Imperial Reserve - Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
Wellington Brewery
- From:
- Wellington Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 10%
- Score:
- +9 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.05 | pDev: 0%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 17, 2026
- Added:
- Jan 17, 2026
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
A masterful evolution of a timeless classic. Imperial Reserve is brewed from our decades-long perfected Imperial Stout recipe and aged for four months in first-use oak rum barrels, developing rich layers of decadent molasses, complex dried fruit, oak, and deeply warming dark chocolate.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by TheHammer from Canada (ON)
4.05/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.05/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Poured a with a bit of a large head at two and a half fingers, it manages to leave a decent amount of lacing and retains exceptionally well. The body is of course as black as night as any respectable stout should be.
Smell: Dark roasted chocolate malt with certainly a rum presence, it takes an awful lot of warming to achieve potency and even then, you'd expect a bit more punch given the aging.
Taste: Starts with great chocolate malt as a Rum and higher alcohol note pushes forward as a molasses note pairs with the Rum before oak and mild bitterness rounds us out.
Mouthfeel: The beer's aftertaste starts a bit boozy with the rum note, but then it turns a bit dry and woody to incentivize you to drink more, just barely pushing past what I would call tasteful dryness. Thankfully, nothing in the aftertaste clings. The transitioning is good, as is the carbonation which is seems to know it's not the star of the show here, the Rum is.
Drinkability: It doesn't conceal it's booze, but I can't really complain on that front, given it's clearly an Imperial Stout aged with a spirit. The chocolate and molasses don't have quite the umph I'd like here, as the barrel is really the star of this show, but they do enough to still be solid. It's got a proper heavy body, which again I feel good Stout should always strive for.
Final Thoughts: So if this ends up being a series, where the same stout gets aged in different barrels to showcase the spirit, then I'm all for this offering. The focus here though is clearly the Rum aging, and if I want Rum, I'd drink Rum. That said, I suppose Rum aged in beer barrels isn't a thing (nor something I can see being profitable or accessible enough to buying a bottle) and the beer while not being the start, lets it's chocolate and restrained bitterness add to the Rum notes.
Jan 17, 2026Smell: Dark roasted chocolate malt with certainly a rum presence, it takes an awful lot of warming to achieve potency and even then, you'd expect a bit more punch given the aging.
Taste: Starts with great chocolate malt as a Rum and higher alcohol note pushes forward as a molasses note pairs with the Rum before oak and mild bitterness rounds us out.
Mouthfeel: The beer's aftertaste starts a bit boozy with the rum note, but then it turns a bit dry and woody to incentivize you to drink more, just barely pushing past what I would call tasteful dryness. Thankfully, nothing in the aftertaste clings. The transitioning is good, as is the carbonation which is seems to know it's not the star of the show here, the Rum is.
Drinkability: It doesn't conceal it's booze, but I can't really complain on that front, given it's clearly an Imperial Stout aged with a spirit. The chocolate and molasses don't have quite the umph I'd like here, as the barrel is really the star of this show, but they do enough to still be solid. It's got a proper heavy body, which again I feel good Stout should always strive for.
Final Thoughts: So if this ends up being a series, where the same stout gets aged in different barrels to showcase the spirit, then I'm all for this offering. The focus here though is clearly the Rum aging, and if I want Rum, I'd drink Rum. That said, I suppose Rum aged in beer barrels isn't a thing (nor something I can see being profitable or accessible enough to buying a bottle) and the beer while not being the start, lets it's chocolate and restrained bitterness add to the Rum notes.
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