Harveys Imperial Stout

2001 Bottle: Poured a dark oily black with zero head. Aroma is interesting, with an almost wine-like fruitiness. Flavor is intensely bitter, with sour cherry, chocolate, and coffee all making an appearance. An interesting display of contrasts.

2001 vintage at the White Horse, Parsons Green. Lovely bottle with real cork. No carbonation, no head. Dark ruby. Smells of blackcurrants, very storng berry taste. Coffee and liquorice, too. Lovely.

Bottle (2000 vintage) from Premier Gourmet, Buffalo. Pours a deep black with ruby tones and absolutely no head. Aroma is quite vinous, with some chocolate and wood notes, and an alcohol warmth lurking behind. Still body, barely a hint of carbonation. Flavour is OK - sour fruit/wine notes, a hint of fresh roasted coffee, some salt & licorice, and notes of port and whisky in the finish - but it seems a bit stale and lifeless around the edges. Honestly, I think this baby might be a bit past it’s prime. I’m glad to have tried it, but I’ll be looking to pick up a younger bottle sometime to give it another shot.

vintage 20001 bottle drank at the maltings. poured really really dark black with 0 head. flavors were of alcohol and licorice. flavor full of vinous and woody, and wiskey notes. taste was also a bit sour with hints of berry. Very complex. but I must admit that it was a bit thin. I thoughly enjoyed the beer though and think that it is really underated.

I found a Vintage 2000 bottle in New Beer in downtown Manhattan. I’m always excited about vintages. When I uncorked this bottle and poured it, it looked like used motor oil. It’s pitch black and has no head at all. The aroma is surprisingly sharp. White wine hints, fruity tart berry notes, oakey wood character, and permanent marker. When I first sipped it it was strange. It seemed to have no body and was tastless. Then I realized it was because it was almost all dark bitterness. When it lapped over the back of my tongue I picked up on charcoal-like smokey malt, burning tobacco, deep woody oakeyness, stale cardboard/papery, maybe a touch of some type of tartness after it breaths for atleast 15 minutes. I want to try a younger bottle. Maybe mine died off in it’s 6-year life. It also has no mouthfeel at all. Although it’s viscous, it surprisingly does not stimulate the palate. A very strange beer experience.

Bottle vintage 2001 - as a bonus in trade with willblake! - Thanks Jon - Pours black and oily thick with a big mocha head that fades pretty quickly back to a ring but laces some from there. Aromas of soy sauce, coffee, and bakers chocolate. Flavor is lots of dark fruits, prune, black currant, some coffee, dark bakers chocolate. Full bodied oily palate and a thick mouthfeel. Alcohol is completely covered.. This was a pretty tasty impy and I wonder how some of these ratings are so low...

Vintage 2000

11.2 oz. bottle is stopped with the driest cork I have yet encountered, and there was no saving it. Pours still and headless, jet black revealing a thin corona of bistre when held to the brightest light. Huge affront of soy in the aroma with prune, black coffee and bourbon. Despite some silkiness on the tongue, the mouthfeel is far too dense... almost chokingly so. Flavor finds bitter chocolate (very bitter) with Port, molasses, dirt and ash. Seeps down the throat slower than NyQuil, with a feeling that it wants to crawl back out. Not what I expected. Not at all.

<font size=-4>Single bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/palatine/dobby’s-worldwide-liquor/5496.htm>Dobby’s Worldwide Liquor, Palatine, IL 60067</font>

11.2 oz. corked bottle, marked "2000." Inky black with a tinge of red around the edges, and no hint of a head, but twith a few tiny bubble coming to the surface around the edges. Charcoal, licorice, prunes, raisins, and alcohol on the nose. Somewhat oily, sticky mouthfeel. Burnt sugar bitterness overpowers the other flavors. I just did not enjoy htis. Obviously, there are others out there who do, based upon the ratings that I’ve seen. I don’t think it’s bad, and there is some complexity lurking in there, but it just seems overbalanced toward the dark roasted malt and burned flavor side of the equation to me. I’ll also admit to not being a big fan of still beers.