Legacy Imperial Stout
Barley's Casino & Brewing Co.

Sampled on tap at the brewpub in Henderson, NV.

This imperial stout poured a jet black color with creamy, brown foam that persisted and left some lace on the glass. The smell was dark-malty with notes of chocolate, coffee, and a hint of lactic sourness. The taste was richly malty, very dark roasted malt with some bitter coffee and a touch of dark chocolate. There was a hint of dry sourness as well in the flavor. The hops and alcohol were almost hidden by the malty flavors. The mouthfeel was relatively smooth and dry with full body and modest carbonation. The aftertaste was pleasantly bitter. This imperial stout grew on me and ultimately had me wishing for more.

Presentation: Sampled on draft at Barley’s Casino and Brewing Co. as part of a Sampler during a visit with fellow BA UncleJimbo, who himself decided to tackle a full pint of this monster. Listed on the brewpub blurb as the ‘Brew Master Select’ and described as a rotating special style beer brewed at various times of the year. On our visit UncleJimbos ordered this with little hesitation as he had been here before. Unfortunately for him, the enquiry to the waitress revealed that it was an Imperial Stout at a massive 9.5%; sadly he only discovered the strength *after* he got his Pint…I agreed to share his Pint otherwise it could have been a racy start to the day!!

Appearance: Incredibly dark with a super jet black appearance that was quiet beguiling and attracted much attention from both myself and UncleJimbo, for it had the darkest of heads that either of us had ever seen in our lives. When immediately served the cascading head that was slowly forming and settling down was the self same color as the rest of the body, namely pure black. Solid levels of carbonation and a very impressive imposing presentation at first that portrayed a dangerous sinister aspect to this Imperial Stout - building up its reputation long before we even got to drink it. The head eventually settled to a very dark cocoa brown ½” rim that had a decent consistency and staying power.

Nose: Activated charcoal that had a carboniferous bitterness to it. Roasted bitterness and fired malts. No sign of any vinous character as expected from the appearance.

Taste: Dark body broods but actually delivers a rather simplistic profile. Intense roasted malts mixed in with a deep hop bitterness lend 90% of the character to this Imperial Stout. The taste profile starts with a little dry charcoal that was detectable in the nose, but it builds rapidly to give this one an intensely dry roasted bitterness in the lingering finish.

Mouthfeel: Drank much thinner than I expected for a beer that was allegedly 9.5%. Still, it had balls but I guess the deeply roasted bitterness hid the alcohol so well that it was barely detectable. Improved as it warmed.

Drinkability: Drinks well below its advertised strength and this is one dangerous aspect, for it is easy to forget that this is after all nearly a double digit Imperial Stout. Once I finished my Sampler I helped UncleJimbo finish his Pint, being as this was his first Pint of the day. It was a joy to imbibe but the intense roast bitterness would make this a hard one to live with in the longer term, it lacks a little smoothness.

Overall: A very nice change of pace form the earlier 5 standard brews that I Sampled, and most definitely well worthy of a Pint if you get the chance to try this one should it be on offer as the Brew Master Select during your visit. I would however like to have seen a little more smoothness and a hint of some sourness in this; I think these two aspects would have really made this a great Imperial Stout, as it is it’s a winner for sure though.