Central Waters 13th Anniversary Party
On Saturday January 29th, Central Waters Brewing Company hosted a party celebrating their 13th year in Amherst, Wisconsin. This free party which featured access to roam around and check out the whole brewing floor and packaging area, also featured all of Central Waters offerings on tap, some the whole time like their Brewhouse Coffee Stout. Their more specialty brews were on the hourly tap schedule.
Besides the beer that was available, what made this event special and also made me a bigger fan than I already was of this brewery were the extras that were setup for party attendants. Things like a free shuttle from Stevens Point hotels and a bar for pickup & delivery of patrons. Things like offering a tasting room for Beer Advocate members to bring any beer they want to share with other members. Things like having live music, access to the brewery floor, and the opportunity to sample the harder to find brews of Central Waters all at a FREE event!
The place was packed shortly after it began and often the Beer Advocate room was too packed to get in to even try some of the awesome and rare beers that showed up. It seemed like a lot of food and raffle tickets were being purchased to help raise money. I know beer was really flowing from the taps and not just when the special barrels were on.
I got a chance to try all three Bourbon Barrel brews, the Barleywine, Cherry Stout, and Stout. My favorite being the Barleywine, it was the strongest I thought, but towards the end of the event, my senses could have been skewed. The Peruvian Morning was good, I look forward to finding some more to relive the taste. Exodus was the crown jewel, they had a hard time tapping the barrel, at one point i think they were holding the smaller firkin style keg with tap handle inverted towards the floor, trying to get pours off the barrel that were not 75% head. Once they decided, hey it’s just that carbonated, they started pouring. My glass was 60% head, once it settled, the carbonation was there, but the beer was very tasty. It’s funny, it’s hard to describe this golden colored beer, sour start, sweet finish taster. Beer Advocate has it as a Flanders Red Ale:
Flanders Reds are commonly referred to as the “red” beers of West Flanders. Belgian Red Beers are typically light-bodied brews with reddish-brown colors. They are infamous for their distinct sharp, fruity, sour and tart flavors which are created by special yeast strains. Very complex beers, they are produced under the age old tradition of long-term cask aging in oak, and the blending of young and old beers.
A very tasty offering worth finding if you have the chance. Paul one of the owners of the brewery posted they were making arrangements to acquire equipment for bottling and caging 375 ml bottles with the goal of bottling the Exodus in 3-4 months. I look forward to it.
I tried a few beers from the tasting room, but really didn’t catalog all the beers, I did try a Stone Lucky Bastartd, Deschutes 2009 Abyss, and the Revolution Brewing Iron Fist Pale Ale I brought.
A great event, thank you Central Waters Brewing Company!
A Pint with Chris 
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