Brewer's Reserve Cherry Kringle Stout
Central Waters Brewing Co.

Near black with reddish edge, frothy head

Bourbon, cherry, in the nose

This tastes pretty much exactly as advertised. It's like a cherry kringle dipped in bourbon. You can ask if cherry kringle and bourbon is really a combination you want to have, but guess what, they made it.

Smooth mouthfeel.

I think this kind of got cloying by the end, good in small amounts and still quite solid, but the flavor combo began to wear on me by the end.

 

I bought this at the urging of the beer manager at the local Total Wine after he learned I was spending the winter of 2025 in a quest to explore imperial stouts. What a fabulous surprise - true to character, the cherry flavor is right up front, but it’s not obnoxious and definitely not too sour! The background harmony is a rich, sweet BA stout (though light on the bourbon). I thought it might be weird or niche-y, but this is legit delicious. I may go back to buy a full six-pack.

 

 

Pours opaque, dark mahogany in color with minimal head. Taste is big fresh, mostly tart cherry in juice, dough, and nut. Slightly sweet, low carbonation, heavy bodied. I adore the kringle stouts. This one lives up to billing. Was expecting sweet but the tart really balances the kringle dough. Tastes like kringle....such a treat.

12oz bottle. Etching at bottom side of bottle is '0223308203873A'.
Dark brown colored body with a cherry red back lit edge. One finger of tan head, and this becomes a thin cap and ring. Leaves behind some thicker strings of lacing.
Aroma of bourbon barrel, chocolate brownie, vanilla, and slight cherry.
Taste is bright cherry sitting on top of bourbon barrel, vanilla, and chocolate. The cherry is much more prominent here than in the nose. Aftertaste thins quickly but keeps the cherry and bourbon going. Sweet from both the cherry, the chocolate, and the bourbon.
Thicker than medium mouthfeel. Soft and creamy texture, with the slight tartness of the cherry. Minor tongue numbing. Very good carbonation.
Higher ABV% is hidden, and the bourbon barrel is not overly strong.

 

 

11/10/24 - (Bottle - Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Obtained via trade with Micah @GreenBayBA on Beer Advocate July 19, 2024 in Sheboygan. 12 oz bottle, no noted date or listed ABV, refrigerated upon returning home until pulling this morning. Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Door County Cherries and Natural Flavoring. Since the Kringle is the official pastry of Wisconsin, we thought it was only fitting that we combine it with another Wisconsin staple: Door County Cherries. These particular cherries come to us from our friends at Seaquist Orchards and provide a delightful zing to each sip. Much like our wonderful state this beer is a truly unique treat. Brewed & Bottled in Amherst, Wisconsin.

Appearance: Single pour into a large tall snifter yields a chestnut brown to black base, a generous creamy light tan brown head which lingers for a few minutes before leaving stringy lacing and a creamy cover over the entire base. Looks great. 4.25

Aroma: Hits you from cracking the bottle open. Nice cherry pecan cake aroma, very sweet. Let this warm for about 20 minutes and not getting any barrel. Deducting points for that, but starting at a high point level for delivering the base flavors to a tee. 4.25

Taste: 20 minutes after pulling, I am getting the wonderful flavors noted with the aroma with the bourbon barrel backing with a smooth backing. Very light, this tastes very much like I would imagine a cherry bourbon cocktail would taste like, with a light bourbon pour. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Thin to medium body, not getting much carbonation. Sweetness masks the potency which is felt relatively early on. Very, very sweet, the noted flavors cranked up to an 11. Can't get anything else from the base, and the bourbon is more felt than tasted, though do enjoying what I can gleam. Cherry Kringle start to finish, and everything in between. 4.0

Overall: I don't purchase pastry stouts often to avoid the diabetus, but I do enjoy trying these every so often and this one is quite excellent. Very sweet, some may say cloying, but I'm rolling with it and having a good time looking down at about several ounces left as I wrap up this review. Very nice selection Micah! Thanks for selecting this for our impromptu trade, and thanks Central Waters for your continued commitment to a wide range of barrel aged offerings. 4.25

 

 

Pours dark chocolate brown with a thick mocha head that lingers and leaves great lacing. Aroma is cherries and cherries. Brown sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, roasted malt and a hint of bourbon. Flavor follows the nose, pretty sweet and even sweeter as it warms. It's a fantastic sweet however, no complaints. Feel is a bit light for a stout as most of these Central Water Stouts tend to be. Overall, another home run for this fine brewery.

another in their Brewer's reserve series - pours dark amber with great head great cherry bourbon taste trur the whole drink

 

 

 

Fair disclosure; I am generally not a fan of tart flavors in my stouts.
Pour was stout black with a light brown head.
Aroma lost on my Covid damaged nose.
The taste nearly blew me away; I expected tart cherry and while there *is* cherry in the mix, it blends so well with the doughy Kringle flavor and what seemed to be cream cheese (is cream cheese even in Kringle?) or maybe it was vanilla and my brain morphed it into something more. In any case, it was delicious. The stout was ever present and the bourbon was light and peeked in occasionally.
The feel was very good, with the flavors involved one might expect chewy, but it was lightly viscous and very quaffable.
OA, I have one more of these to share with friends, but wish I had a 6 pack.

Appearance - The beer was slick black with bubbles lining the sides of the glass.

Smell - The nose was like a cherry filled pastry.

Taste - In liquid form, this was a cherry filled pastry with vanilla frosting. It was not overly sweet, but nicely balanced. The cherry was slightly tart. The barrel was light.

Mouthfeel - The body was slick with light carbonation.

Overall - This was pretty dynamite!