Central Waters (2023)

It's been a couple years since I attended the party; 21 was my last. 16, 17 were unbelievable with beer sharing, great food and music, and rowdy bus rides. I must have missed the party where folks were climbing on the barrels

 

CW doesn't seem to get any love here anymore, but god damn their barleywine game is alive and strong. About a year back they released some 3 and 4 year bourbon and brandy aged BWs that were my favorite beers of all of 2022 and the Peach Brandy BA English BW they dropped on Black Friday tasted like peach gummi rings dipped in caramel. Really hoping they keep the barleywine experiments coming because none of them have been a miss for me so far.

 

YES! We love the barleywines, and their price points have been spot on. Last year got crazy on release day when they ran out in Milwaukee and had to fetch some from Amherst due to the popularity, but we got a bunch and they're great!
Being in IL it is now hard to dedicate big $$ to all of their beers, but I remember in 2016 bringing back 6 cases of Cassian Sunset from La Crosse for @tiffman and @stevegoz and others, and was it 2013 when I was scrounging for fresh Peruvian Morning to only see it go bad months later (damn that bakery and their yeast/flour).

 

Their barrel aged beers are way too thick for me. Wish they were way thinner!

 

Speaking of Cassian there's a fresh batch out right now for the taking. And it looks like they stopped doing the little notches with the years on their Brewer's Reserve labels? Sucks because unfortunately coming across old stock when new stock is available isn't unheard of for those beers and I'm always an advocate for knowing what I'm buying.

 

Not sure if they stopped or they were just missed. Regardless, you can differentiate the new batch by the laminate labels. The old labels were paper.

 

Follow Central Waters on Instagram and they had a shot of the crowd for the party. Looks like its was a pretty big turnout!

 

Nary a peep on CW's Barleywine Fest? These all sound good, of course. No specific release details for the Milwaukee release yet, apart from sales starting @ 11am on the 25th.

Relatedly, does CW still distribute BBBW? I do not recall even seeing it last year on Chicago area shelves but maybe I just missed it. Was one of my favorites, particularly fresh (my preference for it anyway).

 

Hard to keep track of time ,have not seen 4PKS of BBBW in at least 4 years ??In Minneapolis., Had the Iced Barleywine here that was great .

 

100% BA BW hasn't been distributed in the last two years, might be three. It's one of my favorite beers so I have to endure the drive to Amherst to grab it now.

Wondering if the storm is going to keep the number of people rolling up to the brewery down on Saturday. The long-haulers, at the very least.

 

Well, here are the Milwaukee release details for anyone interested. CW still killing it with providing a good value for their BA beers. Even the anniversary beer price has remained $15 a bomber for at least the last ten years I recall. Kudos to them.

 

I have to be in MKE this week but won’t be there until Sunday. If anyone has the low down at close whether the BWs or which BWs will make it Sunday I’d be grateful. I’m a BW feen and haven’t got a chance to try the extended aged ones since I moved away from the dairyland.

 

Was told at pickup the Cognac BA is English style and brewed in Mke vs the rest which are the Amherst-brewed American BW they usually release. Had a pour of the 'yak on tap after pickup and the base definitely seemed similar to the English one they put in the peach brandy barrels for Black Friday. Pretty tasty and very smooth with the rich cognac notes. Last year's 4 year BBA was my favorite beer all of 2022 so I'm really looking forward to the 5 year. Can't wait to try the rest!

 

If you call right before heading over they're usually great about quickly answering questions about availability on the phone.

Edit to add: the advertised prices were not the actual prices. It ended up being:
1yr - $14/4 pk
2 yr - $15
3 yr - $16
4 yr - $17
5 yr - $18
Iced - $20
Cognac - $5/can.

Not going to argue with lower prices!

 

According to Insta, they still have everything but lifted limits on all but cognac

 

Thank you. Was there about 4:30 pm today and the bartender said all remaining BWs were going strong (other than cognac which was gone). I missed Twenty Five as I guess it sold out Saturday but I’m very pleased to walk away with the BWs. Basically $100 for all vintages remaining (a case) of some damn good BW… man I miss how reasonably priced CW beer is!

 

5 year BBBW is transcendent. Gonna be a new all-time favorite CW beer for me. Only thing stopping me from buying more is the fact that that I bought so much of everything else. Also had my final can of last year's 4 year BBBW (previous all-time favorite CW beer) just before this year's release and feel like it dropped off slightly. Still top tier BW but that smooth boozey tingle you get from drinking these fresh really makes the whole experience.

How's everyone else feeling about these so far?

 

This event is my new Black Friday.