Central Waters Brewers Reserve Irish Dry Stout

12oz bottle shared courtesy of Ughsmash. Poured a deeper brown color with an averaged sized tan head. Aromas of roast, light coffee, and vanilla. Tastes of roast and coffee. Body on the thinner side.

Bottle thanks to Brigadier. Poured a deep, reddish-brown with a very nice initial cap of beige head.. settled down to a thin cap. Aroma picked up coffee and dark chocolate.. drier aspects to it and a touch of sourness. Flavor had dry-roasted darker chocolates and some bitterness from coffee grounds.. sour coffee finish. Dry and lighter-bodied on the palate with a little odd sourness. This was very mediocre.

12 oz bottle

Coming from Central Waters I did not have high expectations for this release. Yet it somehow still fell a bit short. While it was not exactly undrinklable I still found myself wondering if a little water had not gotten mixed in during the bottling process. It was too thin and one dimensional for my tastes. Still, your mileage may vary so if you happen to be at the brewpub or acquire a bottle give it a try.

Aroma / Appearance - The reddish black body slid around the glass a little too easily. I could tell from the outset this was not going to be a thick bodied stout. The nose confirmed that - fresh ground coffee beans and vanilla creamer formed the entire bouquet. There were no undertones of anything else to tempt one to do more exploring so I just moved right on.

Flavor / Palate - Watery coffee grounds remixed with the beans greet the senses along with the mouthfeel of flat Pepsi. This is entirely one-dimensional even though I found myself looking hard for anything else that might make me like it more. Somehow it is still enjoyable though perhaps only as a mindless session beer before you move on to thicker, more complex styles. I’ll be passing on this one in the future.

Sampler flight at the brewery. Smoky nose and palatte, dark thick brown color, good flavor-not "smooth" or milky like a traditional stout, but has kick, like a bourbon.

Nice death black color with a quickly vanishing head. Big chocolate aroma with lots of roasted malt and to me, it seemed a little salty. Good flavors of roast and chocolate, but it’s pretty thin on the body. Slightly bitter finish.