A long overdue rating...this one kind of got lost in my notebook. Massive thanks to reakt for the trade on this: we both know I got the better end on this trade, and it was very kind of you to part with this rare bottle! Opened this with Fin, Loz and Traci at the "Welcome Home Frank" tasting. Black, light tan foam. Wow—what an aroma. Very soft an inviting: nothing punches you in the nose, but the more you sift through the layers more layers emerge. Cocoa powder, mahogany, chestnuts, Nestle® Milo, a little asphalt. Saltly licorice flavor, raw honey, espresso, raw chocolate. Nice silky mouthfeel. Eccentric in an endearing very Harveys sort of way. Thanks again Ang!

<i> <b> Bottle at Casey and Traci’s tasting 01-08-08, cheers you two for a great evening.</i> </b> Pours black with white head. Some sweet mocha on the nose, coffee milkshake, hazlenut, lovely. Wonderful sweet diluted espresso, nice sweetness, wonderful soft maltiness

Bottle at Chris O’s 19th April 2008 tasting. After pestering Ang about his stash, I was gobsmacked to find a bottle in my aunt’s sideboard on a visit to Lewes. I’d tried this in 2005 when it was brewed, but my palate couldn’t appreciate it back then. Luckily I’d never heard of Ratebeer either. So I was very pleased to be able to try an aged bottle. Pours black with a big tan head. Looks awesome. Restrained aroma, but thick, tarry, sweet malt and warming alcohol greet your tongue with a vengeance. Mes and Harry below describe the flavour better than I ever could. It was wonderfully smooth as well. A very, very, very good stout, and frankly exceptional given where it had been stored&#033; Now, I just need to get my hands on a bottle of Gunpowder Quatracentennial...

<i>A Mes rate: bottle at Chris O’s Ha Ha Ha Ha Gimme the Cheese Tasting.</i><br />Ang has had some bottle of this growing a little bit older and a little bit wiser for some time now, we just havent got around to opening one yet, although the one in my ’cellar’ winks at me everytime I open the door. This particular bottle came from Casper &#40;Ethereal&#41; who found it in his gran’s kitchen. Jesus nobbing Christ, what a find mate. Superb black with tan looks that is about as close to perfection for a stout as I have seen. A little mellow in the aroma compared to what I was expecting but it’s still damned amazing. Thick and chewy caramel malt with a tarry and almost smoky character. Wonderful alcohol notes. Rich as hell and nothing short of incredible. Such glorious chocolate. Absolutely bloody awesome. Unreal length. So ridiculously good.<br /><br />Sorry for the crap rate I just got too carried away and had to scribble notes furiously at the end. This deserves much better and I’ll attempt to do so next time I have some... Ang???

<b>Bottle &#40;275ml&#41;</b>. <i>Courtesy of Ang &#40;reakt&#41;, and The Man, mes of mes and sim - a true "Mother" of a beer lover!</i>. Rating #2999. This poured an amazing viscous purple-black with a smallish lasting light brown head - oh I love that look &#40;5-&#41;. Aroma - oh my, I’m in love: oily figs and coffee laced with anisette, oil-based paint, musty old wood, alcohol, sweet cream, mint, cocoa, dried wildflowers ... complex, mysterious and R-to-the-Oasty. Taste - like you made a thick porridge, laced it with coffee and alcohol, then burned it and stuck it in the blender - thick, carbonized, syrupy, a little boozy and tongue-coating - thick and sweet, lactic and very bitter, sultanas and sour cherry reduction - amazing stuff. Thick, sticky and bitter yet syrupy, a little carbonation percolates up through this le brea tar pit of a stout, but the roast just grabs your palate and stays overnight. Amazing stuff - thanks mes ... I feel guilty for not sharing this! &#40;and next up: #3000&#41;.