Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Pecan Kringle Stout
Central Waters Brewing Co.

 

Black in color with no light penetration. There’s a fingernail of dark brown around the rim and covering a fifth of the top. There’s actually a bit of yeast residue on the top. The aroma is of very sweet butterscotch. I’m tasting excessively sweet butterscotch and pecan. The mouth is a bit thin.

A very good beer with a sweet smoothness. Smells like butterscotch candy, and tastes like butter and pecans. If anything, maybe just a bit too thin and sweet. Still, drinks lighter than its 12% ABV suggests, and would make a good dessert beer.

Pours a rich mahogany brown and settles black in the glass with a rich, luxurious tan head that lingers as a cap on the beer. Gorgeous BA imperial stout.

The nose features a velvety butter aroma up front, with pecans and milk chocolate following, and a hint of the bourbon barrel.

The barrel is featured on the taste as a nice alcohol warming at the back of the palate, but it’s that rich buttery flavor balanced by the pecans and milk milk chocolate that makes this BA pastry stout shine, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is full, rich, and creamy. I wish I had a keg of this.

Poured dark brown, almost black, and not see-through. The head was pretty thick and smooth. Smelled super sweet, kind of like dessert — maple syrup, roasted nuts, and a bit of burnt grain. Tastes a lot like it smells, but with some bourbon flavor mixed in. I got caramel, butterscotch, a little cinnamon, and some bitterness from the roasted grain. It’s heavy and sticky, with a warm, boozy finish.
I just might be right off the turnip truck, but this is a rich, decadent big ole pecan muffin with a sugar whoop that my wife likes. Her can didn’t just appear , overall a 4, but like my wife, dang, she smells good like sticky sweet dapple of 8pm Thanksgiving pie (you what I mean?)!

A large ball of yeast turned me off, but the taste and smell are killer.

 

 

A Central Waters BA stout sent to me from @GreenBayBA ! I’m cautious about adjuncts in imperial stout. They can be way overdone. This amazing BA imperial stout is phenomenal! I love pecans and pecan pie is my favorite dessert. This beer is like liquid pecan pie with that boozy bourbon vanilla finish!

 

Pours a clear, dark brown color, appears black and opaque in the glass; fairly thick head, dense and smooth. Smells like a richly sweet pastry with grain char; maple syrup; roasted nuts. The taste builds on the aroma and adds a healthy dose of bourbon beneath the dense sweetness; caramel and butterscotch; cinnamon, grain char bitterness. Heavy, sticky body; smoldering boozy warmth.

I've never had the pastry this beer was based on, but the smell certainly reminds me of a tasty breakfast pastry with a shot whiskey. A pretty unique and tasty beverage.

ABV: 12.3%; pouring temperature: 45.0 ℉; canning info: looks like 06/13/25
Source: @GreenBayBA

 

 

Bottle. Light head. Caramel brown color.

Pecans and caramel. Vanilla, oak, bourbon. Sweet and boozy. Kind of artificial. A bit too strong for me. Medium bodied.

Aroma is bourbon and huge pecan/sweet cake. The flavor is fruit, dark malts, chocolate a huge mix of bourbon, slight syrup sweet, alcohol and pecan/cake finish.

Poured from 12-ounce bottle into a snifter. Deep brown in color, with a tan head that settled in short order. I love it when brewers delivers on their promises, and they nailed this one with big aromas and flavors of its namesake pastry. Also lots of char, with hints of cocoa, molasses, and licorice. Boozy, with lots of bourbon barrel character. Syrupy and silky mouthfeel, dry and slightly astringent on the finish. Overall, not much to complain about here.

Relatively poor head retention. Body is a bit thin in appearance for a stout this big.

Nose is quite nice, featuring bourbon, pecan, and brown sugar. There's also a buttery note that I'm sure makes sense given the pastry inspiration, but in a beer will always evoke diacetyl - even if it's not.

Very tasty on the palate, but despite being based on a literal pastry, it's not really a pastry stout. That can be good or bad, depending on your take on the style. The buttery note is certainly present, as well, and while it's not diacetyl, it's difficult to remove that comparison from my mind. Additional tasting notes include cola, brown sugar, and bourbon. It's not particularly complex, and I don't really get much in the way of pecan.

Very, very drinkable. It's on the thinner side if you're used to 12+% ABV pastry stouts, but the mouthfeel is frankly quite nice.

Very nice beer, but not without flaws, and I'm not blown away. I have high expectations for Central Waters' Brewer's Reserve series, which I think is fair, and this beer doesn't live up to them.

Pours clear, dark brown in color with minimal head. Taste is big brown sugar, vanilla, pastry crust, and slight pecan. Heavy body, sweet, roasty, low carbonation. Excellent and unique. Smells like a great candle. A wow beer.