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Bare Hands Brewery

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From:
Bare Hands Brewery
 
Indiana, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #187
ABV:
10.2%
Score:
93
Ranked #4,120
Avg:
4.2 | pDev: 6.9%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
57
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 08, 2022
Added:
Apr 06, 2013
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  10
A Russian Imperial Stout showcasing chocolate and roast malts, hints of dark fruit, and earthy hops to create a smooth easy drinking Imperial Stout. Perfect for enjoying with your friends or to sip all by yourself.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by kjkinsey:
Photo of kjkinsey
Rated by kjkinsey from Texas

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Jan 16, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by TODDRESSEL1 from Indiana

May 08, 2022
Photo of Whyteboar
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan

4.54/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Received this via NBS BIF # 14 from Ovaltine and enjoyed it on 10/25/21
Poured onyx black with a light brown head that receded fairly quickly to a light brown ring.
The aroma was lost on me, allergies or something. But I smelled nothing amiss.
The taste, oh my. Quite often I find breweries over hop their RIS and while I enjoy them, they are not in my "sweet spot" Bare Hands does a beautiful balancing of the hops and malts here, making the chocolate and char and malty goodness shine and the hop bitterness create an edge to keep things in line. Well balanced and so very tasty.
The feel was darn near perfect, and for a non-BA RIS, maybe it was.
OA, I really need to get some more of this. Wow. Really tasty and well executed.
Oct 26, 2021
Photo of BBThunderbolt
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.44/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to jkblr for this one from a recent trade. 16oz can (dated 12/3/19) poured into 14oz teku. poured the expected solid black color with about 1/2 inch of tan head that had moderate retention and no lacing.

The aroma had solid malt, noticeable roast, and a hint of chocolate.

Pretty similar on the tongue, all the expected notes, nicely done.

The body may have been a wee bit thinner than is usual for the style, was smooth, and had a semi-sweet finish.

Drinkability was nice, the brew hid its ABV well, and it was a good sipper.

Overall, a nice take on the style. Worth a shot if you see it.
May 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by mdaschaf from Indiana

Mar 28, 2020
Photo of jkblr
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

3.89/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
16oz CANNED ON 12/03/19 (nearly 3 months old) poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at just above fridge temp 10.2% ABV. The beer pours dense black with virtually no light penetration and quickly building rusty brown head. The head recedes to a thin cap. The aroma is strong with roasted malt conveyed as coffee, dark chocolate and slight campfire smoke. The taste is dark chocolate punctuated with caramel and dark fruit. There is a slightly ashy, yet enjoyable, strong bitterness on the finish. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, very good.
Feb 23, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by Griffith from Connecticut

Apr 25, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by Jamison85 from Indiana

Mar 30, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by fthegiants from California

Feb 20, 2019
 
Rated: 4.03 by Mikexw from New York

Jan 12, 2019
 
Rated: 4.16 by Ssitron from Michigan

Dec 13, 2018
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

3.72/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Got this beer through a BIF, super stoked to try this beer. One of my favorite style of beer. Read a few reviews and the they vary from good to bad. Served in a snifter at 50 degrees. A gentle pour into the glass produced a one finger creamy light tan head. The head has great retention. The head left lacing on the glass. The color the beer is SRM 37 a dark brown nearly black in color. The beer does present with a few carbonation bubbles on the sides of the glass.

The aromas in the beer are char, burnt sugar, molasses, dark roasted malts, espresso, dark chocolate, caramel and stone fruit.

The flavors in the beer are more char than normal, molasses, dark roasted malt, huge espresso, bittersweet dark chocolate, caramel, stone fruit, earth,

The mouthfeel of the beer is chewy and rich.

The body of the beer is full, low carbonation, and a full finish.

This beer has an overly aggressive smokey char note in the beer that detracts from the overall harmony and balance in the beer. The smokey char note has a touch of maillard in the overtly smokiness of the beer. The other flavors in the beer are good. a fairly decent RIS.
Jun 21, 2018
 
Rated: 4.16 by BAsbill from California

Jun 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.22 by gspirit from Indiana

Jun 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by vfgccp from New York

May 22, 2018
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.42/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Released 3/26/18; drank 5/18/18 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

A violent pour yielded a huge tan head; frothy lace.

Burnt black coffee, fresh earth & dark chocolate notes in the nose.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Burnt black coffee, caramel & fresh earth flavors.

If the point of a RIS is to be brutal & tough to finish...bravo. Not for me.
May 19, 2018
 
Rated: 4.27 by nsiergiej from Indiana

Apr 22, 2018
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Reviewed by darktronica from Indiana

4.39/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
I was excited to see this now available in 4-packs of pint cans, given Bare Hands' stellar and growing reputation. This one is dated March 26, so it's hyper-fresh from being self-distributed. It doesn't disappoint!

Half a finger of head that dissipates fairly quickly, leaving little trace behind on top of the inky beer, a nearly-black brown but thick enough to produce some legs when swirled. Heavy on chocolate malts and aromatic, floral hops. Very smooth on the tongue, low-to-moderate carbonation and a crisp, dry finish. Really enjoyable. I've had the Ride the Bride variation with chocolate and coffee added, in both fresh and barrel-aged variants, but I just might prefer the base beer right here.
Mar 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3.85 by johnverduin from Indiana

Mar 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.12 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Jan 18, 2018
Mail Order Bride from Bare Hands Brewery
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 57 ratings