Y2K Two Year Vintage
Central Waters Brewing Co.

Tasted in a Rastal Teku from a 1 pt 6 fl oz bottle on November 12, 2020. Released December 2, 2016 and then aged in my climate controlled cellar. There are notes of caramel and dark fruit.

 

22oz bottle. Not marked for date.
Clear, amber brown colored body. One finger of beige head. Leaves behind some strings of lacing.
Aroma of caramel and dark fruits. Bready malt.
Taste of dark cherry and dark chocolate, with some burnt caramel mixed in. There is a bit of alcohol burn here. Seems like a bit of spicy hops appear toward the end. Has a bit of fruit jam in the aftertaste.
Close to a medium mouth feel, with a syrupy texture. Good carbonation.
Tasty barleywine with a mix of flavors. Has aged well.

Definitely has some “old beer” notes of sleepy hops and melded Malts. All that said, I enjoy this beer. Raisins and some slight prune tones come in along with a lacquer piney bite. Remarkable heat from alcohol is there too. Curio of a beer

 

 

Big thanks again to Joe for this heavy hitter. Cheers mang.

The color of this beer alone is worthy of immense praise. At first glance it looks like a deep mahogany brown. But when held to light it glows a gorgeous crystal clear cranberry red. A thin ring which never had a chance to be something more curbs the coastline with wisps of islands stretching around the vast middle.

The smell is divine. Burnt caramel, fig, and cherry syrup guarantee a sweet beast. A splash of medicinal and earthy hops promise balance. There's a deeply rooted bready influence I can't quite put my finger on, but it's definitely in the decadent dessert portfolio.

The flavor delivers. Sweet dark fruits hit first. A splash of cherry flavored cough syrup and red grapes. Lightly toasted bread, no… scratch that… a cinnamon roll without the cinnamon comes in next, though there is a holiday spiciness to it. A light dose of chocolate, and an even lighter hand of roasted almond come in just before the backhand slap of a spicy and flowery end, while prunes take on a lingering presence as it warms.

Thin bodied, though this manages to retain a syrupy linger on the tongue. A light carbonation carries the sweetness from front to back, and with each sip an intense bitter bite puts it in check. Boozy? Sure, but it almost goes unnoticed it's so smooth. And just as a reminder to what kind of beer your drinking, a sticky residue calls for constant lip smacking.

This is one hell of a Barleywine. I wish I had saved it as it's just about MoaS season. I'd loved to have done a side by side with that and perhaps Sucaba, as I think this could hold its own against the formidable heavyweights.

Thanks again Joe. You stumbled upon quite a goody here. And by stumbled I mean most likely actually stumbled.

Cheers!

22oz Bottle
$6.99
Keyport Liquors - Superior, WI

This two year vintage is a handsome beverage. Tarnished copper and mahogany throughout. There's a little murkiness with glowing ruby highlights along the edges. The foam is an impressive sight to behold. The dirtiest of whites, bordering khaki, is the foam. An easy two fingers of silky head forms on the pour and slowly fades to a thick cap leaving sheet lacing and big chunks of clouds on its way. When I think barleywine, I think this.

Whew, this is a big ol' beer. There was a lot of hops thrown into the kettle back, 3 or so years ago, when this was brewed. The hops have faded to take on that tea leaf like bitterness. There's still a big, dense, sugary pink grapefruit presence. The faded hops bring about the idea of oxidation but it's mild and adds some character in a beverage of this style. Big drizzly caramel makes up the majority of the malt base with welcomed additions of grapefruit in numerous forms; pith, peel, flesh. Some warming brings about a toffee sweetness as well. I'm liking this monster so far.

This beer is a bruiser. The flavor profile steps it up from that of the nose. That huge, yet faded, hoppiness kicks it off with fistfuls of broiled brown sugared grapefruit. It still has a bit of that oxidized, tea leaf quality but it's complimentary. The malt base is malty but not as sweet as I was expecting. Big caramel flavor is there supporting candied citrus peel, lime pops up on the backend and even some tart cherry. Toffee and even faint brown bread back up the caramel in the malt department. This beer morphs often as it warms, and even with each successive sip.

A generous smattering of bubbles make this beer feel a bit airy and spritzy on the tip of the tongue but that fades as it progresses to the swallow where it eventually ends with some stickyness. Don't worry about the sticky, the aggressive bitterness wipes that out in no time, drying up like tannins and leaving you parched. Yeah, parched.

This is a damn good beer. It's as if cousin of Bigfoot had been expertly laid down for two years as opposed to me doing so in my basement. This beer was massively hopped and it still retains a ton of bitter. It's nothing like Charlie's Y2K, as far as I can tell but that's cool. It's big, bold, brash, and not for the weak of heart. It's delicious, actually.

A: The beer is very hazy dark caramel amber in color. It poured with a short beige head that died down, leaving some wisps of bubbles on the surface and a collar of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of caramel and toffee malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and starts off with flavors of caramel and toffee malts, bu there is a strong dose of resinous hops in the finish, which adds a moderate amount of bitterness and also mask any traces of sweetness. Some notes of alcohol are perceptible.
M: It feels full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation with warming from the alcohol.
O: From the very hazy looks of this beer and the toffee-like aroma, I thought it was going to be a malt bomb, but there is a strong dose of underlying piney hops that helps to balance things off and prevents this from having a sticky mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

Poured from 22 ounce bottle.

Pours a nice dark amber color. Not too thick. Smells very boozy. I've had this cellared a while, so possible that could be why I'm not getting much hop. Getting a bit of earthy hop, but the malt and booze stand out for me. Medium to full bodied. Definitely a big beer.

 

 

 

22 oz. bottle split with my wife. The base for one of the best beers in the world (& if it’s not, IDC).

The pour looks just like the regular, passed version: rusted red, with more haze & floaties, I assume from the extended aging. Smells like a red ale with musted hops. Eh.

Kosmyk Charlie Y2K – Two Year Version is the same beer…I’m not buying it. Does beer gain 1.4% ABV from extended aging? Never heard that before. And where the original was smooth & alcohol free, this one kicks you in the teeth with booziness. The taste brings big caramel & toffee, dank hops, pine, birch, Pinto rust. Harsh. A sipping barleywine.

The original didn’t really taste like the base for the BA Barleywine; this one does. Perhaps it’s the age, perhaps the booze on steroids, certainly the massive IV of caramel. Whatever it is, it’s superior to the original, & anything that echoes the barrel-aged version is welcome in my liver. Excellent straight-up barleywine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer pours a nice dark amber color. The head was minimal, less than 1 finger, and dissipated quickly.
The nose has got an earth aroma. It's like being outdoors. There seems to be a slight hop presence also.
The taste of this beer is, well, earthy tasting. There's a hop bitterness on the backside. It seems like there's almost a sour flavor component as well.
This is a very full bodied beer. There is a big boozy component also.
I don't know if something went wrong with this beer, but I'm not a fan at all.

 

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a chalice.

Appearance: Pours a deep brownish amber. Moderate amount of bubbles and about a finger of off white head that settles into a thin creamy patch.

Smell: An earthy and sweet aroma with a scent of caramel malt and grassy hops. Upfront scent of earthy hops with some grass, pine, and slight citrus. Sweet malt scent of caramel, toffee, biscuit, and grains with yeast. Sweet hints of brown sugar. A pretty solid aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, an earthy and sweet taste with notes of earthy hops and caramel malt. Big hop presence for being aged. Nice notes of grass and pine resin along with some citrus. Sweet and bready malt notes of caramel, toffee, grains, biscuit, and cracker along with yeast. A little brown sugar sweetness. A pretty solid taste.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Starts sweet and finishes oily and dry. Fairly boozy.

Overall: A pretty solid take on an American style Barleywine. Big upfront hop bite for being aged.

 

 

 

 

Pours a reddish hued brown color. Opaque until held to light. Effervescent. Thick light tan head dissipates a bit but leaves a full finger of foam on top of the beer. Lots of off-white lacing is left behind.

Smell is fruity and floral from the hops. Some caramel malt backbone is noted. There is a very strong soapy aroma coming through that is off-putting.

Taste is rich and deep. Lots of floral and fruity hops giving way to some dark fruits and oak. Not much bitterness on the finish as its pretty mellow.

Feel is smooth, mellowed. Medium carbonation, but gentle. Dry finish.

Overall one of the best American style barleywines I've had. Not sure why the ratings for this are so low - its right there with Bigfoot for the style.

Poured from 22 oz bottle into snifter.
A: Pours a deep red amber with 1/2 inch light tan head with decent retention.
S: Sweet caramel malt hits the nose first, but is quickly followed by a subtle pine and citrus hop burst.
T: Again, the sweet caramel malt hits first quickly followed by a stronger hop presence of pine and grapefruit. Definitely different and not what I was expecting.
M: Initially sweet, but then bitter as the hop notes take effect. Don't like the balance on this one.
D: This is one odd barleywine. Lots of hops. It was aged for 2 years, so I can only imagine what this was fresh.

 

Thanks to Jeff for this one. 22oz. bottle into a Surly teku. Shared with schen9303.

Nose is nutty. Brown sugar, molasses, nut shell and booze. Beer opens nutty. Hints of hazelnut, brown sugar, maple syrup and a sappy, astringent hop bitterness. Like someone crushed a hazelnut in my beer and ground the shell into a fine powder and sprinkled it in there also. Boozy at the finish with a lingering, hoppy, powdery finish. Body is medium with low to moderate carbonation. Smooth with some bubbles on the palate and goes down dry, sticky and slightly hot.

This is a sad miss for me. Its just too much on the hoppy end.

 

 

Pours a darker brown body, one finger offwhite head, short retention, not much lacing. Smell is sweet caramel and toffee, touch of dark fruit, a bit of resin. Flavour is a bit off, mostly very malty with caramel and toffee, touch of astringent hop resin, and not much else. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, fair carbonation, a mix of malt and resin on the finish. Not my favorite even as far as barleywines go.

 

 

This beer pours a very murky dark brown color with an ivory head that receded rather quickly. The aroma is really it's only good quality in my opinion. I'm a huge fan of Central Waters and this is one of the few beers from them that I would not recommend .

Aroma is strong maltiness, fruit and creeping hops. The flavor is fruit/berries, malts, spring water, slight nuttiness and a warming alcohol/slightly tart/sour finish.