Widmer Brothers Reserve Kill Devil Brown Ale

Aged in Puerto Rican rum barrels, and brewed with Sweet Barbados and Blackstrap molasses, palm sugar, and Calypso hops, Kill Devil’s flavor and name were inspired by the ingredients used by Caribbean distillers.”

3.5

161 reviews

Portland, United States

Community reviews

2.6 22oz bottle - First, thanks to my brother for plunking down the $$ for this beer because I was hesitant in getting it, although it’s easy enough to find. The aroma finds some subtle molasses and brown sugar, but surprisingly...no rum, no evidence of barrel aging...very much centered toward plainville. Medium sweetness on the palate, leaning a little towards the caramel profile but still a neutral sweetness like white sugar. Slightly metallic/dirty penny also picked up. No rum (was this Bacardi 151 barrels?) noticed, no woody/vanilla notes...aged in barrel’s? I would have never noticed. Overpriced and underwhelming.

3.3 22 oz. bottle shared by friends, split 4 ways. 2013 vintage. Aroma is all kinds of sweet; caramel, molasses, brown sugar and mild dark fruit. The rum barrel is only lightly noticeable in the finish with the over the top sweet flavors. The booze is completely hidden but almost anything would be hidden in this amount of sweetness. Medium in body with soft carbonation. Perhaps this was not one to hold onto. Drink fresh.

3.8 On tap at the brewery. Pours a deep brown color with a medium white head. A sweet toffee, fruity sweet nose. The flavor is light rum, tropical notes, toffee, earthy dry malt base, a bit of caramel. Some heat. Very nice.

3.2 On tapas Dexter's pub. Pours brownish with thin white head. Aroma of vanilla, rum, and molasses. Taste is mostly barrel. Perhaps overpowered by the barrels.

3.0 "Unique, but I question the choice of barrels and the ability of the beer to stand up to barrels. Tropical flavors, coconut and wood, passion fruit maybe? From the barrels. The beer doesn’t shine through a whole lot. Sweet molasses and a hint of roast is about it. Overpriced."

3.8 Hazy light amber-brown, light sugary nose, some big molasses taste, with barrelly notes. Rich, lingering complex molasses character, the alcohol just enough to cut through this. Tasty.

3.6 Tallahassee, Fl. - New Leaf Market - 22 oz bomber - fire sale at $4.49 per. Deep dark chestnut brown pour with a tight of-white head that clings to the edge of the glass for a while. Aroma has a slight boozy hint to it, some soft creosote notes,a bit of brown sugar. Flavor is full-bodied with some brown sugar notes, a touch of molasses, some light chocolate and just a touch of bourbon-like booziness. Mouthfeel has a nice thick richness to it. Pretty solid - but glad I waited till they lowered it from $13.99 or whatever it was.

3.2 On tap at Widmer, pours a hazy amber with a small beige head. Aroma reveals rum barrels upfront, with notes of dried dark fruit (raisins) and caramel. Flavour brings out a rum bomb, with very far back secondary notes of raisins and other dried fruit. Boozy, but well-balanced and drinkable in small amounts. Decent beer.

3.2 Bomber on sale for $6, which turns out to be a decent deal. Hazy light brown pour with some white head. Brown sugar and slight rum nose. Taste is pretty nice, though the bitterness from the hops kind of over shadows the subtle rum / molasses / sugar / barrel character.

3.6 Tap at Mason Lounge, listed as a Barleywine, so sort of rated from that perspective. Amber-copper body, looks filtered. Lots of rising carbonation bubbles meet an off-white, creamy head. The molasses smooths out the already malty beer. Adds some sweetness too. Creamy and smooth, this would be a fun beer to bring to a tasting. Almost has some Cream Ale tones incorporated into the rich amber malt. Vanilla touches. Quite nice, well executed.

3.0 Clear reddish amber with an small off-shite head and minimal lace. Aromas of molasses, dark fruit and brown sugar. Caramel malt seetness up front, accompanied by molasses, smoke and a rummy alcohol burn. Medium body, minimal carbonation, somewhat thin mouthfeel, and an alcohol burn in the finish. Might have liked this more if I liked rum. But I don’t.

2.6 Bomber. Medium orange brown with light lacing. Sugar cane, stoney/minerally, light rum notes, and a light woodiness. Taste has a lightly dry sweetness. Body is lighter with an oily feel. This beer seemed like a watered down dark rum.

3.4 Dark brown with no head. Light molasses aroma. Flavor of molasses and dark sugar. Light rum. A bit vinous. Not sure if it’s hop vegetal or green wood taste.

3.4 22 oz bottle in Minneapolis. 1+ year old Appearance: cognac in color. No head. Aroma: Sugar cane, smells very sweet. Taste: Very sweet. Palate: Medium/full body. semi long finish. Overall: Decent beer. Very sweet. I don’t get a lot of complexity.

3.9 2013-Oak vanilla, molasses, brown sugar. Pours a brilliant orange/red with a orange off white head. Nice body with a lot of barrel character big mouthfeel and warming character.

3.2 Bottle, courtesy of cards04. Sweet aromas of caramel, grains, light fruit and sugar. Taste is sweet caramel, molasses, oak. Oily texture.

3.7 Loved this. Pours a murky orange with off white bread. Aromas are strong caramel and brown sugar. Flavors are very malty and sugary. I get some rum too. This is nice.

3.5 Orange body white head. Caramel and sweet malt aroma vanilla. Taste is sweet with an anise aftertaste but a bit subtle watery finish. Not bad brown ale.

3.4 Bottle date May 7, 13. Poured amber with a fizzy off-white head. Aroma of dark fruit, molasses, and brown sugar. The flavor found brown sugar and rum. Medium body and sweet.

4.0 Pours a dark, bubbly chestnut with a fairly thick and frothy buff head. Malty aroma has a strong molasses overtone plus notes of toffee, rum and caramel. Satisfying flavor has malty, nutty, rum, toffee, licorice and caramel notes, plus a hint of oak; though on the sweet side it is not cloying, and the alcohol bite balances the sweetness nicely. Texture has average viscosity but good fizz. Noticeably better than last year’s Kill Devil reserve brown ale. Earlier Rating: 8/31/2012 Total Score: 3.5 Strong aroma has a malty core and nutty, caramel, horehound and earthy notes. It pours a dark, slightly hazy mahogany; thick, fluffy, tan head, however, doesn’t stick around for long. Delectable flavor has notes of lightly roasted malt, caramel and molasses with hints of horehound and oak. Smooth texture has firm body and a fair amount of tingle. A lip-smacking ale worth catching during its limited release. If it’s not Widmer Brothers’ best, it is still worthy.

3.5 Draught from draught 55. Super boozy and a brown pour. Rum raisin and sugar. OK but a bit much.

1.6 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

3.7 Poured from a bottle it is aclear amber with a slight head it has the aroma of beer and tastes of caramel and raisins and lingers on the palate

3.5 From a 22 oz bottle shared at home. Pours a clear amber with an off white head. Malty nose. Flavors of caramel and butterscotch. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, bitter finish.

4.0 On tap Aug 27th at Cedar Creek Pub. Pours amber with small head. Aroma of funky fruit, sour mash, celery, straw hops, earth, slight wed cardboard. Moderate carbonation and mouthfeel. Flavors of big malts, caramel, roasted malts. Overall flavorful and tasty, complex with a caramel finish.

3.6 Love the style! What a great concept. Really good effort at it too. Sweet and light brown with just enough body. Sweet, needs a little balance, but the rum casks help.

3.7 Pours a chestnut brown color with a minimal creamy tan head. Aroma of molasses, dark fruit, and rum. Molasses flavor with toffee, dark fruit, and hint of alcohol and touch of hop bitterness. Bit of alcohol warmth as well. Nice beer.

4.0 Appearance: Polished burnished dark browns under a khaki head which fades slowly into a broken patchy blanket. Lace tries to crawl up the sides of my glass. Nose: Chocolate dusted nuts with raisins and date cake in the back. Melted toffee and caramel weave in and out of each other. A gentle generic woodiness in the back along with a touch of brittle black cacao. Tickle of brown spices on top. Palate: Medium weight with a wonderfully silky mouthfeel. Heat and spice gently tickles the back of my throat before settling into my chest. Rum raisins and rum dates drift along a river of melted sugars which also leaves the lips sticky with rum, burnt sugars, toffee, and treacle. A nice dry bitter finish of grape skins, nuts, cocoa powder, and cinnamon sticks. As it warms, the flavors melt together seamlessly. Thirst-inducing. Final Thoughts: For me, the Reserve line of beers from Widmer is where they really shine. As a style, the brown ale is very underappreciated here in the US and it pleases me (and my tastebuds) to savor this delicious example from Widmer. May I have another please.

3.2 Clear dark brown pour with a minimal tan head. Aroma of caramel, brown sugar and a bit of alcohol. The flavor is sweet, no hop flavors, all caramel and brown sugar that was hinted to in the aroma. I was expecting more perhaps, but no flaws, no excitement either.

3.8 Sampled at NH Brew Fest. 4 oz. sample. Pours a hazy dark brown with a 1/4" white head. Aroma includes rum, molasses & dark fruits. Flavor is sweet with the molasses and dark fruits being predominant, but there is a bitterness from some earthy hops. Medium bodied. Nice, I’d buy a bottle if one came my way.