Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout

Beautiful creamy head that sticks around for a surprisingly long time. Some sediment floating in the beer, but it is difficult to see due to the exceedlingly dark color. Smell is a little coffee but mostly bourbon. I am not a huge fan of bourbon beers, so why, you might ask am I drinking it. Call it curiousity or masochism but it was an impulse buy. Mouth feel is very watery, with vanilla and the woodiness you would expect. The cherry flavor is more of a indistinct sourness than an actual taste of cherries. A small roasted malts taste that leave me wanting more, but sadly it doesn’t deliver. I can’t get over the wateriness of the beer. The bourbon taste barely presents itself in the actual taste, you get it more as a aftertaste, which for me is good. Overall a disappointing beer. To thin and watery for me. Disappointing is all I can say.

12 oz bottle. Pours a deep brown body with a one finger fizzy light brown head that faded pretty quickly to a wispy partial covering. The nose is mostly bourbon, with light accents of vanilla, roast, and a fruitiness that I might not peg as cherry if I didn’t know. The flavor is very simple, a fairly sweet Imperial stout with a spicy bourbon kick. There’s some vanilla and oaky notes, but they’re pretty low key. The cherry doesn’t really emerge until very late in the finish, leaving a lingering coffee and fruit roll-up combination. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with way too much fizzy prickly carbonation. It kinda foams up as it his the tongue. Overall I was not too impressed with this offering. I liked this even less than the regular Satin Solstice.

#700. Pours a deep mahogany with translucent, fiery red at the edges. A creamy, foamy tan head settles to a thin but dense blanket, leaving behind minimal amounts of sudsy lacing. The aroma is heavily wooded, with a good dose of vanilla, chocolate malts, bourbon, and funky dark cherries. The nose really grows on you with each inhalation. The flavor is strikingly tart, with sour cherry infiltrating each and every other element. The oaky wood is very sharp, with chocolate malts sort of fading into the background. There’s alot going on here, and I’m afraid it gets a bit muddled at times. The body is medium-full and very lively, even at this age. Finishes long, sour, and slightly astringent. Definitely not deserving of the Imperial moniker. This is a very interesting stout, but one that ultimately falls well short of the lofty standard that New Glarus’ Unplugged Cherry Stout set for this niche genre.

Thanks again Islay for bringing this to my tasting.

Super strong aroma of bourbon, vanilla, port, cherry. Very rich and complex flavor. I have to admit, this was a very challenging beer, and I must admit most beers don’t challenge me to this degree. Very interesting. Not necessarily my cup of tea but unique. Almost too many flavors hitting you...like...bam...bam...bam!!!

One of the BA guests (non-ratebeer member-yet) shared a 12-oz bottle in the brewery’ lounge room during the Central Waters’ 10th Anniversary Party. Pours a hazy dark cola brew with a thin light beige head that quickly dissipates to a fine film and a thin ring. Aroma of tart cherries, a touch of bourbon, Baker’s chocolate and vanilla. Taste is medium bodied, with little carbonation, with flavors of light tart cherries, dark chocolate bread, a touch of bourbon character (coconut)and some vanilla/sugar frosting. Finish is quite smooth the a light tart cherry aftertaste that quickly changes to light caramel and vanilla flavor. This is an interesting imperial stout with a tart cherry character.

Small sample from 12 oz. bottle consumed at tennisjoel’s tasting on 1-26-08. This was the sixth of ten beers that we tried. I picked this up in Madison, WI in early September 2007. Strong, sweet aroma features caramel, coffee, vanilla, and tobacco scents. Pours a dark brown with a dark amber hue and a small amount of tan head. Roasted malt flavors combine with a sharp cherry tartness. Vanilla and oak flavors from the charred barrel. I don’t get much whiskey taste; the bourbon effects come from the wood rather than the spirit. Reminiscent of vanilla ice cream with cherry sauce or vanilla cherry soda, except with a classic, strong stout presence. Very interesting and good in both aroma and flavor. Roasted, astringent aftertaste. Surprisingly light in the body for the style. Frothy in the palate. Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout is a unique and delicious brew. It was my second favorite beer of the evening, behind only the legendary Dark Lord (2007).

12oz bottle, courtesy of Schutzenliesel. Thanks, Tom! Pours a dark, murky cherry-cola color; khaki-colored head with a reddish tinge and decent retention and lacing. Bitter chocolate and bing cherries in the aroma; kind of light. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: bing cherries, coffee, some sticky bourbon-tinged caramel upfront; pleasant amount of weight and viscosity and tart cherry / fruit character; decent bourbon-barrel aging backing things up; the stout character is a bit light. Lengthy, bing cherry and toasty grain finish.

Cloudy dark red and plum, near-brown in color with a tan, foamy head. Has a faint nose with some lactic cherry notes, and the first taste is syrupy sweet, highly carbonated chocolate and cherry cake frosting, lightly boozy in the finish. Decent, but overall it’s a confused beer and a little weird. There’s a bit of an alcohol bite on the back as well, and overall I don’t think the body on this is very good, but it is different than most of what you find.