Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout

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

Courtesy of Styles

Bottle: The aroma consists of cherry, vanilla, bourbon, and faint chocolate. It pours a dark brown with a small tan head. The flavor starts with chocolate and light sour cherry. The finish has some mild vanilla and bourbon and the slightest hint of coffee. Unlike the regular cherry stout, this actually tastes like a stout. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel.

Solid black with a dense everlasting 1/2" head. Cherry bonbon aroma with a sour kick. Sweet and sour cherry chocolate flavor. The cherry is very retro nasal, getting intense in the sinus but the flavor is actually fairly subdued. Light in body. This is one beer that may actually benefit from being served on nitrogen.

Had this next to Bells version, and while I liked the aroma of this better, the Bells version had the better flavor and was the slightly better beer overall. This one pours a similar "cherry coke" color; black with a red syrupy hue. The aroma is nice, cherries, cherry syrup, chocolate, wood, vanilla. Missing the smoke of the Bells version. Flavor is heavy on the cherry syrup and weaker on the other characteristics that showed in the aroma. Sticky mouthfeel as well. Just not quite as good as Bells, but a good beer, and I continue to enjoy Central Waters’ offerings.

Courtesy hopscotch. Pours a dark brown, with a deep reddish hue. Small white head hugs the edges ofthe glass. Smells of bourbon, masked by fruity cherries. That combination always gets me the aroma of peanut butter. The taste actually I think is more fruity than the bourbon. I was surprised by this, I thought the bourbon would drown out the fruit. Sweet flavor left on the tongue and palate. Pretty rich mouthfeel. Not bad.

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.

fra Sune til klubben. Den er lidt mærkelig. Lugter lidt af skalddyr. Næsten sort i farven er næsten sort med et beige skum.Choko, karamel, vanille, kaffe.

12oz bottle....blackish pour with a thin tan head and reddish brown edges... bourbon forward aroma with softer vanilla tones that coincides with a backend cherry presence... flavors of sweet toffee, cherry, and bourbon that quickly sours up. not on par with bells ba cherry. a little to bitter and sour in the aftertaste.

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Smell is chocolate, cherry, bourbon, sweetness. Look is brown to black in color with a light tan head. Taste is good cherry, chocolate, and malts.