Posts Tagged ‘central waters brewing company’

Central Waters Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Barleywine (365 Day 342)

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
central waters brewing company bourbon barrel barleywine

Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine

As I mentioned yesterday my next American barleywine was going to be special. That was more of a hope/want than a guarantee. The trip to the cellar had thoughts running through my mind wondering which American craft beer to choose that would hopefully knock my socks off in the style. I don’t have a ton of barleywines in the basement, so my selection was limited.

Bourbon Barrel Barleywine by Central Waters Brewing Company caught my eye as I am a big fan of bourbon barrel aged beers. I realized this wouldn’t really help me out on my quest of home brewing an American barleywine but it has bourbon in the name of the beer.

I am a fan of Central Waters beers so I expected great things out of a two year old bottle. I wasn’t disappointed. Bourbon, vanilla, toffee, dark fruits, and a touch of alcohol come through on the nose and mouth. The beer is smooth which makes for a very drinkable beer. Sweetness residue is left on the lips but it isn’t as bad as some big beers.

A solid offering, once again, from Central Waters. It is seasonal so I don’t know how easy it is to get but, if you can, get it. Enjoy!

Aroma: 10 (25%), Taste: 10 (25%), Look: 9 (15%), Drinkability: 9 (35%), Overall: 9.5

Useless Fact: Grover Cleveland is the only United States President to have been married in the White House.

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Central Waters Brewing Company Kosmyk Charlie’s Y2K Catastrophe Ale (365 Day 241)

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

central waters kosmyk charlie's y2k catastrophe ale

Every time I have to return to Wisconsin for some tasty American craft beer. It is the neighbor to the north and they produce a ton of American craft beer each year. I am only playing my roll in making sure none goes to waste. 🙂

Kosmyk Charlie’s Y2K Catastrophe Ale by Central Waters Brewing Company turns out to be beer number 241. An American barley wine there are dark fruits, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, alcohol, and a nice smoothness to such a large beer (it is a 2009 bottle).

Central Waters continues to impress battling New Glarus as my favorite American craft brewers from Wisconsin. I have known New Glarus longer so they will hold onto that top spot for a while but they should notice the shadowy figure behind them. Enjoy!

Aroma: 10 (25%), Taste: 9 (25%), Look: 10 (15%), Drinkability: 7 (35%), Overall: 8.7

Useless Fact: Slapstick comedy is named after an actual slapping stick. The stick, which came to be equated with broad farce in the sixteenth century as part of the Italian commedia dell’arte, was used by the comic hero Harlequin to whack the rumps of artless stooges. It was made of two pieces of wood joined together to make a slapping sound when it hit.

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Central Waters Brewing Company Illumination Double IPA (365 Day 224)

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Central Waters Illumination Double IPA

Been on a Cigar City roll lately, so I thought it was time to mix up. Going back to a familiar state for American craft beer 224: Wisconsin. I promise this will not start another Wisconsin kick since I have had at least one of those in the past.

Illumination Double IPA by Central Waters Brewing Company came by way of a co-worker of my wife’s. I have given him home brew and American craft beer in the past, so I believe this is the repayment.

Citrus and tropical hops abound in Illumination: both on the nose and mouth. Caramel malt gives some sweetness and slight bread for balance. There is a bitterness in the finish that doesn’t ruin the palate, it seems the combination of hops are gentle here. A really solid offering. Enjoy!

Aroma: 10 (25%), Taste: 9 (25%), Look: 9 (15%), Drinkability: 9 (35%), Overall: 9.3

Useless Fact: The average person can live for eleven days without water, assuming a mean temperature of 60° F.

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Central Waters Brewing Company Brewhouse Coffee Stout (365 Day 211)

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Central Waters Brewhouse Coffee Stout

Revisiting American craft beers that I have already have reviewed makes for an easy night of reviewing. But it also brings about something that I didn’t expect: lack of retention of the experience of having the beer. Is old age already upon me? I don’t think so. Life is just so damn busy that a beer review I did some two years ago isn’t on the tip of my memory.

Brewhouse Coffee Stout by Central Waters Brewing Company fits the above description perfectly. I haven’t had this beer since September, 2009 and the bottle I had for beer 211 had sat in my cellar for a six months, so when I opened it and the amount of coffee was huge in the aroma, I was surprised and didn’t remember quite that big of a coffee profile.

After looking at my old review I did mention that the beer was a “coffee powerhouse”. So maybe it had a lot of coffee. Even after drinking most of the beer it didn’t bring back any memories. What I do know for having the beer is that it is a coffee powerhouse: huge aroma and flavor is coffee. There is some chocolate notes but most of it is consumed by the coffee. The high ABV (8.2%) is well hidden.

I really like this beer but I think I get more out of coffee beers that are more balanced but I wouldn’t pass up a pint of Brewhouse Coffee Stout. Enjoy!

Aroma: 9 (25%), Taste: 9 (25%), Look: 9 (15%), Drinkability: 9 (35%), Overall: 9.0

Useless Fact: The area sold by France to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase was first offered to England, who refused it. The price paid by the United States for the land, some 100 million acres, averaged out to 4 cents an acre.

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Central Waters Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Stout (365 Day 112)

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout

Every American craft beer lover probably has a niche in his heart for bourbon and/or wood aged beers. Some of these beers can be subtle while others can be over the top, slap your ass in the face bourbon dominated. There are others that have wild yeast added to help bring out the sour flavors and aromas. While, still others add beer to wine barrels to bring out he idiosyncrasies for a good wine.

Central Waters Brewing Company makes some highly sought after bourbon aged beers: Cherry Stout, Bourbon Barrel Stout, and Bourbon Barrel Barleywine. Each one is produced on a seasonal basis, distributed in Wisconsin, and not on the shelves all that long. I have no idea of the distribution numbers but they cannot be that high.

Bourbon Barrel Stout is beer number 112. The smoothness of this beer is ridiculous. There is a great balance between the beer itself and the bourbon barrel aging, creating a solid presentation that in spite of the 9.5% ABV, I could drink it all day long. Enjoy!

Aroma: 9, Taste: 10, Look: 10, Drinkability: 9, Overall: 9.4

Useless Fact: Strawberries have more vitamin C in them than oranges.

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Central Waters Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout (365 Day 109)

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

Central Waters BB Cherry Stout

Saturday was a good day for American craft beer. I started the afternoon off by trying to get tickets for Three Floyds Dark Lord Day. I figured it would be best appreciated with a bottle of American craft beer. I started off about 30 minutes before launch to make sure I had everything up and could rate the beer: Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout by Central Waters Brewing Company.

This ends up being beer number 109 in my quest for 365 American craft beers in 365 days. The beer was pretty solid all the way around but had a sour cherry element that I didn’t expect. I thought it would be sweet but, no matter what, not tart. This was the only distraction from an otherwise solid offering from Central Waters. They just keep pumping out the fine liquids.

The story isn’t over as Rich and family joined my family for a Mexican fiesta of sorts: tacos, enchiladas, and quesadillas. I was partial to the quesadillas as I made them on the grill with cheese, peppers, and chicken: darn tasty.

Rich and I partook in several beers on the evening: home brew IPA (which has become a solid beer, home brew honey ale (first attempt, solid but has some work), Russian River Pliny the Elder (about a five month old bottle that lost most of its hops but was still tasty, but in a different way), Avery Brewing Maharaja, and Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS). Quite a lineup with the perfect nightcap. Enjoy!

Aroma: 9, Taste: 8, Look: 9, Drinkability: 8, Overall: 8.4

Useless Fact: Children grow faster in the springtime.

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Founders Imperial Stout Reviewed

Friday, December 18th, 2009

founders brewing company founders imperial stout

It seems like during the week that two is my limit on the number of reviews I will do in an evening. Of course there are those special occasions that will lead me to partake in a few more, but I find it hard to review more than two beers while doing so alone. powerlins ii femmes The chit chat about the beers helps to bring out other possibilities and make the entire experience more fun. Hurray for TNBC next Tuesday 🙂

I had two stouts last night, one of the Russian imperial variety and the other an American imperial.

Founders Imperial Stout by Founders Brewing Company was the Russian imperial stout and the first beer of the evening. I have had it sitting in the cellar for only a month but it kept wooing me. I gave in to temptation. Poured black and thick with a couple of fingers of brown, sticky, frothy foam with some of the best retention I have seen in a beer. As expected the beer was complex with coffee, chocolate, citrus hops, roasted, and bitterness on the nose and in the mouth. The high alcohol really wasn’t detectable. Some creaminess added to the depth of this beer. Founders just producing the hits. 9/10

Satin Soltice Imperial Stout by Central Waters Brewing Company was the American imperial stout. A clear pour with a big, tan, sticky foam led to some good retention and lacing without even taking a sip. roshe run The aroma was good, just a little light and contained lactose, chocolate, coffee, and some dark fruits. The taste is similar but has a bit of a bitter aftertaste that I didn’t care for. It was too much. One small fault in an otherwise really good stout. 8/10

It was a good night for stouts and I really enjoyed reveiwing both. Now to start thinking of lineup for this evening. Enjoy!

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Star Liquor and Ale Asylum Visit

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Rich and I had a chance to make a short trip up to southern Wisconsin while hitting up Star Liquor and Ale Asylum. Madison is a little over two hours away and makes for a nice short ride to access a ton of American craft beer from Wisconsin and have a great chat about beer with Adam at Star Liquor. He always knows the product in the store and takes time to make sure you are satisfied.

As we got closer to Madison it became very apparent that they had a ton of snow as there was still plenty of plastered snow and ice on the pavement of the capital city of Wisconsin. 19 inches to be exact. roshe run nm br The ride was also lengthened a bit by Rich missing a turn in spite of us using GPS. Once we slid into our parking spot it didn’t take us long to find ourselves inside the store making quick decisions of which beers we wanted and could afford as the wives both placed budgets on us.

With some aid from Adam on local seasonal beers and his opinions here is our take:

After leaving Star Liquor we put the skis on the vehicle and made the four mile trek over to Ale Asylum. There was a craft show going on in part of the eating area. There was an open table and the waitress quickly took our orders for a pint. We both ordered a sandwich making light lunch conversation over our beer haul from Star Liquor.

Our stay at Ale Asylum was short due to both of us having other evening engagements. Next time we will have to stay longer at the Asylum and catch a brewery tour while I will be paying Star Liquor another visit as the seasons change with more new beers coming out. Enjoy!

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Central Waters Octoberfest and Capital Oktoberfest

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

capital_brewery

Central Waters Octoberfest by Central Waters Brewing Company and Capital Oktoberfest by Capital Brewing Company were reviewed last night and marked the first time that I tasted two Oktoberfests during the same sitting. Was a nice way to compare/contrast two beers.

Into my pint glass I poured the first offering of the evening: Central Waters Octoberfest. A handsome beer in the glass, especially as the foam diminished and became a little frothy. Much more so than the usual Oktoberfest. Grain malt and some grassy hops fill the nose and the mouth. air jordan 13 femmes The hops are a pleasant addition. Unfortunately overall a little light making it just another Oktoberfest.

Capital Oktoberfest finished off the evening of double Oktoberfests. Another nice looking beer with a similar frothy ending to the foam. Bread malt and a touch of sweet along side some minor grassy hops. Beer has a hearty mouth feel giving it a nice body. A little more meat on its bones than Central Waters. A quality Oktoberfest beer that, if you like the style, you would most certainly appreciate.

My wife really enjoyed both offerings, due to both not being completely overwhelming to the nose or palate. Enjoy!

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Four Beer Review Evening

Friday, October 16th, 2009

It has been so hectic lately that I haven’t been able to sit, enjoy, and review more than a beer in one evening. Last night afforded me four fold. The list of American craft beer participants:

O'so Brewing Companies Hopdinger an enjoyable APA with a real balanced hop presence.

O'so Brewing Companies Hopdinger an enjoyable APA with a real balanced hop presence.

Ouisconsing Red Ale by Central Waters Brewing Company is an American Amber Ale that poured a clear, dark gold hue with a good, white head, nice retention and lacing. The aroma is has big sweet malt backbone with a pleasant floral hop aroma setting up a taste that includes bread and even lemon grass elements. roshe run hyp femmes A really good beer that you could session and something that I would enjoy having again. Central Waters Brewing Company makes some really nice beers and if you can find them (only in Wisconsin that I know of) treat yourself to a couple of their flavors. You won’t be disappointed.

OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Company is an American Strong Ale that has been aged with oak wood chips. A complex beer that looks good in the glass from the get go. A nice frothy, tan foam that has good retention and beautiful spider web lacing on the glass. The aroma and taste both bring lots of malt (molasses, earth), hops (nice citrus and floral blend) and a slight bit of strangeness that compliment each other throughout. A unique beer that, maybe a little over priced, is worth the taste.

OAKED Arrogan Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Company another fine example of their beers.

OAKED Arrogan Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Company another fine example of their beers.

Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber Lager by Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is a macro brew pretending to be a micro brew that is an American amber lager. Spicy hop notes sort of stuck out in my mind more than anything else in this beer. It is an easy drinker but the spice detracts from how much of it you want. Not a bad beer just something I wouldn’t want all that often.

Hopdinger by O’so Brewing Company is an American pale ale. Pours as you would expect: big frothy head, good retention, and some quality lacing. Nice combination of floral and citrus hops on the nose that put your nose in a higher place. Awesome. This beautiful combo isn’t as prevalent on the palate but noticeable. The only real drawback to an otherwise great beer. A touch of earthiness to the finish. A twist on APAs that is nicely done and enjoyed. O’so isn’t easy for me to get but every chance I do, I try. They are another small brewery in Wisconsin that I have to travel to get and, then, I am not even assured to get any. 🙁

A good night of tasting in which I would rank the beers as follows: Hopdinger, OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale, Ouisconsing Red Ale, and Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber Lager. I can’t wait for tomorrow: Two Beer Dudes Oktoberfest. Enjoy!

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