Barleys Alexanders Russian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Barleys Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Columbus, Ohio USA

Deep black color, small beige head. Roast and chocolate aroma and flavor.

THe finest beer brewed by Barley’s. The variety found at Barley’s Smokehouse is the better of the 2 locations. Best when ordered off the firkin.

Growler from the brewpub. Poured a dark purplish-brown color with a thick light-brown head. Strong lacing. Nice aroma with a blend of roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Flavor is smooth, with a nice malt taste and a coffee-like finish. A very nice offering from Barley’s.

Spit it among friends in tulip glasses, the beer produced a nice finger of tan head on a black body brew. The aroma was nice subtle roasted malt with a light chocolate note in the finish; there was no notice of the alcohol at all in the nose. I must say that this was an easy brew to drink. The flavor was roasted malts but not to astringent to dry out your mouth. I enjoyed the balance of the sweetness that came from the malts as well. One person pointed out the British yeast flavor reminiscent of a Samuel Smith’s but a ton better in my book. It had a medium to full feel in the mouth with good carbonation for the style. It was an easy beer to session the alcohol was unnoticeable. I easily finished my two pours. If it was my local brew house I be proud of this one for sure Serving type: growler

Served in Pint glass. Poured dark black with minimal tan brown head once arrived at my table. Brown sticky lacing was left around the outside of my glass for the duration of the sitting. Smells of sweet sugar and dark malt. At first, taste is of bitter chocolate, but at the end of the sip at the back of my tongue there is a sweetness from molasses. It is not overpowering but adds a very unique characteristic to this big stout. Enjoyed this drink very much!

My favorite stout at Barleys. Deep black color with surprisingly light colored head. Very smooth and drinkable with a coffee flavor that is not too strong.

Roasted aroma, perfect coal black color and tan head. This is a very solid stout. Nothing out of the ordinary or too unique, but nothing to make it taste bad either. The best of the Barley beers I had (though that is only four).

Rerate 12/30/02: I don’t think I appreciated this beer enough the last time I had it, because I enjoyed it immensely this year. I am not sure if they upped the alcohol since Ohio laws changed, or if my palate has grown. Either way, this is a great beer. The flavors of chocolate, malt and alcohol make for a wonderful winter brew. 2/10/02 (3.7): Strong aroma and subdued taste with a rich, dark color. This was served colder than I expected it to be but I was impressed with the balanced flavor.