Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

Pours as dark as midnight with almost no head. Aroma of licqurice, fruit, hints of a brandy or of a red wine. Taste is dry, roasty, a very heavy flavor.

Bottle: Extremely dark-amber coloured with a quite stable, but small brownish foamy layer, quite complex nose: vinous fruits, liquorice, roasted malt, leather and bittering hops; full bodied, dry salty(!) bitter flavour; long lasting, warming finish with traces of roasted malt, leather, tobacco and hops. Complex, maybe a bit too complex.........

This one pours black with no head whatsoever. The nose comes across with little chocolatiness or burntness with no noticeable coffee smell. It is very flat with a massive maltiness that I usually only get in English barley wines. There is burnt-coffee-choco taste to it but it is overwhelmed by a saltiness that I don’t know if I have ever experienced in any kind of beer before. It actually overwhelms the sweetness of the beer, and makes this beer very underwhelming. I don’t get it.

2001 Corked Bottle Poured a pure balck with no head and no lacing whatsoever. Smelled a bit like red wine with combinations of dark fruit, chocolate, coffee, and toffee. Taste was less than impressive, had the taste of coffee, some butter, nuts, I’m not sure, something just didn’t seem right, normally I would like that. Mouthfeel, no carbonation, thick like motor oil, wasn’t impressive. Drinkability was, well, it was a bit challenging at times. Note: Perhaps it was a bad bottle, I will try this again and re-review at somepoint, but this bottle was not my cup of tea.

Bottle. 2000 vintage. I’ve had this one in the cellar for at least 3 years... Not a bit of head at all on the pour and not much carbonation when uncorking. This was not unexpected. A slimy ruby black color and I love the fact that there are a few chunks of the cork floating around in this one. Aroma of smoke and wood with a squirt of dark chocolate syrup on top... I immediately think of a distilled alcohol, but I have trouble figuring out which one... Sherry? Port? Interesting flavor and the alcohol is evident and probably a bit too overpowering but there are certainly some interesting flavors that bash the palate upon pouring down the throat... the first is a burnt smokey bakers chocolate and a light espresso mixed together, but with no sweetness whatsoever... I believe sweet would actually improve and balance this one a bit more. I’d like to call it complex, but I believe that’s being over complimentary to a beer that simply doesn’t really deserve it. It is very one dimensional and doesn’t improve as the glass empties... It becomes a bit too much and a bit annoying. An overrated and overdone beer, which is something that I have never said about a beer in the past.... That doesn’t mean that it is bad, as it is not, but not a complete beer.

A le Coq bottle, 2001 vintage. Opaque with a medium-sized head that is the creamiest ever seen, leaves a nice frosting. Aroma is pure sherry. Flavor is strawberries in merlot, moving to raspberries soaked in red wine and mixed with cocoa, then turning to a dry cocoa-woody finish. Noticed some salty tang, especially toward the end of the glass. Medium-heavy body is smooth with a dry finish. The alcohol is noticeable and takes some getting used to. While this is not my favorite beer, I must admit the flavors are very complex, and this makes a quite unusual dessert beer.

Vintage 2003. Nose of anise, licorice, and alcohol. Pours cloudy black without head or lace. The brew is uncommonly deep with light acidity and a roasted overpowering finish that speaks of dried fruit & espresso. The alcohol is fully masked from the taste, but the warmth from the abv is undeniable. The full, chewy body is soft and syrupy and feels alcholic at the finish.

This is a vintage 2001 and i had it in March 2005. I carefully took it out to get the right temperature and in awe I opened the bottle. Automatically I held the cork to my nose, and is like the cork from a wine, that went wrong, like vinegar... The color is pitch black and there is no head worth mentioning. The curtains in the glass are impressive and the mouhtfeel is extremely oily, it feels like I need to srcape it off. I love stouts and porters - but this one is extremely special.... It’s like a very strong "skibsøl" where the volume has been considerably turned up. Salt is the most dominant note - even 2 hours later, when I with shamefully bent head poured the rest down the drain... It also has notes of soy, tar, cough medicine, English licorice of the strongest kind, brief notes of bitter chocolate, and notes of something that reminds me of the smell of coffee that was left on the stove too long.... I’m deeply disappointed - but some day, I don’t know when, I’ll try it again.... - December 2007, I’m ready for another go soon, have one lined up in the cellar, and I have the feeling I might like it a lot better now...