Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

2001 bottle from Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville. Man, I wish it looked more like the beer in the picture. Instead, it’s darker and thicker than espresso with absolutely zero carbonation. The most intimidating beer I’ve had -- well, other than Chibuku Shake Shake in Malawi, but that’s a different story altogether. Nose of ballpoint pen ink, soy, chocolate, sour fruits, and some dark grain. Reminds me of Sam Adams Triple Bock in some ways. Weird. Smells strong and heavy, and it is. More roast on the taste. Chalky, dry palate. Something nauseating about this beer. I can’t imagine I’ll drink more than 3-4 ounces of this, which means I paid about $2 an ounce. I’m honestly not really sure if I like it or not, but I may sit with this all night and see if I can figure it out. Damn, I’m not even sure what to say about this, but I’ll give it props for just being WTF.

2003 bottle picked up at a bottlo somewhere in London. Cork in decent shape despite seemingly being stored vertically. Serious beer. As in serious. Smells quite aged - really burnt currants, soy and vinous stuff which gives an eerily cabernet-like impression. Intensely roasty, bitter and dry. Red berries, black pepper, prunes and chalk. Silky body, basically flat. Tight and super-intense, certainly not a friendly beer but it commands respect. The only beer I’ve had which has even come close to the flavour of Courage Imperial Stout, and bearing basically no resemblance to a ’modern’ IS. Extra points for iconoclasticism (even though I don’t think that’s an actual word).

11.2 oz bottle pours motor oil with zero carbonation into a snifter. Definitely an odd aroma, smells like a combination of a stout and a sour: super sweet chocolate, oak, sour lactose, plenty of malts, raspberries, cherries. Oak and lactose pervade throughout the taste, silky chocolate comes through, raisins and raspberries in the finish. Zero carbonation, literally. Full bodied with a silky mouthfeel. Smells and drinks like wine with added chocolate and malt. Very strange, but tasty. I can’t drink more than a small glass.

i’ve had this beer a few times now, aged and fresh, and I love it. It’s kinda crazy, the brett sourness and funk is unexpected but it makes it so drinkable. I prefer it fresh where the thick roasty malt balances the fruity sharpness to be easy-drinking and bloody delicious. The bottle I’m rating was shared with a couple of mates (two bottles between three of us) in the Royal Oak, Borough. Great pub, great beer.

Bottled 2003. Pours black with little to no carbonation. Road tar, dark chocolate, espresso, wood smoke and foresty aromas. Thick palate with a good dose of integrated oak and a long subtle finish with a citrus accent. Truly excellent aged Imperial stout.

This beer is one of kind and that’s being nice. This is a thick black sour beer with no carbonation or head. The aftertaste is sour coffee and alcohol as if it had gone bad. This is the first beer I have ever poured that I did not finish. Absolutely not to my liking.

Bottle Vintage 2003 After trying to pull the cork. (it snapped in half it was so dry). Pours out a flat pitch black topped with no head. Aroma is very nice sweet pitfruit and rich malt. Taste is of flat coffee, smoke, soy, and bitterness. Sad to say not so good.

2003 bottle pours black with no head. Aroma is ripe dark fruit, sweet dark malt, alcohol, leather and soy. Flavor is rich roast malt, a bit of hoppy bitterness, and a bit of sweetness.