Wrecking Bar Brew Pub 2nd Anniversary

Flight of Five Russian Imperial Stouts at the Wrecking Bar.

Flight of Five Russian Imperial Stouts at the Wrecking Bar.

So I went to down to Little 5 Points the other night in search of some good food and drinks before heading to an improv comedy show at Dad’s Garage and ended up at the Wrecking Bar Brew Pub. Man, did I get lucky and head down there on the right night. It turned out to be Wrecking Bar’s 2nd anniversary and this meant that they pulled out the big guns. I started browsing the beer list for the night and was about to order a house brewed Russian Imperial Stout(RIS) that was aged in a Prichard’s Rye Whiskey Barrel. But there were 3 other barrel aged varieties of the Siberius Maximus RIS and the bartender must have seen the concerned look on my face when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to drink four 12% abv stouts without getting to shitty to make it to the improv show. So she offered me a flight of the RIS beers including the non-barrel aged version. This made me happy as I didn’t even think it was a possibility. Thank you bar tender lady; you are a genius! These stouts were each splendid and unique. The original un-aged stout was a malty, sweet, full-bodied monster. Big roasty dark chocolate and honey flavors lead the way in this tasty stout. It is hard to say which one of the “regular” barrel aged versions I liked the most but I think the rum barrel was the winner. The sweetness of the rum played nicely with the chocolate and honey flavors present in this RIS. The Woodford Reserve and Prichard’s version were uniquely different from each other with the Woodford being the smoother and less peppery of the two. But my favorite RIS of the night would be the Mexican RIS aged in a Prichard’s Rye Whiskey barrel. DAMN, it was good. They turned up the heat on the standard RIS recipe and added hot peppers, cinnamon, and other good things that I can not remember. This thing was full flavored through and through. It had complementary but contrasting flavors that would take you from sweet vanilla and cinnamon and then rocket you to caramel and chocolate notes with a big spicy finish that left some residual heat and my mouth begging for another sip. This was by far my favorite but the entire RIS line up, it was excellent. If your in 5 Points swing on down to the Wrecking Bar and check out what’s on tap.