Harveys Imperial Stout

2003 bottle. Buyer beware. Dry cork crumbled into beer. Completely flat. Like motor oil. Might have been decent had it not suffered from aging, poor packaging, and handling.

330. Thanks, Maria! Ay chihuahua...is this really an 01? Certainly seems to have some years on it. You know you’re on your way to geekdom when you, like me, totally get off on the hassle of having to uncork an 11.2 ounce bottle after unfoiling it. Love that long thin neck, especially on the pour: dook dook dook dook dook. Pours oily still black with a few alomst imaginary bubbles hanging around. Nose is overwhelmingly soy sauce. I don’t use the word "overwhelmingly" to describe aromas very often, but this qualifies; you can feel your back straighten when you smell this stuff. It’s almost a fight or flight response. And the attack, wow--watery, and flat, but, jesus, talk about salty. It’s almost all soy sauce and seaweed; sourly salty, in fact. I wish I could find something nicer to say about it, but I’m afraid this one has gone over. You’re too kind to me, Maria...I wish I could have tasted deeper into this one.

Bottle picked this up from Beers of Europe late April. Mmmhh maybe I shoulda’ had this for the 1000th, what an incredible beer. This beer poured like a slightly watered down treacle with only a small tan head, the aroma was quite strange that I can only describe as being a bit fishlike. As a child I always loved the smell of creosote and always wondered what it would be ike to lick it off the fence, how strange then at 38 I finally get to try a beer that on first taste made me think I was sucking a creosoted fence panel, guess what? It tasted great, the neighbours better watch out for a strange man with splinters in on black tongue, creeping around their fencing panels. The second taste released bitter chocolate that morphed into a creamy chocolate finish, such an intense and complicated flavour the roof of my mouth now feeling that it was coated with a layer of pitch. Another sip revealed a sour tang with chocolate and roasted flavours. I took 45mins to an hour to drink this it just demanded to be savoured, such an amazing beer that shouldn’t really work and yet it does, it’s fantastic, great accompnement to Craig Charles funk and soul show on Radio 6 on a Saturday night.

2000 vintage. Pours like thin weight motor oil, opaque black. No head at all. Sweet molasas/wine/soy sauce aroma. Medium heavy mouth feel with a syrupy sweet molasas flavor, no bitterness what so ever. Poorly balanced and very 1 dimensional, no roast flavor at all, more of a barley wine than a stout but no matter what you call it, it’s not good.

Bottle from State Line, Thanks Dennis Bell. A cork what the in the hell was a cork doing in there? Real black pour wich was alot like syrup with thin quickly dissapating head. Odd aroma, it smelled a little like wine and roasted malt. Alcohol taste with roast and a olive\vinegar taste. This was just ok for me.

(Vintage 2003, bottle, Royal Oak, Borough, London 25 Apr 2007) Black colour with small brown head. Roasted, vinous nose with liquorice, coffee, tar, fresh asphalt and sweetish notes of vanilla. Roasted, full taste packed with liquorice, vanilla, wood and citrus. Long, roasted, bittersweet finish. Full body, oily mouthfeel (almost like liquid asphalt). Very tasty, not particularly balanced, but still very nice.

Bottle vintage 2001. Pours a black syrupy motor oil with no head, even at 45 degrees. Aromas of burnt black chocolate, burnt toast, burnt dry raisin grapes and prunes, some oakness, and even soy sauce. Taste is thick and oily with some tones of fruit, and more burnt molasses. Tastes almost like a liqueur/cough medicine with a lot of salty soy sauce. This 2001 beer could have been beyond its life expectancy. Finish is sour with some stickyness to the throat, then more sourness. No, I don’t want to try this again. (rating 3,3,1,2,7)

ReRate: After some repeated persuation by the Minnesota Crew (badgerben, JK, brewfiend, joebrew, et. al) I’ll give Harveys Imperial Stout a second try. Bottle vintage 2000, pours an opaque near black brew with no head, film, ring or lacing. Aroma of licorice, soy sauce, and tawny port. Taste is slightly oily, smooth, creamy with a slight burnt sour aftertaste. Palate is thick and chewy with no carbonation. Looks like I had a contaminated 2001 bottle during the first rating. Much better the second time around. Thanks team!

Bottle. 2001. Clear black color with virturually none head. Aroma is port, soya sauce, licorice, alcohol, dark fruit. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter, sour with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is flat. Very nice ;o))