Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout

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

12 oz bottle. Dark brown with a creamy tan head. Nose of bourbon and cherry with mocha. Tangy and tart with a medium body. Taste is bourbon, coffee and cherry. Leaves an earthy crabapple and bitter chocolate finish. Too much.

Courtesy of Degarth. Pours dirty dark brown with mocha had and spotty lacing. The aroma hits you in the face with boozy barrel notes of bourbon and wood really. For an instant I get some cherry fruitiness. Lots of wood in the nose. The taste feels pretty thick bringing in bold notes of wood, booze, tart tannins, rich chocolate malts and faint tart fruitiness. Bold flavors but a bit much on the barrel-ness.


Courtesy of Gillard. Tasted at the May 3rd 2008 beer geek gathering at the Oldsmar Tap House in FL.

Pours clear deep amber with thin tan head. The aroma has cherry fruit tartness mixing with wood and sweet bourbon goodness along with a faint backbone of dark roasted malts. The taste has a quick pulse of dark malty semi sweetness that moves into cherry fruitiness and tartness where the barrel wood notes and bourbon are there but take a back seat. The base beer could be a bigger player here to add some depth and balance.

Pours a dark brown with an off-white head. Smells of cherries. Very sweet with aromas of caramel, malts, oak, bourbon, alcohol and a bit of cherries. Full bodied with a nice sticky mouthfeel. Long sweet finish with a mellow warming alcohol sensation. Very nice.

CW regular bourbon varrel stout is great. While I’m not a big fan of cherry stouts this is much better than the few I’ve had since the cherry flavor does not overwhelm the brew. Cherry stouts tend to be too sweet for my taste but this is not too sweet. Earthy woody barrel aging is apparent. Drinkable.

Dark brown pour with a fizzy tan head that went away very quickly. Strong bourbon and vanilla aroma with cherries in the background. Flavor is sweet cherry, vanilla, bourbon, roasty malts, oak, and just a touch of funk. Slightly boozy, and bit too sweet.

Bottle: Dark brown pour with a smaller tan head. Aroma is of cherry cordials with bourbon. Nice. Flavor is cherry and chocolate with the bourbon barrel accent. A bit chalky and light roasted malt. Flavor gets a bit muddled. Still, I like cherries, I like bourbon, and I like imperial stouts; so this was great to try. Thanks Pepsican.

Awwwww yea 420 baby. Pours dark brown with burgundy highlights and a thin, crisp off-white head, bits of lace. Smells of cherry, oak, and booze, in that order. Tastes of dark cherry, a bit of bourbon and wood and some funkiness. Wood funkiness I think. Full body, vibrant carbonation. Ehhhh

Had this one bottled in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Thanks Slothgar! Very dark, brownish red pour with a thick, light brown head. Strong alcoholic nose of almond and sweet bread. Very strong, cherry and whiskey, malty. Alcoholic finish. Good, but a bit too strong for me.