Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout

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

Bottle… Mostly clear, chestnut-colored ale with an orange tint and a small, creamy, khaki head. Good retention. The aroma is a bit grainy, but is otherwise a marriage of bourbon, cherry, chocolate and caramel with undertones of brown sugar and cinnamon. The fruity, woodsy flavor is all tart cherries, sour mash and oak. Medium-bodied with an acidic, dry finish. Kudos to nflmvp for providing the bottle!

Bottle thanks to Brigadier: Pours a murky dark mahogany with ruby hues. and a spotty-lacing light tan head. Aroma has a lot of sweet dark cherries and bourbon vanilla caramel malt, but combined I get buttered popcorn notes. Body starts with a decent dark caramel maltiness and some tart dark chocolate and cherry balance with a hint of cinnamon toward the finish. An interesting brew, but may need some time to cellar.

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.

Dark brown color with a dissipating light cocoa tan head. The very first sniff brought banana bread thoughts, with ripe bananas and nuts. Vanilla and oak come out as it sets along with hints of sweet cherries. Seems a touch thin in feel, as I was hoping for a more mouth-coating feel. Vanilla hits the tip of the tongue and goes on to tart black cherries, light pastry dough and apples. I do find myself looking for some roasted or rich malts, but perhaps they weren’t meant for this one. Seems to be in the style of some belgian stouts or even some of the old ales I have had. Nice brew however you dissect it. This is one that the longer I set with it the more I like it. I think if I cracked another bottle my rating would go up a point or three.

Black body with a khaki colored head. The aroma was strogn cherries along with oak. What a surprise. The taste was cherry cola with some wood. Pretty nice.

STOUTIE RATING #850 and like StFun below I drank this in a side by side comparison with the Bells BB Cherry Stout I just got from Sean (thanks dude), just when I thought I had an original idea someone beats me to the punch... ;-) ... oh I have had this before but did not rate it since i had a full bottle to contemplate... on to the rating: Deep brown with reddish highlights topped by a fading tan head and left oily legs upon the glassware. The aroma has notes of chocolate and vanilla covered cherries along with some oak and bourbon booze, herbal and grainy vapours too. The taste has a hint of a sweet malt stout but is still mostly cherries and bourbon. A hint of lacto sour milk and a unique Creme Brule undertone. The mouth feel is sticky but still seemed a tad too thin IMO. Not bad but the Bells version put this one to shame.

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.

Poured very dark copper brown copper color with a small off-white head. The aroma has too much going on. I dont think it mixes well or there is something off. Initial aroma was cherry creemcheese then the diacetyl butterscotch really kicks in. Its hard to find any imperial stout in here. Also doughy, roasted and sweet notes. the flavor has a touch of cherry, light vanilla, butterscotch and some roast. Again the imp stout is missing for the most part. Light side of a medium body.