Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Barleywine
Flavors of bourbon, malt, and hops meld quite good
Served at cellar temp like it should
Unified in one voice, Our fans can rejoice
Charlie now comes aged in wood!
An American Barleywine Ale aged in used oak Bourbon barrels, this beer develops rich flavors that deepen over time. Winner of the GOLD Medal in 2008 at the Great American Beer Festival!
Served at cellar temp like it should
Unified in one voice, Our fans can rejoice
Charlie now comes aged in wood!
An American Barleywine Ale aged in used oak Bourbon barrels, this beer develops rich flavors that deepen over time. Winner of the GOLD Medal in 2008 at the Great American Beer Festival!
3.9
605 reviews
Amherst, United States
Community reviews
Bottle at home. Nice ruby red brown, slightly cloudy, foamy beige head with nice retention. Intense toffee, caramel, sweet dried fruity, vinous bourbon, vanilla, sherry, praline, coffee but nicely balanced by some tobacco, dry charred barrel oak, booze and medium-high bitterness in the finish. Okay linger, on the bitter side. Not too cloying or big bodied, which enhances drinkability and very good balance. Medium-high carbonation.
Bottle. Brownish-amber, yellowish foam. Excellent aroma, bourbon and sherry, vanilla, candied fruit, sweet, good. Taste: toffee, vanilla, bourbon, sweetish, candied fruits, sherry, malty, bitter and hoppy finish, very good.
Hazy amber color with beige head, aroma of dried fruits, caramel and bourbon, taste is medium sweet / lightly bitter, medium plus body, medium minus carbonation.
Hazy amber color with beige head. Aroma has caramel, dried fruits, candied orange rind and hop resin. Taste follows with lots of caramel and bittersweet orange rind, caramel, toffee and bitter, resiny finish. Almost full bodied with medium minus carbonation. A great barleywine with intense bourbon character.
01-Sep-12 (12-oz bottle: Shared by Geoi, thanks!)
This beer pours a clear, amber-brown body with half an inch of tan-colored head that settles to a ring fairly quickly. The nose is very strong, with barrel-influenced aromas of bourbon, toasted coconut, maple syrup, candied orange, and intensely caramely malt. Taking a sip, the entry in general is fruity, malty and bourbony, with intense flavors of sweet caramel, candied fruit, tropical fruit, coconut, earth, decaying wood, and lots and lots of bourbon. However, while the beer finishes with a more toasty malt flavor, it's very boozy. On the palate, it's full bodied and sticky with light-medium carbonation. However, the alcohol is prickly and sharp on the tongue, but not overly warming in the throat, so a few years would hopefully smooth that out. Overall, from a judging perspective, this is overly bourbony. Barrel aging should complement the base beer, but here, the bourbon dominates, particularly in the finish. It's still tasty and I've enjoyed drinking it, but the bourbony aspects are just too strong and the booziness is quite prickly with each sip. Would be great to try again in 4-5 years.
Piana obfita, drobna i trwała. Barwa miedziana, klarowna. Bardzo przyjemnie wanilinowy, słodki zapach, wzbogacony o rodzynki, melasę, cukier trzcinowy. Klasa! W smaku również intensywna wanilia, dębina, orzechy włoskie, do tego suszone i kandyzowane owoce, toffi, karmel, burbon... Jest słodko, są długie posmaki i zbyt wysoka, migdałowo pestkowa gorycz w kontrze. Wysycenie niskie, lekko oleista faktura, solidne rozgrzewanie od whisky na finiszu.
Ogólnie jest to wybuchowa mieszanka idealnie zgodna z moim gustem co do BW BBA. Do ideału zabrakło odrobinkę więcej ciała i kapeczkę mniej alko.
Pours a cloudy brown with a full light tan head. Alcohol, fruit and caramel aroma. Taste is sweet caramel malt, buttered biscuits, dried fruit and too much hop bitterness for the style. It was doing great until then. Some may disagree, but a barleywine is supposed to be sweet with notes of caramel, butterscotch or molasses. Little to no hop bitterness should be present.
33cl flesje. Helder donker amber kleur, fijne romige licht bruine schuimkraag. De geur van karamel en vanille. Smaak is zoet, karamel, licht whisky en vanille. Medium lichaam, veel koolzuur.
W aromacie wanilia, kokos, drewno, parkiet, beczka. Z wyglądu miedziane z obrączka kremowej piany. W smaku słodkie, wyczuwalna melasa, kandyzowane owoce, nuty drewniane, cytrusy, złożone. Degustacyjne, aksamitne, alkohol ukryty, goryczka średnia, grejpfrutowa. Ogólnie bardzo dobry barley wine, pychotka
355 ml bottle. 2018 vintage.
Pours clear dark mahogany color with a small head. Bourbon and vanilla first on the nose, caramel, some ripe fruit notes follow, faint hops and toasted malts on the background. Flavor is sweetish with caramel, toffee and vanilla, slight tingling alcohol warmth comes through quite fast, wooden notes, bourbon, toasted malt notes and faint ripe fruit notes on the aftertaste. Alcohol gets eventually too strong but otherwise quite nice bourbon-y brew.
4425
Bottle from Drankenhandel Leiden. Aroma is pretty firm bourbon with malt, vanilla, oak, dried fruits, caramel toffee, alcohol, marzipan, touch of walnuts and nougat. Flavour is heavily sweet and fairly bitter for the style. Body is full. Quite heavy and boozy, sweet, overall not too crazy about this one, but it is nicely sippable.
Bottle from a friend. Copper color, white head. Bitter taste with dried fruits, nuts, toffee, bourbon, oak, toast and a bit of alcohol. Bitter finish with dried fruits, toffee, toast, nuts and a bit of alcohol. Excellent barley wine.
355ml bottle. 2018 vintage. Thanks c0fein! Sweet, stingy and woody with some oak, loads of bourbon, toffee, syrup and buttery notes. Heavy and slightly boozy.
Chestnut brown pour with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of toffee, raisins, and some oak. Toffee and raisin flavors dominate with some vanilla, and oak with some booziness. Creamy body. 2017 bottle.
Bottled 355ml (Beerdome, mark "25418")
Ruby colour, steady beige head. Aroma is malty with toffee and raisins. Full-bodied. Very malty, raisiny, toffeeish flavour with light vanilla and oak. It has also whisky alcohol kick and some amount of hops, so bitter aftertaste. At least as fresh (less than a year) this is close to American Strong Ale type of beer. Pleasant, intensive.
Bottle. Color: Copper, beige head. Aroma: Malt, toffee, Bourbon. Taste: Over medium sweet, malty, caramel and toffee, dark dried fruit notes, pretty strong boozy and vanilla Bourbon notes, almond hints. Full body, below average carbonation. Nice, but lacking some complexity and too sticky sweet compared to some other great barrel aged Barleywines I have tasted.
Pours a dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma of bread, light dark malts. Slightly mineral. Light bourbon and medium oak. Taste is medium sweet with dark caramel malts, oaky notes, light bourbon. Mouthfeel is medium creamy with light suds. Probably my favourite of the brewers reserve series.
30 November 2018. Billie's Craft Beer Fest. Cheers to Anke, tderoeck & 77ships!
Hazy brown with a lasting, thin, foamy, off-white head; little lacing. Aroma of pear syrup, plum, dough, oak, brioche, spicy cookie, caramel, almond, bourbon, 'woody vanilla'. Taste is medium to heavy malty sweet, quite fruity, balancing plum & pear on the one hand and dough & caramel on the other; light to medium herbal bitter, green tea-like, a bit spicy, but creamy vanilla and some wood are apparent throughout; already warming up in the mouth. Dryish, herbal hoppy finish, lingering dough & dark fruit, woody, warming bourbon alcohol. Medium to full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Not the most refined of BAs but it does the job.
Sampled at Billie's 2018. Dark brown with no head. Aroma and flavour have plenty of malt sweetness. Very dry from the barrel some coconut too.
Pours ruby red with nice creamy foam. Aroma: nice bourbon , wood, vanilla, molasses, caramel. Taste: vanilla, bourbon, dried fruit. Nice palate warming from alcohol.
8 3 9 4 17
Draft at Billie’s Beer Festival ‘18. Hazy brown with a tan head. Aroma of caramel, malt, toffee, oak, bourbon. Flavour is heavy sweet. Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Thanks! Sampled draft @ Billie’s Beer Festival 2018. Day 1. Dark amber. Nose is sweet bourbon but also some oxidation walnut, sugar. Taste is oxidation, alcoholic, boozy, sugar, walnut,… Oxidized syrup. Good but they took it a bit too far.
Sampled @ Billie's Craft Beer Fest 2018, Day 1. A clear amber beer with a small white head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, strong riped moderate sweet fruits. Taste of sweet strong riped fruits, caramel, vanilla, bourbon, fascinating
Wow, What a beer for it's style (or any). 2018 vintage was boozed up a long bit at (14.3%). The overall flavor character is only changed by the booziness upfront , other than that it tastes the same.Must try!
On tap at the Ginger Man. Pours dark brown. Bourbon, vanilla, oak, booze, syrupy, maple syrup, biscuit. Good full oily body. Very nice.
Bottle from BrewDog Brighton. Not as nice as Siren Old Fashioned but a nice barley wine nevertheless.
Donkeroranje, koperkleurig bier met crèmekleurige schuimkraag die redelijk snel inzakt tot fijn laagje. Mout, bourbon, barrel, eik, caramel, butterscotch, beetje rood fruit. Lange warme afdronk met een tinteling op het tandvlees. Medium bitter. Zéér mooi.
Murky brown red color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Caramel, dark fruits, vanilla, wood, bourbon, light booze.
Aroma of alcohol, biscuit, sugar and dark fruit, lots of burbon, wood and vanilla. Cloudy brown color with small sized tan head. Sweet taste with lots of biscuit, sweet chocolate, hazelnuts, plums, burbon and caramel. Didn't detect any alcohol in taste. Full body, flat, some burning effect. Lovely. //tap at Brewdog Manchester
Pours beautiful ruby amber with light, thin beige head. Aroma is bourbon, caramel and just a whiff of vanilla. Taste is first sweet caramel, moving wood and hop backbone. Finish is smooth bourbon. A very tasty barleywine.