Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout
We throw seventy-five pounds of tart Door County cherries into each oak barrel with a rich Imperial Stout and then age it for six month to create this savory delight. Cheers
3.7
336 reviews
Amherst, United States
Community reviews
Near pitch black pour, fast tiny offwhite head. Aroma is chocolate covered cherry truffles, oak, red wine, lighter booze notes. Dark chocolate gives way to sour cherry Liqueur, pinot noir, wood. Medium body with active carbonation. Drinks like a sour/stout hybrid. A sipper that begs for a black forest cake for accompaniment.
Pour at the Great Taste of the Midwest, 2016. Not sure how I’ve missed this one previously. Dark brown pour, slightly murky. Malty with some tart cherry in the taste. Hard to find any bourbon or barrel.
Bottle shared by a friend. Dark brown pour with a thick tan head. Aroma of malt, caramel, slight bourbon and cherry. Tart cherry flavor giving way to sweet malt before a chocolate and bourbon finish.
Pours deep copper with minimal head. Aroma is tart cherry, faint vanilla, mild oakiness. Taste is tart cherries, whiskey, very smooth. Very good.
Poured from 12 oz bottle 2016 vintage. Dark brown black pour. Aroma is tart cherry, malt, chocolate and vanilla. Gusging with cherry flavor but well ballanced. Slightly bitter finish. A very nice bourbon stout.
Bottle. Colour...light brown, but not quite amber, with a thin head. Nose...cherry compote and cherry crisp with hints of ethanol. Palate...dry, with dried sweet cherries, Luden’s cherry lozenges and some rolling waves of booziness. The mid palate is a bit sweeter and than the front and the finish is almost brisk with sappy cherry bark and hints of oaky tannins.
Central Waters was scooping 80 pounds of Door County cherries into the barrel four years ago when this edition was created. As a result, it smells and tastes a lot like, well, cherries. Surprisingly light weight for a barrel-aged stout. Still nicely tart. Quite yummy. Wish I had a few more hiding in the beer fridge. Bottled Jan 2012 and consumed Jan 2016.
Bottle from 2014 into tulip. Minneapolis.
Overall, decent. Hard to tell this is barrel aged. Missing the typical CW barrel aged aroma. I’m not sure about the style. The cherry seems to a clash a little with the barrel notes. Definitely my least favorite of the CW bourbon barrel beers. Would be better if made with Michigan cherries.
12 oz bottle sampled for the first time at DLD from notes. Pours dark brown to black in color with a small beige head. The aroma and flavor had quite a bit of dark, tart cherries, roasted malts, chocolate, bourbon, hints of wood, some vanilla, this was something new to me back in 07 when I had it the first time, so I would have rated it higher, subsequent tastings found it to be very good, but not like the first time, solid enough though.
From notes. Enjoyed at the Great Taste of the Midwest on August 08. This one has little hope. Ugh. The pour is a medium brown with a larger light tan head and a decent lace. The aroma is all cherry. I would have loved to get some malt, dark fruit, or even a little licorice. There is no barrel, no discernible oak or vanilla. It’s bad. The flavor mimics this. There is nothing in here but cherries. I feel like it’s brown cherry juice. Blah. Not for a stout. The mouth feel is thin and sharp with a light, spritzy carbonation and a lingeringly tart finish. This thing is just something else. And not a good something.
22/08/2015 – sample (bottle) @ Gents Bierfestival thanks to Martinus & 77ships for sharing.
Dark colour with nice tanned head. Aroma is amazing : cherries, vanilla, roasted malts, bourbon, taste is the same adding chocolate, some oak. Amazing beer. Never thought I would love something like this.
Bottle, deep brown body, little head dissapeared. Aroma is molasses, dried plum, coffee, bourbon. Taste is cherries, dried plums, oak, coffee, anise. Finish is sour cherries. Palate is quite rich, carbonation moderate.
Joint bottle with Martinus. Obtained in a trade with sfr26. Thx! 1/3 of a 355 ml. bottle. Very dark brown. Nose is seriously tart cherry, giving it a vinous feel, candy, sugar, bourbon, oak, chocolate,… Taste is tart cherry mixed with bourbon lightly vinous with oak, chocolate, bourbon, warming, rich, lower carbonation, very interesting & enjoyable. Lower carbonation. Light sour finish. JorisPPattyn makes a comparison to Mon Chérie in his review, I can see that. Interesting & quite lovely.
Small cream-coloured head over deepbrown to Armenian brandy-coloured beer. Red fruit, alcohol, Bourbon, vanilla, fusels - superb. Vanilla, cherries, lightly sourish, chocolate as in finest pralines, with cherry - Mon Chérie in a squared way. Sourish, acidity just alleviating the monstrous body, alcoholeheat². This brewery is utterly amazing. Many thanks to Eugene and Tinus for sharing!
Hazy brown colour, beige head. Aroma of cherry, vanilla, roasted malts. Sweet malty flavour, cherry, sour cherry, chocolate. Rather fizzy. Quite sour finish, malts. Thanks for handeling the trade, Eugene!
(From 35.5cL bottle shared with 77ships @ Gents Bier Festival 2015)
Sample at Great Taste of the Midwest. Aroma is light, cherries, roasted malt. Appearance is brown, light brown head. Taste is tart cherries, not much else. Mouthfeel is light, harsh, not good. Overall, not good.
Bottle @ THT July, courtesy of me!! Pours an inky black beer with a small off white head on top. Aroma of cherries, bourbon, thick chocolate, red fruits and loads of woody notes. Great aroma. Flavor is very sweet with loads of bourbon, booze and cherries in there. A bit tart in the aftertaste makes it refreshing every sip. Very well balanced with an interesting combination of ingredients! Nice!
Bottle shared at Dean’s Technicoloured Dream-Shorts Tasting thanks to Mrhangover. Pours near black with a ring tan head. Aroma of cherries, bourbon, vanilla, roast, oak, light chocolate, caramel. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Poured deep dark brown with a beige ring. Aroma of cherry, chocolate, roast malt, moderately wooden. Full body, moderately smooth, flavour is medium sweet, flavour as the aroma.
bottle shared at the July THT.
Thin creamy tan head. Clear deep amber pour. A bit thin. Some cherries. Pretty decent
Black pour from 12oz bottle at Paws. Tiny tan head. Cherry and coconut aroma - same with the taste. Cherry and cocoa dominate. Super tasty brew
Monster barrel aged stout. Strong cherry and bourbon flavored with a slight sweet boozy finish. Had a bottle share at home with Kaser. Pours reddish brown with almost no head
Shared bottle. Pours dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma of cherry, chocolate, malt, and bourbon. Taste is tart cherry, roasted malt, dark chocolate, bourbon, and vanilla. Excellent, but not an every day drinker.
On draught
Pours a very dark reddish brown with a small head.
The aroma is real woody with some roastiness & vanilla. It’s sweet smelling with a mild fruity, maybe cherry like character. It smells nice but not especially bucke wild.
The flavor is sweet cherries, some red wine, some bourbon and a mild roastiness. Honestly it comes across as fairly tannic. It’s overly boozy but doesn’t display a very well presented bourbon character. It’s got a light cherry like tartness, and plenty of woodiness. It’s sweet but it’s a long ways from stout candy.
The definition of good but not great, it really didn’t live up to my expectations of it at all.
12oz bottle. Dark mahogany with a beige head that completely fades. Light vanilla, sour cherry pits, bourbon, burnt malt, some dark chocolate, moderate body and carbonation, slightly sweet but then more bitter, chocolate and maraschino cherry comes out more on the palate, somewhat dry and sweet finish.
Old rating. Thanks Joe! Nice dark pour. Oak, bourbon, dark chocolate sweetness, cherry tart. Very dessert like. Balanced and a little sweet.
Big thanks to Dean for getting me this. 2014 Tasted with a 2011 and 2014 regular CW BBS. Really enjoyed what the cherry added to this, a tartness as opposed to a sweet candy like cherry flavor. Dry and not syrupy, but still had full body.
February 11, 2015 - bottle from Nova. Dark brown pour with limited head. Aroma was sour cherry, bourbon, wood, chocolate and roasted malt. Taste was consistent with aroma and there was a nice balance with the flavors. The palate was a bit thin for how I like BA stouts, but it did make this very easy going down. Looking forward to see how this changes with age.
Sampled while visiting IL in June, 2014. Black pour, small tan head, mild lacing. Okay aroma, lots of bourbon, some chocolate, coffee, mild cherry. Better flavor, still plenty of whiskey, cherry comes through more, chocolate, roasted malts. Like a barrel aged chocolate cherry... not bad!
I wanted to like it. It's ok, but probably not something I'd buy again. The cherry overwhelms the stout flavor