Courage Russian Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at John Smiths (Heineken UK)
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

Serve in Snifter

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Very dark brown with no head. Malty with roasted tones. Malt, fruit, licorice and caramel. Medium to full body with a balanced, sweet finish.

170 ml bottle thanks to thomat!
Vintage 1985
Sampled on January 13, 2012
Pitch black color, no head. Butter, sweet, malty, slight bit acidic scent. Sweet, a bit acidic, raissin, roasted taste. Medium mouthfeel, low bitterness.

1992 nip bottle. I had one of these in 1995 and remember it fondly. Happy to have finally gotten the chance again, thanks to Nightfall! Black with a few light brown bubbles. Vineous aroma of rich dried fruit and brown sugar, with licorice and caramel notes. Obvious age and oxidation, but pleasantly so. Sweet roasted malt flavour with plenty of caramel and licorice, a touch of soy sauce and a bit of dusty cellar. Has held up well, and is obviously a masterpiece.

UPDATED: APR 6, 2012 Drink a 1983 beer: very well kept for this long time at the kulminator Antwerpen. It has a very good and sweet taste. Among my favorite beer.

1993 nip bottle poured into a Duchesse de Bourgogne glass. There is a very slight hiss when I pry off the cap -- the pour is dead flat, a few large bubbles appearing from agitation and quickly vanishing.

The beer is dark and cloudy, a deep mahogany brown at the edges and opaque in the glass. The smell is otherworldly -- musty oak, soy sauce, brown sugar, figs, balsamic glaze. The taste is surprisingly bright and tart, a sweet beginning transitioning into a chocolatey, vinous finish. Standard tobacco/leather/dark stone fruit mixed with a huge port/sherry component. Soy sauce is present but muted, blending well with the vinous notes. Finish has some coffee and astringency. Astonishingly quaffable.

Mouthfeel takes a hit for thinness, though it’s not at all watery and would be difficult to have it be much thicker and work with the wine elements. This beer is a masterpiece. My only regret is that there’s one less bottle around.

93 Vintage bottle at Falling Rock this past Saturday during GABF. Had one along with Bardwashrind. Enjoyable brew. Pours a serious dark brown with a tan foamy head. Nose of cocoa, caramel, and dark fruits. Taste is similar to the nose with figs and dark chocolates wandering throughout each sip. Slightly sweet fig flavors on the backend. Light carbonation and oily mouthfeel. A nice stout for sure. Glad I got to try this one.

1978 bottle shared at the Sea Bass tasting. Very glad to have tried a ber from before I was born.. Plastic, minty cardboard aroma with a weird oxidized papery plastic flavor. Wooo doggies.

UPDATED: OCT 26, 2011 Bottle purchased from the Kulminator 2011 & consumed with Trev 17.06.11 Pours shark eye black it’s as black as yer at’ with few stray bubbles there is a tiny spark of life on opening. This smells of sweaty old leather, not unlike your watchstrap after a cycle ride on a hut summers day. Little thinner that expected, loads of liquorice and a finish of dark cherry and chocolate a bit like an old kirsch chocolate that had been forgotten in the box. Held up really well for the age. A7 A4 T7 P4 Ov14 3.6 I was given this bottle by Nigel at Hopshackle Brewery, it was from 1993 consumed at Fin & Loz’s tasting with Jan, Charlotte, Craig, Stella & kids consumed Saturday 22.10.11 The aroma is a little oxtaily, though there is still some malt, in fact the nose is quite good and on opening it did let a little tschh.. A little brown sauce in the mouth, things have started to break down a little with this, its not bad, but its well past its best. A6 A4 T6 P4 Ov13 3.3 I will knock the rating down now to 3.5 from two that I’ve had lately.

Vollmundiger Malzgeruch, süßlich, alkoholisch, vergoren fruchtig nach Pflaume, etwas Birne. Milderer Antrunk als erwartet von leichten Schokoladennoten, etwas herb, tief-malzig und trocken. Nur wenig süß werdend, die Malzigkeit wird zum Ende etwas lebendiger und so auch vollmundiger, eine leichte Herbe ist immer mit dabei. Hier scharf alkoholisch im Hintergrund, würzig, süffig. Altersspuren sind im hinteren Teil erkennbar. Vielen Dank an den Doppelbock für das Bier! /10/10/11/10/10

So weit ich im Internet erfahren konnte, wurde die Produktion dieses Bieres Mitte der Neunziger Jahre eingestellt. Bei meiner 170 ml Flasche handelt es sich um eine Abfüllung aus dem Jahr 1992 mit etwas angerostetem Deckel. Sirupartig ergießt sich eine schwarze Flüssigkeit ohne jegliche Schaumbildung ins kleine Testglas. Ein süßlicher likörartiger Geruch liegt über dem Bier. Eichenholz, Lakritz und Portwein sind auch dabei. Wiederum süßer likörartiger Antrunk. Stark aromareicher Mitte. Hauptsächlich Portwein, Schokolade und Pflaume. Es folgt ein trocken-holziger, samtig-bitterschokoladiger Ausklang. Wärmender Alkohol. Sehr komplexes Bier mit teilweise extremen Aromenspitzen. Überhaupt hatte ich eher das Gefühl einen Portwein zu trinken. Da kann man die Süffigkeit eher hintenanstellen. Das Etikett gibt einen Alkohlgehalt von 10% an. Gefühlt waren das achtzehn bis zwanzig. Alles in Allem ein besonderes, vielleicht auch schon übergelagertes Bier, dessen beste Zeit schon vorüber war. Irgendwie aber beeindruckend.Test vom 14.11.2009, Gebinde: Glasflasche