Central Waters (2024)

The 26th anniversary party was excellent. The only disappointment was that they do not have a commemorative glass for the anniversary ale this year.

 

At the merch table they had the last 3 years of anniversary glasses for sale. Guessing CW passed this year because of all the old inventory. Don't blame them one bit if that's the reason.

 

I am a Central Waters Brewing fanatic. I have the entire Twenty Five collection. Every release was incredible. They make great beers of just about every style. I trust this brewery to make exceptional beers more than any other brewery. But, I tried Twenty Six on tap, and out of the bottle. It is not just the worst barrel-aged stout I have ever tasted, but possibly the worst beer I have ever tasted. Untappd users don't seem to have a problem with it. Does anyone else have thoughts on this beer?

 

Had on tap Friday night and thought it was solid. Have had a number of years going back to 1414, and while I’ve lost interest in CW stouts generally, surprising to hear this. I don’t think I would have purchased a bottle, but still.

Was definitely more enjoyable than the Peruvian Morning I had, which was ultra thin in comparison.

 

Thank you for the feedback. Maybe I have been spoiled by other recent releases. I have some more bottles of Twenty Six, so I will revisit it in the future.

 

With all due respect to your palate, this is a terrible take.

I had it on tap at the Anniversary fun & out of the bottle. I'm not sure where it sits in the pantheon - it certainly is no 25, which was remarkable in every sense & might have been the pinnacle of their Anni stouts - but it is a very good beer.

It's impossible to argue over tastes since they're so individual & maybe this beer sucks to you. But "the worst beer" sounds like over-the-top hyperbole.

 

I appreciate your feedback. It seems I am alone in this assessment, based on continued postive reviews on Untapped. I had my third pour of Twenty Six today to be sure. I cannot overstate how much I love Central Waters Brewing barrel-aged stouts. But Twenty Six is absolutely the worst barrel-aged stout I have ever experienced. This still leaves their batting average, for me, at .999. I will be in line for the barleywine release in two weeks, with the same admiration I have always had.

 

Not releasing any Iced Barleywine or any fun barrel variants like cognac or brandy BW this year has me a bit bummed on the upcoming BW release. I feel weird that I feel that way about "only" getting the 1-5 year BA barleywines. Probably going to sit this year out as I still have a bunch of last year's versions and I frankly thought the 2023 Black Friday BWs (4 packs still available!) were pretty weak. Plus Lakefront's new 2019 4 year BW is even cheaper at $20/6 pack and totally scratches the same itch for me.

 

You try the Lakefront 2019? I was thinking about getting some. But it's a long drive.
As for CW's Black friday Barley wines I thought they were ok, But the peach ones were not really for me. I liked the maple only one but actually liked Lakefront Reserve BA honey bock more
I was thinking about make a run to Milwaukee/Madison this or next weekend. Bock week at the Great Dane. Plus try out Lakefront winter bock test batch. I see Great Dane has Barley Wines too

 

I did. I thought it was fantastic. If you liked previous BA Beerline releases this is in the same wheelhouse but cranked up on the barreling. Looks to still be available. Price is unbelievable for the quality you're getting.

 

Also enjoyed it. It’s hard for me to remember BA Beerline at this point, but at the time thought it was one of the best. I think you’re right though — this one feels much more pronounced on barrel that I don’t recall with that.

 

XXVI is far from the worst barrel-aged stout I've had - I live in Minnesota. But it does remind me of the late teens anniversary releases, which I didn't enjoy very much. Maybe a lot of their barrel inventory went into all of the 25th Anniversary variants? A lot of those were special barrels but I would think they get a fair amount that would otherwise go into the anniversary blend.

 

Saying 26 is the worst BA Stout is something I just can't take seriously. I just can't even... I'm not saying it's great but to say it's the worst makes me feel like you only ever had only 1 other BA Stout to compare with.

Not trying to troll or anything so I didn't tag or reply to the original post but I can't even apologize for saying how insanely ridiculous that is. I wanna say this thread/site just jumped the shark but the Fonz deserves better than that. I guess I shouldn't even be surprised that "Untappd" keeps popping up.

 

I went to Milwaukee for the barleywine release. It was the usual Saturday crowd. There was plenty available. It should be in stock for a long time. The vintages I tried were all incredible. I tried Twenty Six again, and asked everyone around me to try it. They all said it was good, but not one of the best vintages. I asked for feedback from the bartenders. They said the feedback has been positive. I absolutely believe it is the worst barrel-aged stout ever brewed. Keep the feedback coming. I appreciate it.

 

Can I give you a few other BA stouts to try for comparison? I'm really curious if you would stick with that take on 26 afterwards. I know we're not all the same and have different palates but if you even remotely like 25, 26 shouldn't be so far at the bottom end of your scale. It just doesn't make sense to me.

 

I would love to drink barrel-aged stouts you are able to provide. I need to figure out what made my journey with Twenty Six so nefarious.

 

I think we both need to know. We need to get to the bottom of this for the whole BA community. Maybe even the world!!!

 

Next weekend in Sheboygan, WI, is another big annual Wisconsin barrel-aged stout release. We'll see how that stacks up.