Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Brewed by Central Waters Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Amherst, Wisconsin USA

12 oz bottle

An excellent, well done bourbon barrel stout that was almost worth the cost. If only I would have shopped around I might have saved $3 on my six pack. Oh well - buy it if you can find it; it won’t last long.

Aroma / Appearance - Deep cherry black with a thin tan colored head. Hints of walnuts, cocoa, cherries and coffee beans mingled with the obvious bourbon notes to form an inviting aroma.

Flavor / Palate - The bourbon is the first thing to hit the senses, followed by cherries, expresso, roasted malt and some subtle hotness of alcohol. The mouthfeel is extremely dense and packed with flavors. Although it is not as thick as Bell’s Expedition or Old Rasputin, it does manage to hold its own as an imperial stout. The creamy and smooth finish top off what is a great beer for a cool spring evening or the wintertime. I’m not sure if this has the potential to hold up that long though; try it fresh before cellaring.

Poursa deep opaque brown hue with a short lived tan head. Aromas of coffee, maple and hints of salt. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with flavors of chocolate, a little milk and light sourness and a mellow bitterness...

(Blind rating at sk8viking’s.) Pours black with a tanned head. Smells port like plus a hint of cheese (?). Slightly sour with floral aromas Some coffee ans sour / earthy notes. Some fruityness... not so good. Vinous. Woody.

12 oz bottle courtesy of The_Enemy. Pours to a slightly hazy, deep caramel to brown color, with a thick, off white head, and a soft carbonation. The nose on this beer is inviting, with aromas of sweet malt, caramel, oak, vanilla, and bourbon. The palate is soft, with good flavors of sweet and nutty malt, paired with light hints of oak and vanilla. This beer finishes with more good malt flavors, and ends with good oaky/boubon flavor that lingers. Well done bourbon aged beer. Could have used more dark malt, dark chocolate flavors as far as imperial stout goes, but a minor flaw, as I found this to be a very well done, very enjoyable beer.

Thanks to Landseer for this one. Poured dark brown with a light brown head. Aroma is nutty, with carmel malts, earth notes (dirt), toasted bread, and overall sweetness. Aroma reminds me much of a brown ale. Flavor is dry earth notes (dirt), some nut and sweet malt. The earthy notes dominate the flavor. Medium bodied.

12 oz bottle, Hennepin glass, Noogfest. Dark murky brown with a small frothy tan head. Aroma is soft but mostly caramel and salt water taffy with distinct sour (almost lactic) and sweet (toffee and flowers) notes lent by the bourbon. Flavor is mild overall with a caramel/toffee sweetness and a slightly sour aftertaste. Sticky and creamy with soft carbonation and a ’little too thin’ medium body. Looking at the rating averages by month, it seems this one has gone down hill recently. Open’em if you’ve got’em, I suppose.

Bottle, very dark in color, nice aroma of chocolate, taste is somewhat thin with hints of bourbon and chocolate, I also get vanilla.

Aroma is saturated with alcohol and chocoalte. smells awesome. flavor is chocolate and bourbon, with some oak and vanilla bean hints. some of that sour cherry flavor i sometimes get with impy stouts that arent aged long. hints of acidity but it doesnt ruin th emouthfeel as somehow its still goes down pretty smooth. i like it.