Y2K Two Year Vintage
Central Waters Brewing Co.

Y2K Two Year VintageY2K Two Year Vintage
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From:
Central Waters Brewing Co.
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
11.4%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 7.51%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
42
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 14, 2020
Added:
Jan 07, 2017
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  8
The original Y2K Barleywine Style Ale aged an additional year.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Can_if_you_can:
Photo of Can_if_you_can
Rated by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Jul 01, 2017
More User Ratings:
Photo of Hopheadjeffery
Reviewed by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
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.
Nov 14, 2020
 
Rated: 4.03 by Old_Dead_Oak from Wisconsin

Oct 25, 2019
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
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.
May 05, 2019
Photo of soze47
Reviewed by soze47 from Massachusetts

3.92/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
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
Jan 18, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by tittyfish from Minnesota

Nov 29, 2018
 
Rated: 3.78 by einman from Minnesota

Nov 23, 2018
Photo of Lingenbrau
Reviewed by Lingenbrau from Oregon

4.04/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
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!
Nov 04, 2018
Photo of joe1510
Reviewed by joe1510 from Illinois

4.19/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
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.
Oct 11, 2018
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.8/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
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
Jun 05, 2018
Photo of swenny916
Reviewed by swenny916 from Illinois

3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
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.
Apr 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Wamba from Illinois

Mar 04, 2018
 
Rated: 3.9 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Feb 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4.01 by joemcgrath27 from Canada (AB)

Dec 23, 2017
Photo of maximum12
Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
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.
Nov 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.93 by MykeJ from Minnesota

Oct 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.09 by Hallertau from Wisconsin

Oct 09, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by jschott75 from Illinois

Sep 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.97 by herman77 from Minnesota

Aug 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by tvenne from Minnesota

Jul 27, 2017
Y2K Two Year Vintage from Central Waters Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 42 ratings