Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout (2013 vintage)

Brewed By: Central Waters Brewing Co. in Amherst, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz single bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout, 10.0% [???]

Reported IBUs: ?

Today was one of those days. It was cold out, it was long, I was sleepy, and the Blackhawks lost. Thankfully, tonight's beer isn't Peruvian Morning. About Central Waters: 

Central Waters was founded in 1996 by two friends, Mike McElwain and Jerome Ebel. The two bought an old brick building in Junction City, Wisconsin. During the next two years, the two restored the building, and put in brewing equipment. A few months later, Paul Graham joined the brewery. After three years under the original ownership, the brewery was sold to brewer Paul Graham and home-brewer Clint Schultz. On the brewery's five-year anniversary, Central Waters purchased a new brew house because the old location was having issues with equipment and age. In 2006, Clint Schultz left the brewery. The brewery is currently owned and operated by Paul Graham and Anello Mollica. To read more about the brewery, check out their history page.

Tonight's beer is also part of Central Waters' Brewer's Reserve Series. The Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout features 75 pounds of tart Door County Cherries added to each oak barrel and aged for 6 months. The base beer is their Imperial Stout. Let's see how this one stacks up.

Central Waters BBA Cherry Stout

This one pours a black color with some hints of reddish-brown/cola in bright light. This kicked up a finger of thin, fizzling, tan/brown head that quickly dissolved. There's some legs and lacing; the usual.

As with the Peruvian Morning, the aroma on this beer is awesomely complex and bold. If only it was just smells. I'm getting big bourbon, whisky, woody oak, vanilla, and booze on the nose. Beneath/around that is some nice tart fruit, cherries, berry, and hints of earthy coffee and other earthy vibes. It's a nice aroma.

Wow. It's a real shame I was only able to secure two bottles of this...(caveat emptor: drink this fresh, otherwise you lose that awesome cherry kick). This is a lovely beer, with tart cherry sweetness, light roast, and plenty of bourbon/wood/barrel character to make the beer interesting. It's complex, flavorful, and a great sipping beer. I'm getting bourbon, wood, earth/leather, cherries, tart berries, vanilla, chocolate, molasses, sticky sweetness, light brown sugar, and huge coconut. 

This beer is cherry-forward, features a medium-full mouthfeel, and has moderate carbonation. The finish is sticky and sweet, and at somewhere around 8-10%+ ABV, this is the perfect sipping vehicle. Palate depth is good, complexity is also good. Anyone complaining that this isn't balanced is missing the point a cherry barrel aged stout. You do get some booze heat on this, and the barrel character is strong...but the cherry cuts through it all. Up front is big cherry, barrel, bourbon, oak, wood, coconut; this rolls into leather/earth, more cherry, tart berry, chocolate; the back end is molasses, brown sugar, coconut, sticky sweetness, brown sugar, lingering cherry, bourbon, and some heat. Sticky/sweet/dry finish.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this...this is sexy stuff, and this is why Central Waters is slowly gaining a cult following of dedicated drinkers. When they hit a dinger, it's usually a home run. And then you have the fucked up mess that is Peruvian Morning...I'm hesitant to even purchase that beer again. This beer is a nice mesh of cherries and barrel character, with a subtle Stout base. I'd pair this with a cigar, chocolate cherry cake, coffee braised meats, pork, sweet barbecue, gamey cheeses (goat cheese comes to mind), or with some poutine. All around, pretty good stuff. Grab a bottle or two if you can, and drink it fresh.

Random Thought: It's too bad about Central Waters' quality control issues. I hope they figure that out soon.