Brothers Brewing Resolute Russian Imperial Stout
I’ve had a few products from Harrisonburg, Virginia’s Brothers Brewing over the past couple of years and my experience with them has been fairly hit or miss. The one beer of theirs that I have always wanted to try, but was pretty much resigned to not crossing paths with was their Resolute, a bourbon barrel aged Russian imperial stout. Luckily for me, a coworker graciously donated a bottle of the Fall 2015 release to the slow destruction of my liver. But would it strike true or fly wide of the bullseye?
This big (13.5% ABV) Russian imperial stout is brewed with the sole purposed of barrel aging in mind. For 2015, 3650 bottles were produced — bottles 1-1800 were aged for nine months in Heaven Hill barrels, the rest for the same duration in from A. Smith Bowman barrels. I reached out to the brewery when I was first gifted bottle #892 to see in which Heaven Hill brand the brew rested, but received no information. Regardless, Resolute is decidedly a hit.
With the alcohol content and array of flavors, this is not a beer to be trifled with. It was certainly a bit on the young side when I cracked open by bottle, the heat of the alcohol a bit too strong in the lightly drying finish. I would venture that this one will do just fine in a the cellar for a few years, the alcohol mellowing out a touch and everything coming together in a decadent crescendo of flavors. As it stands right now, Resolute is still an outstanding beer and one that I am truly thankful for having had the opportunity to experience.