Budweiser Brew Masters Private Reserve

Brew Masters’ Private Reserve is an exceptionally rich beer that is a symphony of character, featuring a balanced hop aroma with 8.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). Based on the time-honored Budweiser brewmaster holiday tradition of collecting the richest first part of the brew as it is tapped to the brew kettles to celebrate the season, this is the first time it is being made available to the public.

2.6

217 reviews

St. Louis, United States

Community reviews

3.2 46.5 oz, swing top bottle...2007 bottling, sampled May 2010: pours auburn with copper hues. Thick, taupe colored head that shrinks pretty quickly into a thin cream. Strong, caramel and bready aroma with lightly toasted oats and honey. Very mild flavour with overripe fruits, vegetal notes, and toasted grains. Very solid dark lager with nice carbonation and decent depth. The darker notes bring a robustness to the mild flavour...gosh, I hate to say this, but I am impressed...an incredible solid, 3 year old lager. By the way, the picture is bunk...this is not a blond lager. Enjoy.

3.5 caramel tastes with plum, fig and prune in this farmfresh malt brew. 2007 year the beer is basically brown and is refreshing with little sense of alcohol. nice appropriate sweetness this beer as one might expect is not overdone yet the total package is complex enough to intrigue. a totally interesting and tasteful doppel i am mildly surprised. thank you Vincent.

1.1 This is pretty much what is says. An imperial budweiser. Has tons of cooked rice and rotten sweet caramel malts. Some earthy flavor and moss too. Cardboard, terrible.

2.9 Pours golden copper with a decent white head and a toffee aroma. There is a lot more substance than the standard bud in respect to malt and hops. The flavor is sweet caramel malt with slight hop bitterness and a metallic finish.

2.5 30.5 oz bottle ’07 Vintage 8/12/09 (Shared with RSRIZZO & BeerandBlues2)-Pours a cloudy brown with a nice tan head. Aroma of malt, caramel, and raisins. Taste of the same with alcohol and some dryness. This medium bodied brew was not bad but could be better. Not sure if the aging hurt it or not.

3.1 2007 bottle shared by RSRIZZO and headbanger. Pours hazy tawny with an average, creamy light brown head, somewhat lasting head with fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel, toffee), light hop (herbs), average yeast (leather) with notes of dust and paper. Full bodied, creamy texture, average carbonation, and an astringent finish. Average duration, heavy sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

3.1 Bottle of the 2006. The beechwood aging seems to come through in a big way in the aroma, along with a slightly tart edge. Flavor, though, has little acidity. 8.5% is not overly evident, but noticeable. Rather sweeter than I like, but not totally unbalanced.

2.4 2006 edition. Tastes like an imperial version of bud’s American Ale. That’s it!

3.2 1qt 14.5 fl oz bottle of the 2007 vintage. Color is a hazy amber with fair carbonation and a thick head. Aroma of caramel and roasted malt. Its has a medium body that goes down with a sharp feel. Finish is a mild toffee taste with a faint metallic back tone. In the after taste the alcohol comes out strong with a mild bitterness. The alcohol is a little strong and this was 2 years old, otherwise its a good brew.

3.6 Bottled. An amber-orange beer with a tan head. The aroma is sweet with nots of caramel, nuts, and alcohol. The flavor is very sweet with strong notes of caramel, leading to a dry alcoholic finish. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.

3.4 2006 bottle. Pours a hazy orange amber with a thin white head that slowly fades. Taste is of caramel, fruit, malt, honey and some hops. Rather sweet. The alcohol isn’t noticeable, which is surprising. Similar aroma. A pretty respectable beer from A-B and well worth a try. Also I like the bottle. I’ll have to pick this up again.

3.5 I paid almost $22 for this 1qt 14.5 fl oz bottle at a liquor store Roseville, MI. Pours hazy tan-yellow with a very nice soft fluffy head. Smells of caramel, molasses, and corn syrup. Tastes of caramel, honey, molasses, and some grassy hops. Very nice creamy, sticky mouthfeel, and nicely carbonated. A slow warming alcohol. Very rich bock flavor. Tastes very German. Was this beer worth the price I paid?...not really. Is it worth trying?...Absolutely.

3.1 Bottle. Not bad for a Budweiser or AB product. A deep amber pour with a fairly decent head. Aroma is rich malts and hops. Very well balanced between hops and malts. Fairly rich and smooth flavor. Very good for a macro beer.

2.2 Pretty terrible for being a "special reserve" beer. Typical bock characteristics. And the first part of the brew is really no different than any other part of the brew. Don’t be fooled by it....definitely not worth the price they ask for it.

3.0 Amber in color with a small off-white head. Aroma is of malt and light hops. Taste is sweet malts, caramel and a light hop bitterness.

3.0 Name: Brewmasters Private Reserve Date: January 08, 2009 Mode: Bottle Source: Ale Atlanta Vintage: 2007 Appearance: clear dark copper, wispy beige head Aroma: sweet caramel aroma, light floral hops Flavor: sweet candy caramel flavor, light earthy bitterness Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20 Rating: 3/5.0 Drinkability: 7/10 Score: *4

3.5 2007 vintage 750mLish at Ale Atlanta. Awesome. I’ve been wanting to try this for a while, but I didn’t want to spend any money on it. Amber color. Malty aroma. Hint of alcohol. Lightly sweet. Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Should be rated blind to be fair. Decent.

2.9 Significantly better than I expected when I saw the box, not quite as good as I expected when I saw the beer. Almost hazy dark amber, small head, malty nose. Looks like a real beer. Creamy mouth. Starts off malty and a touch of hops ... and then just ... stops. Beer, interrupted.

3.6 i really liked this beer. pours med amber color with nice head that sticks around fairly well. flavor is slightly hoppy, spicy, lots of caramel malts. alcohol is noticable, but not overpowering.

3.6 46.5 Oz bottle. 2005 vintage kept in my refrigerator all these years. I was afraid to drink it. I went into this with an open mind. This beer poured a slightly cloudy yellow with a full yellowish,white head. Big malt aroma with some vanilla notes. Typically bock-like. Flavor was more malt, moderate sweetness and slight alcohol. I like it and I think it fits in with other German made bocks and doppelbocks pretty well. Good.

1.5 2006 bottle found in a Miami liquor store. I took it up to the counter and they said it wasn’t for sale. The girl at the conter called the manager on the phone, spoke in Spanish and said they could sell it. The guy says I can have it for the price of the Chinese beer in a similar sized bottle and brings up a bottle of Chimay whte. He seemed surprised when I said that Chimay was Belgian not Chinese. They made sure I knew this was a two year old bottle and did I really want it. Funny, aging Bud. Interesting to see a 8.5% Budweiser in a quart flip top bottle. Hazy dark amber. Strong aroma of alcohol, thick tangerine and a meaty grain note. Chewy, big alcohol flavour. Lasting rough quality. Leaves a thick mossy taste in the mouth. A nice story. Expensive beer. Not very pleasant to drink.

0.8 Honestly, it is better than regular Budweiser, but it was a waste of my money. I should had saw it coming.

2.8 Smells sweetly of caramel. No carbonation, so no head. The flavor is of caramel slightly, but mostly this beer just seems flat. I think there may have been a small leak.

2.7 Tastes like soy sauce!! I don’t know what else to tell ya...

3.4 Bottle 137cl swing top. [ Courtesy of Papsoe ] [Vintage 2007]. Clear amber color with a average, frothy, good lancing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to light heavy malty, caramel, plum, date, sugar, alcohol, vintage. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. (300508)

2.7 Actually not a bad little beer considering. The brewmaster must have been given one day where they could create something that doesn’t absolutely suck. Caramel coloring with a small off white head. Burnt brown sugar and maple, with some sweet toffee notes. Smooth and creamy on the palate, but as usual the finish drop right off the palate in the finish.

2.8 Dark chestnut brown color with a tight, light brown head that faded quickly. Very smotth, creamy palate with light carbonation. Not bad by any stretch but it was very sweet and could have used a little more hops to balance.

2.9 bought downtown, big ole bottle all to myself ...(why did i do this) .... pours a dark brown maroon colour .. a good maltster head on the medium pour .. but the lacing i say needs more work ... there are some nice simple flavours, caramel and maple, things of that sort ... "attire optional" ... shows the alcohol near the end, but it is a pretty good offering from the bud guys... 7-14-08 ..$52 billion offer from inbev for bud today...

3.0 Vintage 2006 bottle pours a golden orange color with a decent sized beige head that fades rather quickly. Aroma of burnt sugar, dried fruit and malts with a background of spicy hops. Flavor is pretty smooth, sweet and malty. There is a little bitterness in the finish. The 8.5% is well hidden. Not bad overall and definitely not something you’d expect from Anheuser Busch.

3.6 Nice malty flavor. Light on aroma and hoppiness. Good, smooth flavor with no aftertaste. The high alcohol content doesn’t affect the taste. Mine poured darker than what is pictured. More like a dark lager, which is what it tasted like. It was from 2007. I recommend.