Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

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

Thanks to zathrus13 for this one - pours a rather dark brown, nearly black, with a small ring of off-white lace - aroma is actually quite earthy, with notes of coffee/cream, vanilla, wood, and, of course, bourbon - quite dry and smokey for an imperial, with lots of oak, some herbal qualities - plums and dates - vanilla and bourbon combine with some most typical IS characteristics (roastiness, cocoa, coffee) to quite nice ends - finishes pretty dry and chocolatey - all of the qualities in this beer come together quite well, and it never gets overwhelming, cloying, or out of balance like many other beers of this style (especially barrel-aged ones) - very nice indeed.

Bottle: Compliments to Indiana_Red and OhioDad for this one. Dark auburn color, light mahogany. Good head and light lacing. Nose is toasty and bright with sweet herbal railroad tie and earthy creamy roast. Full bouquet with lots of fukumi-ka. Marshmallow flavor, lightly smoky with oak, bourbon, vanilla notes. Toffee, cocoa and cantelope as well. Not too burgeoning in intensity to reach this balance. Finishes dusty and tangy. Excellent.

Bottle Pours a deep dark carmel colr. Not as black or inky as I expected. Small tan head and nice thin but lasting lacing. Aroma of vanilla, the burbon barrels and a bit of dark smokey licorice and chocolate. Feel was very soft and smooth. Lightly carbonated and flavors were rich chocolate, burbon, oak and the ABV came through a bit. Nice lingering warming feeling going down. Not quite what I was hoping but a delicious brew. Thanks again to OhioDad for this most excellent selection.

Thanks to Eric/Heemer for this contribution to the 2005 KC holiday party. Eric was very generous to contribute a couple bottles for the tasting and another for the host! Dark brown color, no head to speak of. Foam dots are left on the glass. Aroma is oak & bouron, some vanilla, and chocolate. Good mouthfeel. Initial taste of chocolate, mocha, and bourbon. The finish is oak and bourbon.

Thanks Hezron! Pours black with a thin head. Rich chocolate and coffee aromas with a hint of something I couldn’t identify. Maybe it was the bourbon, though it seemed a little off to me. Nice in the mouth. Flavor is a wonderful coffee/chocolate combination. It’s what I was hoping Bell’s Double Cream Stout was going to taste like. It’s not sweet, nor bitter, but it has significant alcohol warming. Definitely in my top 5!

12oz 2005. Thanks heemer77. Dark brown with a full tan or light brown head that fades rather quickly. Aromas of bitter dark chocolate, oak, and the faintest bourbon character. As the beer warms, the boubon presents its self a bit better, but the bourbon character in this beer is way restrained. Medium body, but this for an impy. A nice beer, but not all that.

12oz. - 2005 bottling. Aroma features some caramel corn and sweet, chocolatey, roasty malt, only vague hints of bourbon, wood and sour fruit, perhaps some gingerbread. Dark brown in color, head is uneven and slight with lacing to match. Flavor profile is bittersweet, malty, roasty and fill of dusty cocoa, more caramel and toffee along with hints of bourbon, cherry and oak, finish is somewhat abrupt. Mouthfeel is semi-dry and lively, body is medium-full. Interesting in its somewhat reserved character, certainly not your typical over-the-top bourbon Imperial, and not just because the alcohol is so well masked. Thanks, Eric!

Very dark brown with a touch of red. Slight hint at BO in the nose, with some caramel malt and a hefty nose of oak, baking chocolate. Bourbon character is restrained to my nose, with the woody oak character dominating. Smooth and rounded, slight oak flavors, seemingly alot of caramel malt up front, and a big acrid finish. Husky and tannic, the acrid black malt covers any bourbon character.