Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

12 oz bottle, big thanks to andrew for bringing this and its partner to close out the bachelor party drinks. Pours a thick black with a wispy a beige head. Nose is nice chocolate, roast, coffee, bourbon, oak, carmel and toffee. Medium bodied. First sip is the bourbon. There seems to be a lot of it. Carmel, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, oak. Really abundant and complex slightly sweet, the bourbon is a little overdone, but excellent none the less. Big thanks to andrew for this.

RBSG 2007 Saturday Morning Breakfast - Oil slick black, tan creamy head. Nose held fulfilling rich notes of butterscotch, sweet bourbon, milk chocolate, and coffee, with softer woven notes of vanilla and oak. Well entrenched bourbon flavors are obvious, but fade into more complex chocolate coffee, buttery vanilla icing, and smooth sweet caramel tones. A light bitterness pulls this together all too well. Full bodied and oily, pillow soft carbonation, dry oaken, bittersweet finish.. What a nice surprise this one was. Thanks Iowaherkeye…well….for leaving the bottle in our room. ;-)

12 oz bottle. Poured a cloudy brown color with a tan head. Distinct malty caramel aroma with a hint of brown sugar and whisky. Slightly sweet and full bodied. Buttery caramel and vanilla flavors, again with a hint of whisky and oak. Delicious.

Date: 4/28/2007
Event: DarkLord Day 2007
Location: Three Floyds Brewing Co. Parking Lot
Serving: 12 oz bottles (barrel-aged for 1 year) shared by nflmvp. Thank you so much!

Tasting Notes
Aroma: Bourbon and vanilla, some chocolate as well.
Appearance: Very dark brown color.
Flavor: Light bourbon and lightly roasted malts with a chocolate finish. Oak and vanilla flavors are more prominent when the beer is allowed to warm up a little.
Palate: Medium-full body, but not quite as heavy as I had expected.
Overall: A great beer with lots of bourbon and stout flavors without being too overpowering or heavy.

Rating: 8 3 8 4 16 = 3.9



4/29/2008: Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout has a dark cola brown color with a small and thin tan head. The aroma is loaded with sweet, mouth-watering caramelized maltiness and a creamy vanilla with a touch of bourbony alcohol and oakiness. There is even a twist of sweet black licorice in it as well. It smells delicious. The flavor has a really rich and sweet caramelized maltiness, accents of chocolate, lots of soft vanilla, and smooth bourbon. There is even a touch of tobacco goodness. Bourbon-soaked wood and a some warming alcohol come through in the finish, but the alcohol presence doesn’t detract from the flavor and overall tasting experience in anyway. Actually, it really combines with the other flavors nicely wand works quite well! The full body of this beer is also appropriate and it has a an smooth and slightly creamy texture. This beer is quite delicious overall and worth seeking out if you enjoy beer and bourbon!

12 fl. oz. bottle from buckybeer via trade. Thank you Mark! I really appreciate it! Rating: 9 3 8 4 17 = 4.1.

Black color, thin tan head. Dark charred malt tastes come up front, but the harsh smokey flavor is quietly displaced over time by a smoother chocolate character. Light taste of alcohol, but still that nice warming quality. Slightly sour wood aftertaste.

I’m predicting big things for this up-and-coming brewery. This particular entry would make great competition for Irish coffee. It pours so dark it’s almost purple, with a nice head. Phenomenal aroma of bourbon and oak, and maybe even a little peat. Really nice bourbon flavor over a chocolatey base. More oak and bourbon in the aftertaste, with a really nice warming sensation.

12oz bottle via trade with Ughsmash, my pal from the great state of Wisconsin. Thanks Jason. Barrel Aged impy with a humungo head, i suspect a short barrel life. Pours big ol black with a 2 finger fading light brown head. The nose is all bourbon and wood, with a hint of maltiness. Damn that taste is big and bold and I don’t know if its the remants of Cuvee de Tomme or but this is really quite big. I hope allaboutstout just got a lame duck bottle because this is a damn good impy. The taste is really complex and large and in charge. Yum

Growler hand delivered from a freshly sunburned thefatkid13 on his way to DLD (Thanks again!) Pours thickly into a snifter creating a fantastic brown head. To my surprise the growler was clear! I thought the way that not a ray of light was getting through that for sure it was brown. Damn this was dark! Carbonation settles ala Guinness, etc... but that’s where the comparison ends. Head settles to a nice lacing over the top. Aromas are wonderful- coffee, malts and Bourbon oh my. I first poured too cold and didn’t get it at all it’s glory (shame on me) but as it warmed up it became even more complex. The kind of beer you want to bury your nose in. Big flavors of malty bourbon and oak. Some vanilla from the barrel hints at the finish. There’s a nice bitter charred flavor that I wasn’t expecting that really finished well. Full bodied and very smooth despite the higher alcohol (9.5%) presence. I finished off a growler in two nights. I probably could have in one, but I found enough self control to hold back. It keeps you wanting more and I look forward to Central Waters opening distribution into my area (nudge nudge) sometime soon.