Kosmyk Charlie's Y2K Catastrophe Ale
Central Waters Brewing Co.

2012 bottle

Tan head that fades. Caramel brown color.

Raisins, figs, dates, caramel, and toffee. Some dried cherry and candied syrup. Sugar plums. Molasses.

Decent BW. Would be fun to see this in barrels.

This kicked around the cellar for a few years until we opened it up between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2017.

Pours a brown that has some dark red to it. 1/3" beige head. Average retention. Good amount of trub floaties to it, tends to happen after extended aging. Aroma of maltiness and dustiness. Seems in the realm of possibility this is the base barleywine for the -bal barleywines. Took on a little dark fruit bittterness to it that I don't find in the barrel aged version (hell tasted/smelled like the -bal quad even).

Taste was more bitter than expected, their -bal aged products have virtually zero bitterness or alcohol heat, but here, this takes on a noticeable amount of both. It isn't a heavy or sticky aspect, there are the borderline requisite mentions of rolos/toffee/caramel going on. I don't hate this beer, but it is quite a rock's throw from where it sits after a year in the barrel (if indeed this is the base).

 

Unknown vintage; drank 2/6/15 @ Yuss Haus.

Murky plum appearance.

Eggnog head; decent lace.

Caramel, plum & raisin nose.

Medium thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Booze heat, raisin & dried plum flavors up front; a drying finish.

A hot, super dry mess. Not very good.

 

 

This was poured into a chalice. The appearance was a nice looking dark brown to black color with half finger-ed off white foamy head that dissipated within less than a minute. There was some nice light lacing sticking finely to the glass. The smell had a nice blend of sweet and roasty caramels, toffee, chocolates, light breadiness, and coffee beans combining wonderfully. The taste took those flavors and combined them extremely well. On the palate, this one sat about a medium to heavy on the body (of course when I had this, it was only two months old). Yup, sure was a sipper -no doubt about that. Overall, this was an extremely wonderful Barleywine well worth my time.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a slight hazed rusty color with a thin and fresh head with nice streaks of lacing. Smell/taste is toffee,caramel and molasses with mild dark fruits a citrus dose of hops with a brown sugar malt finish. mouth feel is sweet and sticky with malts and finishes with citrus/pine hops. Enjoyable and drinkable.

Received from @Josholson666 in NBS BIF #4
Undated bottle (although the top band says “Barleywine Ale 2012) at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter. Consumed and rated from 42 to 55 degrees.
Aroma – sweet and malty with a hint of raisins
Head small (Maximum 1.3 cm, aggressive pour), light brown with a yellow cast, almost an icteric flesh color, dense and creamy, diminishing to an irregular three to four mm ring and thin layer with a rocky island
Lacing – basically none except for some ring drag which quickly rejoins the ring
Body – medium brown and cloudy in the glass although it appeared clear in the pour stream. At 53 degrees the cloudiness is still present so we can probably rule out “chill haze”.
Flavor – Initially sweet, thick, and caramel malty. The aftertaste has some hop bitterness and leaves the impression that the beer was thinner than it actually was. Alcohol is not noticeable. After several minutes a low, slow gastric burn begins.
Palate full, creamy, very soft carbonation

Overall, this is an excellent beer in a style I am rapidly coming to appreciate.

Appearance 4, Aroma 4.25, Flavor 4.25, Palate 4.5, Overall 4.5.

This beer pours a ruby brown with an average head. The aroma is boozy, with brown sugar, fudge, hay, maple syrup, and cumin present. The flavor is like sweet barley syrup, with maple, brown sugar, a slight sourness, mustyness, and cedar. The mouthfeel is full, but not syrupy. Overall this is an impeccably good example of an American Barleywine - rich, direct flavors, but with an enormous amount of depth. Definitely worth seeking out for Barleywine lovers.

Look: Pours a ruby red, twinges of brown, with a khaki head, that quickly dissipates. The beer is somewhat murky. Carbonation is prevalent.

Smell: toffee, caramel, and all sorts of sweet goodness.

Taste: taste follows the nose: toffee, caramel, slight hop bitterness. Tasty

Feel: medium body, slightly syrupy, and a bitterness kicks in on the finish.

Overall: this is a tasty barleywine, and worth the price. Seek this out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clear with a deep, ruby-red glow (SRM 22-24). Slight, fine lace is off white, but no real head develops in the Offero glass.

The aromas open with rich, sweet malt, followed by figs, raisins and plums. The middle includes fresh pumpernickel bread, while warmth brings out pine resin. Alcohol fumes are quite present.

Strong bitterness allows some room for sweetness. Hop flavors are absent, while grainy malt is prominently distinguishable. A light, toasted flavor gives way to hazelnuts, brown sugar and molasses. Warming alcohol lingers in a bitter finish.

This has a full, almost dense, body with a chewy, leathery texture and modest carbonation. Alcohol is prominent, though less present than 10% would suggest. Light astringency and slight residual sugar remains.

This seems to fit the style and would certainly be better suited for a crisp, cool day. One glass is plenty per sitting. I aged it for 2.5 years before enjoying it with a pungent Gorgonzola.

 

 

 

Bomber. Pours deep cloudy amber, thin tan head. Super sweet caramel malt taste, lots of booziness. Grassy hops way at the end. Medium mouthfeel. Big boozy barleywine.

 

 

 

 

2013 vintage, great nose, lots of dark dried fruits (dates, prunes raisins), sips really sweet, lots of caramel and dried fruit sweetness. Floaties abound (does it matter though?), damn this is good.

 

2013 bottle vintage written on label
L - Deep mahogany and murky, almost turbid but in a good way
S - Raisins figs, dried apricots.
T - Aggressively bitter deep complex malt profile.
M - A touch prickly but great malt backbone leading a chewy mouthfeel.

Overall the bitterness is a bit too aggressive but an awesome beer regardless