Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

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

Rating #400. 12 oz, 2005 bottle. Poured a deep mahogany with a beautiful initial creamy caramel head (stuck around for only a minute or so). Brilliant aroma of vanilla, molasses, bourbon, coconut, roasted chocolate, caramel, oak, fresh berries, and love... I know that a considerable amount of love must have been employed to craft this brew. Quite a sweet overall feel from the flavor, with vanilla, oak, and bourbon making the first impressions. Deeper down were chocolate malts, molasses, and some nuttiness. Whiskey was a significant characteristic, but complementary to the other great flavors (which is a tough balance to achieve). Creamy and thick around the edges of the mouth, but a little lighter than expected through the middle. Chocolate and bourbon formed a long-lasting finish. Loved every minute of it!

12oz bottle, 2005 release
Well, it’s been worth the wait. Pours a deep murky ruby with a thinnish tan head that soon retreats to the rim. Aroma of coffee, honey, molassas, vanilla, wood, and dried fruit. Hezron’s right -- you could sniff this stuff for hours. Flavor is most defined by bitter roast grain, but there plenty of sweet malt, vanilla, honey and molassas to mitigate. Nice lively bubbly and slightly viscous palate. Arguably the craft-beer bargain of the century at $11 a six-pack. $11 will barely get you a single bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, against which this stuff stacks up fairly well. <P>By the way, nice to have met you today, Mr. Ughsmash. :)

Bottle, from the 2005 release. Aroma of vanilla, nutty chocolate, cherries, buttery bourbon and noticeable alcohol. Very good, I could smell this all night. Dark, dark brown, light showing through the edges and a tall light brown head that fades but sticks around. Not exactly imperial looking. Flavors of butter caramel...like a caramel explosion with toffee and chocolate, cherries and some roastiness which gives way to a nutty bourbon flavor and some woody, grainy flavors right in the finish. Palate seems thin and dry, it doesn’t say "imperial stout" very much...it is in flavor but not in body or texture. This doesn’t take away much at all, I really enjoyed this.

shared by Hey_Kevin. I have wanted to try this one ever since I joined RB. sometimes there is so much anticipationthat when you finally get to try the beer, it is a disappointment. I am here to assure you, there was NO disappointment here! many flavors abound and I can only guess that a person could find a different flavor or aroma everytime they tried this one. the bourbon, oak and vanilla are just the start of the complex array of flavors. nuts, smoke, molasses and all tied together very nicely. quite smooth from start to finish. this was part of a side-by-side-by-side with Bear Creek Bourbon Ale & Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. while the GI is still a slight favorite, IMO, this is one fine imperial stout and I can’t wait to try it again! Thanks Kevin, for bringing this one to the tasting!

Thanks John for the 2004 edition! This beer pours to a dark brown body with a thin tan head. Coffee and chocolate and barley abound! Hint of smoke and English walnuts. The flavor is chocolate and coffee, oak, and walnuts. WOW! (4.4)

Resampled a 2005 bottle. Pours to a dark brown body with a 2 finger creamy tan head that disapates to a thin head. Nice lacing. The aroma is chocolate, almond joy, light coffee, tootsie rolls, and bourboned barley. The flavor is chocolate, almond joy, walnuts, oak, bourbon. So delicately balanced. Devine. The palate is medium bodied, creamy, and easy drinking. (4.6)

2005 bottled batch, consumed November 2005.
Still a tad thin in appearance on the pour, but in the snifter, it’s black and nearly opaque with a small ’S’ curve and a thin tan wrung for the head (appearance bumped up from a ‘3’ to a ‘4’.) Goddamn, that’s a fine aroma. Bourbon, vanilla and chocolate wafer dust lurking at the bottom of the plastic packaging carton, Vanilla Nips, fudgie-caramel brownies, and roasty s’mores to showcase that chocolate and marshmallow sweetness and graham cracker toastiness (aroma’s now a perfect 10.) More vanilla and cocoa bean flavor than the 2004 batch. Moderate caramel macchiato sweetness with a double shot of espresso for a slightly bitter edge. Liqueur filled semi-sweet chocolate morsels, with similarities to a shot of Irish cream in a winter morning’s hot chocolate. Tasty, reflexive and medium-bodied on the palate. Alcohol is so well hidden. Supremely balanced and in its prime at this very moment, so drink up, boys. Finishes with supple cocoa beans. Not a heavy hitter, but it’s really f’in tasty and has its shit together (overall bumped up from ‘16’ to ‘18’.)

2004 bottle, sampled August 2005. Original rating: 4.0.
Medium viscosity and mostly opaque yet translucent at times. No head. Such a cohesive aroma with rich mocha cocoa, caramel and sweet bourbon. A symphony of complexity. Titillating flavor, like a bourbon glaze over Hershey bars. Paints a picture of a chocolate filled caramel that’s been secretly nuked with liqueur and then masked as a Rolo. Encompassing palate feel. Dark chocolate truffles keep creeping up in my dissertation. A tasty treat, courtesy of JPDIPSO!

I had to hug john when he shared this w/ me. It pours a dark mahogony color w/ a small tan head. Huge roasted malt aroma followed by a hint of smoke some light chocolate and bourbon then just more roasty goodness. Palate was thick full and creamy. Flavor is a sweet carmel malt in some bourbon w/ brown sugar, raisens and plums. This is one of the best beers I’ve ever tried. This beer lost .3 for there remake which wasn’t nearly as good as the original batch.

Absolutely fantastic brew! Unlike MANY of the Ba offerings this showed a little restraint. Everything that a impy needs and then some.