Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout

Aroma of bourbon, oak, vanilla, cherries. Medium sized, creamy, dirty white, head that lasts. Dark chocolate in color. Initial flavor of bitter cherries, finishes with rich, chocolate flavor. Average carbonation, creamy texture, duration of finish is little longer than average. Amazing beer!

From the bottle, courtesy of Summer Secret Santa 08, pours black with a thick off white head. Aroma is sweet but distinctive, I really have no idea how to label it. Taste is also unique, but a bit easier to pinpoint. Definitely cherries, light malt, mostly cherries. This is delicious. Smooth and pretty much a fantastic beer.

12 ounce bottle, snagged from my cellar ;) Served at 55 degrees, poured into a 20 oz tulip stout glass leaving an inch of foamy head that fades to a light coating. Not much lacing left on the glass. Appearance is a hazy dark chocolate with slight rusty tint. Some light gets through but not much. Smell is sweet, with cherries in the forefront. Notes of vanilla, bourbon, oak and maybe even a little chocolate follow. Taste is almost an even balance of bourbon and cherries (I’m getting hungry for dessert and I haven’t even had dinner yet). with vanilla and alcohol following closely, quietly behind. Mouthfeel is smooth and velvety. Not as full bodied as I expected but this is certainly not a detraction. The alcohol is well masked. Drinkability is very good. This beer slides easily, happily down the throat. This beer makes for a perfect sipper and now I’m wishing I HAD eaten dinner first because I’m feeling like a double dose of dessert. It’s no wonder this is a GABF GOLD MEDAL winner. Another top notch offering from the top notch guys at Central Waters. Keep ’em coming!

Thanks to CaptainCougar for the bottle. I had to break this out after I had the diacetyl-infused regular BB stout. Deep brown to mahogany pour with a large head. Aroma of oak, bourbon, brown sugar and just a bit of cherries. Flavor is funky-sour cherries (almost like brett?), wood, bourbon and dark roasted malts. This seems like a toned-down version of New Glarus Cherry Stout. The stout taste gets over-run, but you can’t help but like it.

courtesy of BA trade. pours black with a dark mocha head aroma of light tart cherries, lots of bourbon goodness, malts and hints of chocolate. taste, wood/bourbon barrel elements are quite present, had hints of sweet vanilla mix with hints of cherry tartness that despite the 80lbs added to the barrel doesn’t make this beer overly tart. As the beer warmed up, it gained in intensity, chocolate became more noticeable. On the palate, bourbon comes first followed by the cherries/chocolate.

12oz bottle. Poured a dark brown color with red edges and a small sized off white head. Aromas of wood, light bourbon, caramel, cherries, chocolate, vanilla, and nuts. Tastes of wood, tart cherries, light bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate.

’08 bottling, red label. Smells like a chocolate-covered cherry with roast malt in the background. Very smooth and elegant flavor - Chocolate, cherry, and a touch of oak; in the finish some bourbon comes through but it’s accompanied by complimentary cherry sweetness as to not overpower anything. The finish is also balanced by some acidic roast but not a lot. Overall this is a very good cherry stout - clean alcohols and no one overpowering flavor. This apparently is a new release (as of late Feb ’08), and appears to be an improvement!

Someone brought this bottle to the Hampton Inn on Dark Lord Day, and it was my surprise favorite. Foamy beige head on a very dark beer out of the 12 oz bottle. Tart berry nose with some chocolate hints. The initial sip is all about the tart cherries, with a very natural, fresh cherry flavor. That cherry theme is carried on a light bourbon foundation with enough chocolate and coffee to establish that the underlying stout is a solid beer without the fruit. An excellent use of fruit in a bourbon barrel aged beer. I didn’t get any of the buttered popcorn that marred other raters’ experiences.