Harveys Imperial Stout

Bottle. Thick and creamy yellow head indicated that here you will have to take care. When then pitch black beer is poured this impression is increased. Relatively vineous aroma with acidic notes gave the impression of a good port wine. The flavor of the expected coffee choccolate with a bit of licorice and a slightly bkitter note just contributed to my good impression of this beer.

Aroma was dominated by dark fruit and alcohol.Pours pitch black with no head at all.Dark fruit and alcohol was very dominating in the flavor.Mouthfeel was very thin with a very dry wine like finish.

330ml bottle from Utobeer, London. 2001 Vintage. Coal black body with a dark reddish foam reduced to no head at all after a short while. Aroma of dark fruits and berries. Lots of dark fruits like plums in flavour. Port- and sherry-like impression. Not more than alright and a bit too vinous for my taste (08.04.2007).

Bottle. [Enjoyed with thewolf on Plan B] Vintage 2001. This was defiantly the highlight of the evening with Rene. The years that this bottle has been cellared might have vastly improved this one. That is properly why we are rating this one quit high. Pours out like greasy black motor oil. No head or lacing what so ever. Aroma is heavy and smooth malt with notes of chocolate, coffee, berries, hints of wood, roasted. Gave me the impression of a good cherry or port wine. Going down, experience of fresh berries, roasted and licorice notes are evidence. Full bodied with a flat carbonation and light alcoholic texture. Flavor was moderated sweet with burned bitter notes to balance it. Sweet notes starts off as you finish the sip, but some bitter notes can also be detected at the very end. Excellent!

Vintage 2000 - Pours pitch black with no head. Aroma of mild sour cherry, dark malt, toffee, and oxidized chocolate. Taste is slightly sour, papery chocolate and toffee. Mouthfeel is full bodied with little to no carbonation.

Bottle. 2001 Vintage. Shared with Grovlam. Pours absolutely pitch black with no head whatsoever. Not even a slight film - nothing! Feels like tar, when you pour and when you look at it. Great aroma - roasted, vinious, sherry, cognac and a touch of berries! Extremely low carbonated making drinking it like downing tar (not that I’ve tried!). Flavour is dominated by a clear and very present roastiness, balanced out well by some sweet berries again. Very complex in its taste.

There is definitely over aged. The bottle say 2000 on it so 6+ years was too much for this beer. There are raisins, prunes, coffee, smoke, and heavily toasted malt. But now the aroma only has remnants. The appearance is black. It’s the darkest beer I have rated. But it has no head as it’s totally flat. The flavor is like the aroma but I also detect salt and leather. I think it’s oxidized. The palate is not as thick as I had assumed from the appearance. This is no good. 2001 Update. This one is not quite as strong as the 2000 (but still powerful) in taste but it favors molasses, vinegar, and rubber a little more.

2000 vintage. Perhaps I drank past its optimal maturity date. The more I drink this, the more I can taste is off flavors off salt, bitter and dark fruit. I want to enjoy this beer more, But I find it hard to enjoy.