Central Waters Peruvian Morning Imperial Stout 2013 [Infected?]

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, 8.0% [???]

Reported IBUs: ?

Today I swung by Half Acre after the ol' 9 to 5 to see if I could snag a bottle of Galactic Double Daisy Cutter. Much to my disappointment, I was greeted to a sign on the door stating that the beer had sold out. I couldn't stick around to snag some on draft, so thems the ropes and the ropes suck. As such, I'm feeling a bit sarcastic, which makes tonight's beer the perfect vehicle to unwind with. 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 part of Central Waters' Brewer's Reserve Series. The Peruvian Morning is a Bourbon Barrel aged Impy, made with freshly roasted Emy J's Coffee. This beer is described as having flavors of vanilla, tannins, and coffee...and many people have boldly compared this to Founders' KBS. This beer is cheap...it's readily available...so what's the deal? There's no deal, except that last year's Peruvian Morning was infected, and word on the street is a good number of bottles from this year's batch are also infected. That sucks. I've popped two or three of these so far, and I can't say for sure if I've had a slightly sour bottle....tonight I'm really going to scrutinize over this beer, so let's see what is up.

Central Waters Peruvian Morning

This one pours a deep black color, with a finger of brown/tan/khaki head that is sustaining nicely for a boozy Stout aged in a bourbon barrel. In bright light, you can see carbonation steadily streaming upwards, and the body is more like dark, dark brown and super opaque. It's actually a really good looking beer. 

The aroma on this beer is awesome. You get that big barrel, bourbon, vanilla, and oak aroma right away. There's some sweet bourbon and bourbon heat on the nose as well. As you dig deeper into the aroma, you definitely get some big bright coffee: fresh grounded coffee beans, fresh espresso...and when the coffee plays off the big oak/vanilla, you get coffee with vanilla/cream/milk. There's also some toasted coconut, brownie, and light nuttiness on the aroma. Imagine that...an Imperial Stout with coffee aged in a bourbon barrel is going to be complex. (Note: no smell of an infection here). 

...and then you taste it...like getting that sixth rejection letter and realizing you are going to junior college. All that awesome complexity on the nose is traded in for one-dimensional acrid coffee and fruity tartness. This has tons of fruity tartness, coffee tartness, and then some vanilla kind of peaks through...it's hard to guess if this is infected, or just a disappointing beer. This isn't really sour so much as it is tart...and the bottle I had a couple of weeks ago was less tart, so what gives? 

If you can imagine what an espresso tastes like, with that intense coffee bitterness....and then you add a layer of fruity tartness....that's pretty much this beer. All the oak and bourbon have taken a backseat to huge espresso and tartness. This is the Tart Espresso Morning Stout.

Even warming this beer up does nothing....it's a damn shame. Is it even worth going through the review? Medium-full mouthfeel, no complexity, palate depth that is way off....you get: espresso and tartness. There's also a lot of booze, and hints of bourbon/oak/vanilla on the way back end.

Rating: Below-Average (2/5 Untappd)

Hey, [possibly] infected beer, you register as Light Below-Average. Even though you don't taste all that offensive, your mouthfeel totally sucks. The palate experience leaves a lot to be desired. And acrid, tart espresso does not a good coffee Stout make. Infection or not, what is in this bottle is a huge disappointment compared to beers like the Bourbon County Coffee, Bells Java Stout, Founders Breakfast Stout, etc. Sure, I could find redeeming qualities in the tarty/tangy fruit notes present in this beer, but what's the point? This promises big barrel aged bourbon coffee goodness. My balls are blue. Skip this one. 

Random Thought: I don't know for sure if this is infected or not...but either way, this is one of the most disappointing beers I've had. The beer promises SO much, from the description to aroma. What am I going to do with the bottles I have laying around? Presumably....age them out for a few years for shits and giggles. And then cook with them.