Barley's Brewing amps up its red ale

Barley's Brewing Co. has released an easy-drinking red ale for every St. Patrick's Day since 1993. But this year, the Columbus brewpub is cranking it up big time.

Barley's has released Ulysses Imperial Red Ale, which is made with Ohio honey and is a hearty 9.8 percent alcohol by volume and 55.7 IBUs.

"We first brewed our Irish Rogue to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 1993," Barley's general manager Jason Fabian said in an email. "It was a lighter bodied beer and the first beer that we aged with hop flowers. It was extremely well received, but back then here were only a couple other craft (we called them micro) breweries in Columbus. We decided it was time to give our Irish ale a reboot, resulting in this big red called Ulysses. It’s fruity, toasty, with a hint of butterscotch and an abundance of warming alcohol that might be just what the doctor ordered when it seems like winter will never end. Oh, and NO GREEN DYE WAS HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS BEER."

The name is a tribute to Irish author James Joyce, who penned the book Ulysses.

"Perfectly embodying the strong yet understated hero for whom it is named," Fabian says. "Ulysses Imperial Red Ale is a clean and smooth brew with minimal hop aroma and a malty finish."