As the temperature drops in the Tampa Bay area, so does enthusiasm for the ice cold lagers and refreshing wheat beers. Colder weather calls for a heartier, warming beer like the monumentally thick, high alcohol, meal-in-a-glass Russian imperial stout.

It was originally developed by the Barclay & Perkins Brewery of London. Barclay was founded in 1710 and at one time billed itself as the largest brewery in the world. It was an institution in its time, even earning mention in Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield.

Barclay became renowned for its dark beers and was the leading brewer of one of the most quintessential of all London brews, porter.

It is necessary to understand the popularity of porter and stout to appreciate the phenomenon that was Russian imperial stout. Like India pale ale, which was fortified with hops and higher alcohol content so it could better survive the journey from England to thirsty soldiers in India, Russian imperial stout was brewed out of necessity rather than demand from local consumers.

Systems for filtration and pasteurization (necessary for shipping beer over long distances) were not readily available in those days, so Barclay & Perkins, seeking to capitalize on the untapped Russian market, decided to brew a more heavily hopped and higher alcohol beer that would be able to survive the journey to Russia.

Hops and alcohol act in combination as both preservative and disinfectant, but to reach higher alcohol contents, brewers must add additional fermentable materials for the yeast to consume. Naturally, if a brewer uses additional malts in the recipe, it increases the concentration of flavor as well.

Such was the case with Russian imperial stout. The process resulted in a thick bodied, roasted, bitter beer that could range in flavor from dark chocolate to burnt and fruity.

The brew was so popular with the court of Catherine the Great that it became synonymous with Russia, thus the name.

In the 1950s, Barclay & Perkins brewery merged with another London brewery to become the Courage, Barclay & Perkins Brewery. Bottles of Courage Russian Imperial Stout that date from the '70s to early '90s are still around and often fetch substantial sums on auction sites like eBay.com.

- Joseph J.M. Redner is a Tampa resident and world beer traveler.