Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Bottle courtesy of DavidP. Appears and tastes a little watered-down. Intense sour oak notes w/ light bourbon, chocolate, and alcohol notes. Less sour character and more alcohol burn, chocolate, and overall flavor needed. This is a top 25 imp. stout????

bottle courtesy of CaptainCougar. pours a dark brown with no head. nose is striking with hints of roasted coffee, chocolate, vanilla, oak, and bits and pieces of alcohol. after first sips, flavor is much smoother andbody is lighter than i expected. more hints of roasted coffee and malts with a clean bite of smooth alcohol (bourbon, i guess). Nice flavors overall, but i feel like this one is lacking something extra to push it over the edge. A good beer none the less.

Pours a deep, dark amber-brown color that is approaching black, but not as close as one would expect from a typical Imperial Stout. The head is frothy, light brown color that quickly disappears from an initial one and a half finger thick head. The aroma is nice with notes of buttery oak and vanillin. The buttery note almost makes the aroma seem creamy in some way. The aroma is also a bit hot, with notes of higher alcohols, a bit of astringent oak and something like that bourbon form the barrel. There is also something here that seems a bit like musty scrambled eggs.

The beer is light up front, with a bit of richness that starts to come into play in the middle of the beer. The oak is definitely here, though not so much that it is too distracting. Buttery oak leads to a light tannic oak note that has a nice light, lingeringly astringent note that is a mix of bourbon and the barrel. This beer has a nice roast character to it that is noticeable, though perhaps not as much as I would like. Notes of espresso, dark chocolate, and chalky roast grain are noticeable underneath the oak character.

This is actually much better tasting than I would expect from this mix of flavors. The oak is just light enough that it is pleasant and not too intruding. All of the notes in this beer are on an incredibly subtle level, if only for an Imperial Stout. I think that it is the subtlety of this beer that makes it work. The flavors meld quite well, with none being so dominating as to drown out the other flavors or be objectionable in and of themselves.

Thanks to 1faststi...this beer is pretty damn good. Pours dark brown with some purple/amber hints...a bit of mocha head. Aroma is coffee, vanilla oak and whiskey, roasted malt, and a tad bit of dark plum sweetness. Flavor had a great balance between the coffee, dark fruit sweetness, and the alcohol taste from the bourbon barrel. Mouthfeel was about the only complaint...fairly moderately bodied for what could have be a rich creamy delight...kind of a let down. Still the flavor and aroma of this beer renew my faith in bourbon barrel aging.

Deep brown beer with a small tan head. Roasted malty aroma with a vanilla and chocolate sweetness, notes of wood and hints of alcohol and fruit. very complex flavor of roasted malts, chocolate sweetness, hints of wood and a light whisky note. Full body, sweet chocolate finish.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Pours a dark mahogany with a warm, reddish hue and a small, beige head. Vinous, raisiny aroma with distinct oak. Medium body with accents of dried fruits, raisins and a LOT of oak. Dry and extremely delicate. 150306

Bottle. Clear brown coloured with an off white head. Roasted aroma with lots of oak and chocolate. Roasted flavour of oak, chocolate and vanilla.

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a brown head. Light roasted, Wood, vanilla aroma and a light sweet roasted, wood, vanilla taste. Medium to full body with a long wood, light alcoholic finish.