Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Barleywine - 2 Year Aged
Central Waters Brewing Co.

Dark brown opaque body, beige head that settles into a collar. Barley wrapped in caramel and then soaked in bourbon, leading the nose, modest toasty barrel, earthy spice round out. Taste has the barley up front and center, bourbon, caramel, toffee, and toasty oak with a pronounced dry earth and hints of lighter nut. The feel is warm and barrel driven with the barley right there, pretty smooth but has plenty of rustic flair

 

 

Dark, a bit murky, shot through with hints of garnet. Head production is solid, but retention is (predictably) poor.

Very, very potent nose, an impressive mix of the aggressive hops and the deep notes of bourbon. Ever so slightly sour. Oak, bourbon mash, grapes, leather.

Flavor follows. It's thick with flavor up front, in particular the bourbon and the malt base. By mid-sip, the hoppy bitterness asserts itself; if two years on oak have mellowed this beer out, it hardly shows. Bourbon returns on the back third. It's slightly hot, but it's a fairly easy sipper, especially considering the enormous ABV.

Tasting notes are a little hard to pick out; the hops, malt base, and even the bourbon are all almost more pure impressions than they are unique notes, the Platonic ideal of a BBA American Barleywine, perhaps, existing a step away from the metaphysical realm. If you forced me to get more specific, though: cherry, red and white grape, leather, bark, cotton candy-like sugar, toffee.

poured from a 12oz can into a CW snifter. pours a damp cardboard color with dark khaki head. head remains as a thick ring around the glass plus some swirls here and there. huge bourbon and oak presence on the nose. like wet oak and bourbon sting with brown sugar, toffee and hints of vanilla and chocolate. taste follows with a huge punch of bourbon and oak. light caramel and toffee with more hints of chocolate and vanilla. so much bourbon. thick, sticky mouthfeel. this one was great.

 

 

 

Sweet, but subtle caramel and honey-nut bread malty, dark fruity, and a vanilla bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows with some light honey and caramel malts upfront...and then a hoppy and prominent bourbon barrel boozy finish. As it warms, the hoppy bitter notes start to come out more...this interferes just a touch with enjoying the barrel backend fully. Decent American Barleywine...

 

 

Canned 02/22/2023. Poured at fridge temp. Pours a murky dark brown with a small amount of head. The nose is intense bourbon, oak, toffee, alcohol, spice, raisins, prunes, and a touch of mint.

The taste is fantastic. Some oak bitterness, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, dark bread, spice, leather, plums. This is right along the lines of a Wulver. Intense barrel character. I'm starting with the 2 year old, and will move along to the 3, 4, and 5. I can only imagine how much the barrel influences those! The aftertaste on this one is booze, raisins, and a touch of leather.

Pours a ruby-and-maroon-tinted brown with a thin tan head the quickly fizzes away into a wisp and crown.

Sticky-sweet aroma with fig, cherry cola, vanilla, a touch of leather and tons of bourbon barrel.

The taste is neither as hot or as sweet as I was expecting from the nose. Lots more leather, some vanilla and some relatively-restrained raisin or prune juices instead of intense fruitiness. That’s tempered by some hints of cocoa, underlying piney hops and cardboard, as well.

Comes across a tad thin for the style, although it’s definitely slightly sticky, with stronger fizz than I prefer in this ABV.

It’s definitely a nice barleywine, but if two-year version is already showing some signs of being past it’s prime, I wonder about the three, four and five-year versions I have waiting in the wing. Time will tell!

 

Another selection from the Memorial Day 2022 trip out to "The Good Land". Another thanks to Nick for breaking out some gems like this.

Pours dark brown. Seems like a slightly thinner 1/4" light beige head. Appearance pretty much the same, maybe .5 SRM darker. Aroma hits those bourbon notes, seems to have more, but also that point of diminishing returns, this smells stronger in terms of booziness.

The taste much in the same way, its similar, but also stronger at the same time. I was pretty happy with the 1 year being around the 10% mark. Much in the same way those old Eclipse bombers were around 10%, sure the neckbeards said thin, but we're not doing the Chicago pour thing. You get a heavier caramel sensation and perceived viscosity here. Its significantly stronger tasting and in the mouth feel. I perceived more bitterness as well, but that is how a heavier booze feel often goes, it will seem more bitter too. The oak feels the same despite DOUBLE aging.

Man its wild when you see good looking sisters putting up with nonsense.

 

Poured with a massive head, clear ruby tinted mahogany color. Bright, sweet rather than charred caramel dominates. Nice chocolate and figs mid-palate. The oak is deep and rich, plenty of rich wood with hints of tobacco and earthy vanilla. The bourbon is moderately boozy with minimal sweetness. Not much bitterness at the end, unlike the 1 year bottle. This is much better! Still plenty of big brassy American barleywine here, but more balance and refinement for sure.

 

 

My last 16 oz. can greedily kept to myself. I’ve had this several times on tap & out of the can & I will miss it like on my children when it’s gone. Well, almost.

The pour is dark for a bwine, brown with a trace of red around the edges of the pond. The nose is hearty caramel, vicious booze, & oak for miles.

Bourbon Barrel Barleywine – 2 Year Aged is a canvas of barrel & oak. This isn’t granite-smooth like the original, this has edges that prick & burn. Big bourbon, even more oak, with an alcoholic whirl that would put a moderate tequila shot to shame. Spicy. Aggressive. Brutal. Delicious. I’m not sure how much of this I could drink without going into a booze coma, but hey, life is full of choices.

Fantastic. Central Waters & Barleywines is like Jason Bourne & ass-kicking. Make more. Please.