Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Cassian Sunset
A bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with local Emy J’s coffee, whole vanilla beans, and cinnamon. The flavor profile of this wonderful beer boasts a lush mouthfeel, with just the right amount of creamy spice character to meld with the rich malt and barrel aged profile.
3.9
186 reviews
Amherst, United States
Community reviews
Tap at Kultainen Apina. 2018 vintage. Pours black with thin beige head. Flavor has roasted malts, bourbon barrel, vanilla, cacao, caramel. Medium body, soft carbonation, sweet finish.
2016 Cassian Sunset bottle - I believe this was the first year this came out. Pours out a deep and dark brown. Smells of sweet malt, caramel, vanilla, some faint cinnamon, and bourbon. Taste is of chocolate, some cinnamon, lots of vanilla, and oaky bourbon. I did not really pick up on any coffee notes which is likely due to the age of the beer. This is about medium-bodied.
I could see myself buying this every year it comes out - especially to experience the coffee at its freshest. The cinnamon is a fun twist to the style without being over the top.
12 ounce bottle poured into a glass. The beer is a dark black with a beige head of foam. Fudgy and boozy. Plenty of fruity aspects. Also lots of boozy notes. Bigger body and medium carbonation.
29.04.2020: 355 ml bottle at home, vintage 2018, bought at OnTap, Bern. Pours a very dark chestnut brown with a beige head. The aroma is full of sweet bourbon, lots of vanilla, some charred woody notes, sweetish roasted malt, brown sugar, toffee, some cocoa and distinct notes of cinnamon. Medium-full body with a soft carbonation, a medium sweetness and a light bitterness. The flavor is similar to the smell with distinct bourbon notes, quiet some vanilla and cinnamon, sweet malt, brown sugar, honey and very mildly roasted malt along faint notes of lightly sweetened coffee. Finishes with quiet boozy notes of bourbon, spices and a lightly warming feeling. Overall the bourbon barrel is very dominant, the spices are noticeable but I miss the roasted malt a bit. The body behind the barrel notes feels and unapt to carry the barrel flavors with makes the beer more boozy than it probably is. Wins upon warming.
Aroma: 8
Appearance: 4
Taste: 7
Palate: 4
Overall: 14
Bottle 12fl.oz. @ home.
[ As Central Waters Cassian Sunset - 2018 ].
ABV: (11.7%). Clear dark black brown colour with a large, frothy - creamy, good lacing, mostly lasting, light beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, chocolate, coffee, barrel, cinnamon, vanilla, alcohol - bourbon. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light moderate bitter with a long duration, sweet malt, chocolate, vanilla, spicy - cinnamon, bourbon, vanilla, coffee, barrel - vanilla - bourbon. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finsh feel is warming and light alcoholic. [20200401]
9-4-8-3-16
330ml bottle. Smooth, spicy and heavy with bourbon notes, hints of stingy liquor fudge, toffee, coffee notes, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate and oak. Pretty good, but a bit thin.
Bottle at home ... Deep brown vlack ... thin tan lacing ... soft sweet caramel toffee vanilla nose .. soft sweet caramel toffee malts .. big vanilla ... lit cinamon ... juicy roast... big sweet maybe over sweet malts Rich roast
12 oz bottle. 2018 vintage. At the Sitko/Sori, Tampere, Finland.
Black color with a small tan head.
Aroma is sweet, sweet... slightly Bourbony... and a bit boozy. Bourbon, alcohol, spices and vanilla in flavor. Strong. Malty. Boozy. Barley Wine?
Bottle@Sitko & Sori, Tampere, Finland. Strong, averagely balanced nuances of bourbon, chocolate and sweetish coffee, like those alcohol infused chocolate fondants. Some cinnamon. A hint of roasted malts are being dampened by sweet and alcohol components. Also, the nuances notes feel a bit old, whether that is bad or classy. Wide taste spectrum and medium/long aftertaste with malty bourbon. Strong body with medium carbonation. Overall, good quality, distinctive coffee and caramel combination that somewhat dampens basic IS flavors. 8 3 8 3 17
Bottle sample at a tasting. Deep brown with brownish head. The aroma has notes of spices, cinnamon, chili, coffee, earthy, alcohol. The flavor is sweet and mild sour with notes of alcohol, spices, cinnamon, clove, coffee, chili. Full-bodied.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav's place. Black, tan foam. Big bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, fudge, cinnamon, some coffee, chili note, sweet, lightly sourish hint, full-bodied. Really good.
Viskeuze doch doordrinkbare imperial porter. De kaneel komt vooral in het aroma door, tevens in de afdronk. Het doet zelfs wat aan speculaas denken. De cacao en vanille komen tevens licht door. Verder een fruitige body, en opvallend dat het bier niet zo zoet is als je verwacht met deze ingrediënten.
Bottle at a tasting. Brown black, beige head. Vanilla, cinnamon, roasted malt, coffee. Sweet, vanilla, coconut, chocolate, hot spices, cinnamon, coffee. Full-bodied, oily, smooth. Tasty stuff.
Tap@Peders, Copenhagen (01/12/2019) - black pour with a tan head. Sweet and roasted dark malty with opulent chocolate, some caramel and toffee, some lovely bourbon notes laced throughout, full body, vanilla and bourbon coalesce into the lingering sweet dark malty finish. Gorgeous.
Draught at Peders.
Dark brown coloured with a small head.
Roasted aroma of caramel, vanilla and oak.
Roasted flavour of caramel, oak, bourbon and vanilla with notes of oak.
Roasted finish.
35,5cl flesje via Het Bierhuis, Breda
Alcoholpercentage van 11,7%
Uitgeschonken in Brand Porter glas
Uiterlijk: zwart met goede crèmekleurige schuimkraag
Aroma en smaak: aroma vol van chocolade en vanille, smaak is chocolade, koffie, gebrande mouten, kaneel, vanille, dan het Bourbon vat, eiken, boozy finish
Conclusie: heerlijke BA stout
Bottle at Ratebeer Odense, November 2019. Dark brown with a lasting off-white head. Roasted aroma with chocolate, coffee and cinnamon cookies. Sweet roasted flavour with a little too much cinnamon and a boozy touch of alcohol.
Bottle @ Ratebeer Odense November Get Together, November 2019. Pours Black with a small beige head. Massive roast, cinnamon, coffee and Wood and vanilla. Smooth and Full bodied. Cinnamon is there But Quite Tasty. Yes.
Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with coffee, cinnamon and vanilla; bottle at Bar Beenhouwer, Ghent. Pale yellow-beige, mousy, medium thick, relatively well-retaining head, pitch black robe. Aroma of coffee liqueur, bourbon, ground hazelnuts, ‘fondant’ chocolate bars, cinnamon indeed but in a ‘raw’ and bitter kind of way, roasted coconut, nutmeg, toffee, almond, vanilla indeed but seemingly more from the oak wood than actual vanilla. Sweet onset, candied figs, raisins, very light umami hint, medium carbonation, full and oily body; lovely toffeeish, chocolatey and nutty maltiness with a mild toasty bitterness and coffee roastedness in the finish, combining the roasted grains with the actually added coffee. Cinnamon and vanilla still noticeable but vaguely so, before a warming, indeed clearly sweet bourbon-flavoured alcohol glow wipes everything clean, yet without becoming obnoxiously astringent. Very ‘American’ imperial stout, and a very good one at that.
Thin tan head stayed well on a mahogany coloured still body.
Weed, vanilla, wood & dark chocolate aroma.
Medium bodied, smooth & oily over the tongue with a creamy back.
Oak, spirits, boozy, caramel, malt, vanilla, coffee & under ripe stone fruit tastes followed by a tangy citrus finish.
Bottle.
A- Cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, whisky,
A- Black color, dark liquid, tan head.
T- Cinnamon, vanilla, fudge, mild whisky, boozy.
P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, complex finish.
O- Christ this is delicious. At one year vintage, I almost regret giving my other bottles to friends to sample. Outright outstanding. I would love to see Central Waters do a stout collab with White Elm. It would kick ass. I want so much more Central Waters after this. Surprisingly the coffee is the weakest and the barrel aging adds complexity but not tons of flavor. It's the cinnamon and vanilla that shine most yet they don't overpower.
En Beerhouse, de botella. Color negro con leve halo de espuma beige. Aromas a alcohol, café, canela y bizcocho, deliciosos toques dulzones a vainilla. En boca es oleosa pero no demasiado pesada, destaca la astrigencia y el tostado cafetoso con toques muy agradables y especiados a vainilla y ramas de canela. Se agradece mucho que no haya esa dulzonería típica de las Omnipollo o Lervig que llegan a ser un pelín pesadas. Quizás algo pasada de carbonatación para ser una imperial stout. Final amargo y cafetoso, intenso como un espresso, duradero. Muy gratamente sorprendida.
2018 bottle from Holiday Market. Pours a deep, chestnut brown to black with a finger of beige foam that lingers as a ring. Big fudge forward aromas on the nose with creamy, oaky vanilla treacle notes, coffee and mild cinnamon and bourbon as it warms. The bourbon really opens up as it warms up. Medium body...maybe a touch thin. Light oxidation on the 2018 bottle, but nothing bad by any means. Warming bourbon, cinnamon stick, fudge and coffee on the finish. Really nice.
Bottle. Nearly black, small beige head. Aroma has bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon. Cinnamon and vanilla flavour, sweet bourbon, some bourbon heat. Turns a little boozy and the cinnamon gets quite rough. Not as sweet and heavy as the aroma suggests.
Bottle
Aroma-vanila, caramel, chocolate
Taste-medium sweetness and bitterness, light sourness
Palate- medium body, sticky, average carbonation, long finish
Overall-very good
355ml bottle, 2018 vintage. Pours black with a small beige head. Aroma of bourbon, coffee, vanilla, chocolate. Taste is rich, bourbon, oak, vanilla, coffee, roast, dark chocolate, cinnamon, bittersweet, a little boozy. Full bodied, very smooth. Could have done without the cinnamon in my opinion as didn't complement as well as I'd want, superb stout otherwise.
Medium brown color. Love the nose with the vanilla the most pronounced, then coffe, bourbon, oak and dark chocolate. The barrel aging is slightly off imo but the other characteristics are amazing. Light body, tons of oak, coffee, bourbon, vanilla and cherries. Very light body. Warming finish., but nice. Didn’t love the mouth feel but everything is fantastic
Thanks Virby44! Taster showing brown with half a finger of brown foam.
The nose shows strong notes of bourbon wood, dark chocolate, molasses, and milk chocolate.
The palate is well carbonated and full bodied. Strong bourbon background throughout light coffee and hints of toffee and molasses.
Refrigerated 12 oz. brown bottle poured into a cup. Black with small beige head. Aroma is chocolate, medium body, lower carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is chocolate.
Opaque black beer with slight yeast and with a slight/medium beige/brown head. Heavy aroma; taste starts medium/heavy sweet and ends slightly bitter and dry. Bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, nuts, roasted malts, coffee and cinnamon. 9/5/9/4