Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

1999 Bottle. Strong molasses aroma. Virtually no head. Dark dark black. Chocolate licorice flavor, burnt malt. Almost no carbonation. Syrupy and strange. Light tartness. Not sure about this one. Seems like it may have passed it’s life span. Interesting though not particularily balanced in any way. Seems to lack some important beer characteristics especially on the palate. Sort of just lays there.

Bottle (from Middle Farm, 2003 vintage). Deep black. Good aroma - vinous liquoricey chocalte and musty brett. Intensley sweet, thick, syrupy and tarry on the first sip - far too much so for me. Once used to this it becomes drinkable with a little raspberry tartness. But this over the top intenseness spoils an otherwise excellent beer.

11.2oz brown bottle corked - 1999 vintage. Completely opaque black body with a thin film of brown head. Smells sweet and roasty, with hints of licorice and wood (smoke?). Tastes sweet with burnt malt and suggestions of licorice and alcohol. Alcohol is very well-hidden though, and the rest of the flavors, while prominent, are rather mellow (presumably due to the aging). Nice and full-bodied, though not syrupy or sticky in any way. Very drinkable considering the strength/abv... This beer is fantastic. Not something I’d have every day, but this beer is great. Aged really well.

Black. Very weak texture. Doesn’t fill the mouth like a beer should but like a wine. I don’t get the stout name, its more like a bad red wine.

Pours with little head. Very malty aroma with cork qualities. Very strong qualities of alcohol, soy sauce, chocolate, and dark malt. Very heavy beer, had several times. Probably the blackest beer I’ve had.

Bottle at No. 5, vintage 2001. Black without head. Aroma heavy malty (licorice, port, wood, dark fruits) and some hoppiness, notes of cork. Flavor heavy sweet and spicy, moderate bitter, long duration. Light body despite the strength, flat. Not in love at this first meeting.

I must have gotten a bad beer. I popped the cork and expected a great beer. Instead, i got a wine. There was absolutely no carbonation here. From the picture I must have gotten a bad batch. This beer reminded me of Samuel Adams Triple Bock -- not my kind of beer. I poured out a whole bottle. My money down the drain. This was not an Imperial Stout. If I got a bad bottle, I’m not sure who to complain to but I won’t be drinking this ever again.

2001 bottle, courtesy of sk8viking. It was surprising to have to bust out the corkscrew to pop this guy open; very well sealed. Pours a terribly dark black with rust-colored edges; minimal head formation and nothing left after a minute or so. Very potent, off-putting aroma: plenty of red wine notes, exceedingly vinous, bitter chocolate, earthy, and spice. This seems to fall into something like an "imperial foreign stout" category, if such a thing were to exist: slight lactic tartness. Medium-to-full mouthfeel is dominated by dried and overripe red fruits, plenty of vinous qualities (slightly tannic, dry, and almost chalky), musty earth notes, pepper and spice. Very complex, but mildly unpleasant. Finishes well: the wine notes drop out, leaving bitter chocolate and vanilla.