Harveys Imperial Stout

Bottle at Brother Tuckers. What a weird Imp stout. Pours black and zero head. Aroma is earthy and smoky. Flavor is smoky, a tad sweet, maybe some coffee and chocolate in there too. Very interesting and I enjoyed every sip!

First rating
(Bottle at a beer tasting in Göteborg on July 4, 2008)
2003 version as "A. Le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout"
Black color, light brown head. Mostly sour scent. Salty, sour, dry cocoa taste. Alcohol aftertaste. Warming alcohol. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bitterness.
3/3/4/4/8=2.2

Rerate
As "Harvey Imperial Double Extra Stout"
33 cl bottle at Bishops Arms Järntorget, Göteborg. On Ocotber 20, 2009 - during the porter week.
Marked 2003
Black color, no head. Vinous, raissin, alcohol, acidic, vanilla scent. Salty, wood like, alcohol, soy sauce taste. Some wood but mostly salty aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel, low bitterness.
5/2/4/4/9=2.3

Glugs out of the bottle like used moter oil out of an old motor oil can. No head at all. This beer actually has anti-head, there are a couple of bubbles but they are submerged beneath the black hole that is this beer. I don’t know how they got the head in the picture it must be a plastic display beer. Aroma is strange, alcohol, and some spice. Taste is almost like a wine not a beer. What is this? No carbonation at all, it feels and tastes like a wine in my mouth. Has some woody notes with some coffee was this aged in wood somewhere? Is this a sour? I taste vinigar. I’m so confused. The bottle label just gives me a a russian history lesson. I guess I like it but not in like with it. A good beer though.

2000 Edition - Pours black with a slight red tinge. Absolutely no head what so ever. Smells of chocolate and red wine. Virtually no carbonation even though the label says, "Bottle Conditioned." First taste is very sweet - almost wine like, with roasted malts, coffee and chocolate sharing top billing. Mouthfeel is awful due to the lack of carbonation. Corkscrew was needed to open bottle.

Appearance: Dark, dark brown. Very flat. Aroma: Vinous, oaky. Tangy fruit. Treacle. Taste: Vinous, oaky. Bitter, some fruit. Alcohol. Soily? Info: 330ml bottle, 23/9-2006, 154/300

Bottle. 2003 vintage. Black with a thin brown head. Aromas of sherry, dark fruit, wood, bitter chocolate and some smoke. Flavour of cough medicine, coffee, heavily roasted malt and awesome beer. This beer is still and lovely.

2003 bottle at home. Totally black, with a line of brown head. Utterly still, this has a true "engine oil" viscous feel. The nose is very complex with dark red wine, port, raisins, soy, strong cheese, old socks, aged wood and even mouldy notes. The alcohol is definitely evident too. Flavour-wise, there’s a lot of similarity, with the vinuous and soft malt flavours coming through a bit more. It’s soft and velvety in the mouth with a good long finish. A good imperial stout. Amusingly, when I first tried this beer (back in the early years of this decade) I found it undrinkable and didn’t even finish the bottles. What a difference a few years developing your palate makes!

pure black with just a hint a maroon at the bottom the the glass. dark tan head. aromas of smoke, chocolate, spice and malt. flavors of smoke, chocolate, and a touch of a tang that is hard to place. it finishes with a raw cocoa dryness. good stuff