Harveys Imperial Stout

11.2 oz bottle, vintage 2000. pours a thick black with no head whatsoever. A pretty nice aroma, though there is a hint of cardboard, its strong with coffee, prunes, raisins, chocolate, a hint of smoke and a lot of plum. When it comes to the flavor ... bah, i guess i’m just not going to have a good beer tonight. Salty as the ocean, chocolate, pine, soy sauce, way past its prime, I know this is at least a year old, but wow. this is disguisting, why is this like licking a sweaty neck. i’m done.

Aroma has a bit of sourness, prunes, smoke, toffee and vanilla. Pours motor oil jet black with no head. Flavor is salty with hints of the sea, leather and coffee. Palate is thick and creamy. Interesting, but not one I’d like to have again.

2000. In the nose, a peculiar waft of ripened currants, cheese rind and marinating beef. Touches of soy and tobacco. Very stagnant and mature. Edges of warm applesauce and spiced plums. Not that explosive or inviting. Pours a deep oil black, with a blistering fiery edge of ruby. Tiny rim of tan. No carbonation. On the tongue, and oily slick of initially flat and boring tannic water. Faints nips of sherry and port. Then a cascade of dry, oak heavy nut husks and dry grain fusels. Risingly dry and yet soppy with wet, boring sugars. The palate is the most distinct character of this beer, with long draws of faint pipe tobacco, roasted almonds and then a wisp of Northdown hop oils. The even further down the road vanilla bean, brown sugar and nips of coffee perk up. A bit oily and slick overall, yet not carrying much flavor. The alcohol, well-hidden, yet not expressive. Aged characters aren’t as forward as I expected, but they don’t lend or detract much from the beer. Seemingly well-brewed, and not aging poorly, but possibly a mediocre middle of the road Imperial Stout in the first place. Interesting to taste a progenitor after so many advanced versions.

Bottle 2001 vintage: Black in color with a tiny dark tan head. Aroma, port wine, chocolate, dark fruits, some sherry quality. Flavor, some tangyness, coffee, roasted malts, some fruits, an almost dusty/ashy quality to it. Cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate. Just seems off somehow. Don’t know if it’s the age or what.

1999 bottle courtesy of maltydogs at his house, paired with a nice Stilton after dinner. A Brett-nosed stout with some roasted malt and mild tanginess - not quite what I had in mind for the aroma of an impy stout. Dark black with a meniscus of magenta to it. No head at all. Heavy watery body with mild carbonation - more thin than I would expect. Starts with a Brett tang, sour notes of cherry skin, oak. Malty roasted grain with some chocolate, licorice, and coffee at the finish. Almost a bit like J.W. Lee’s that’s been a bit oxidized. We opened two bottles and both tasted the same, so perhaps not representative of the brew?

Bottled, 2001 vintage. Pours... not exactly black. Just very very very very very very deep brown. A filthy cream head devoured itself to leave a greasy mocha swirl.

Smells of this morning’s coffee and last night’s Chinese takeaway; something borderline sour, catches in the back of my throat. But there’s also a creamy chocolate in there - English chocolate, the chemical-ridden, vegetable-fat-clad stuff.

And then a smoooth taster; vineous twinges, the last date in the box. Smooth due to cream - perhaps it’s more top of the milk that’s just began to curdle.

Sick candy sweetness, lip-lingering sourness, probing alcohol.

After all that, it’s an enigmatic beer. Reading back over this review, I ought to be retching as I reach for the last in the glass, but... it’s actually rathergood. A synergistic beer indeed.

This stuff pours as black a overused motor oil w/ only a shallow, beachball spattered froth. Smells like a Congnac aged in a Bordeaux cask. Medium full nectar and still as night. Lays heavy on the palate. Flavors are very earthy w/ hints of ginger bread, plums, vanilla, leather, sodium, iodine, cedar, w/ only slight cocoa. The roast factor is predominant here w/ a slight souring. The finish is bittered perfectly. Nice balance. I highly recommend this to the connoisseur. It’s not your typical style, very English.

Pours incredibly thick black with hint of red. Strong aroma of wine and dark fruits. Flavor is extremely wine-like with an almost salty undertone. Fig, raisin, cinnamon. Dark chocolate finish. There is absolutely no carbonation in this beer, or at least the one I had, so it was quite unusual.