Brewery – Braxton Brewing Company
Beer – Rum Barrel Aged Snow Shovel
Style – Winter Warmer
ABV – 11.4%
IBUs – 36

You’re holding a snow shovel. A weather worn snow shovel. It’s felt the frigid bite of winter and has seen it’s fair share of wear on 27 West 7th. This aged winter warmer is daringly brewed for those who like to heat things up during the cold months. Aged in Caribbean Rum barrels for over a year, this big malt forward ale brewed with ginger, cinnamon, and local honey gets you ready or whatever Jack Frost has in mind.

Braxton first brewed the base beer for this, called snow shovel in the winter of 2016, and it was delicious.  It didn’t take much time after the brewing team first tried it that they made the decision that stash it away for a year in a few Caribbean Rum barrels that they “had lying around”.  My goodness what a great decision that was.  They first released the barrel aged version the next winter, in November of 2017.

The beer seems like it’s mean to meet Rum Barrels.

The label, too is a great one.  The design was done by Durham Brand & Co, and features a really sweet cutout of a snow shovel on the back of it… paired up with the white wax on the top of the bottle – it’s beautiful.

My Thoughts On Braxton Rum Barrel Aged Snow Shovel

In the glass, Barrel Aged Snow Shovel is a slightly hazy dark brown color, with a thick tan head.

Aromas roll through the wintery gamut, and depending on the age of your bottle, will vary a TON.  Fresh, this has a great cinnamon and honey character, followed up by a light mollasses-rum aroma.

The flavor is nice and sweet, a big ginger hit right away, with honey showing itself next, followed up by a nice spicy back end and then a mellow finish from the rum barrels.  I get a lot of dark fruit in the finish – it’s got layer up on layer showing some fun stuff, and is definitely an exploration as the glass warms up!