Glad I Got a bottle when it was fresh.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 03:00:22 | More by JustinQ

harrymel

Washington

1.63/5  rDev -55.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Bottled 05APR12

From the box: Kill Devil Brown Ale's flavor comes from the use of ingredients traditionally used by the Caribbean distillers. Sweet Barbados and blackstrap molasses provide touches of toasted sugar, black licorice and blackened toffee while the palm sugars invite notes of subtle sweetness. As the beer conditions in Puerto Rican Rum Barrels, the vanilla and subtle oak flavors and aromas develop and integrate themselves with the Calypso hop's soft tropical and stone fruit aromas.

Look: Brown ale, excellent clarity and a quickly dissipating light coconut foam.

Smell: initially of copper. Then I dive back in trying to get something to justify the $13 price point; getting some licorice, and grape nuts (the cereal kids don't want). Hints of warm cola. Very disappointed with the nose here. Maybe a hint of molasses/brown sugar toward the end of the beer, maybe.

Flavor: metal, hot dog water, raisin, cardboard. This is a really simple beer. I am starting to get the feeling that maybe by "aged" they meant "ran through" the rum barrels. The oak is evident as well, but in the raw, cheap red wine way - not the aged in quality barrels way. It's really tannic to me.

Feel: Among the thinnest "barrel aged" beers I've had, really thin. Moderated carb, semi dry finish (being generous as the tannic character makes the beer linger).

Overall: I'm disappointed in this beer. I've been duped before, and I'm beginning to feel like Widmer must have the best fucking marketing team out there, because I keep buying their spendy beers hoping their IPA experimental quality will spill into their more adventurous products - alas, this is not the case.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 06:17:58 | More by harrymel