Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

2000 bottle. Pours a thick creamy tar-like black with no head, although it ends up with coffee colored lacing. Nose is huge with liquorish, prunes, vinous notes and tar. Flavor follows but more like a rotten grape juice. This one was so bad I couldn’t finish it. Maybe it was past it’s prime?

RATING #900 I was on a business trip and didn’t realize the bottle was corked the way it was, Thank God my "church key" had a corkscrew attachment. 2001 Vintage - Pours a jet black. Aromas of espresso/chocolate and roasted malts with a wood like quality. Almost like this was aged in sherry casks. Taste is complex; dark roasted coffee and bittersweet chocolate malt with a smooth alcohol laced bite, also had some Sambuca like qualities, licorice and nut. This was an interesting stout with a flavor like nothing I’ve tried before. Not sure if I would buy it again, but something everyone should try at least once.

1999 Vintage (at the time i had it aged around 7 years). Pours a dark opaque black with small tan head. The smell really hits you hard right off with oak, cork, malt, and chocolate. Flavor is resonably complex and very powerful. You can certainly taste the alcohol in this one. This beer is thick, very malty, and very unique. This is one you’ve gotta try if you ever see it, becuase really it’s not like any other.

2000 vintage. pours thick black with a minimal brown head. very strange aroma for an imperial stout. sweet nutty banana bread with some coffee and alcohol. flavor sweet and fruity with bit of roasted bitterness. full thick body with a nice lingering dry finish. interesting imperial stout. i have never had one that is this fruity.

Bottle. 2001 version. Creamy light brown fair mostly deminishing head. Black colour. Very powerfull and complex aroma. I sensed rasin, vaniolla and grass. Powerfull good flavor of chocolate caramel and licorice. Very wine-like beer. Fantastic palate.

Blackish colour with a small creamy brownish head. Notes of licorice and port. Complex taste of spices, licorice, malts and port.

2001 vintage poured into an English pint glass. I had a devil of a time pulling the cork...nearly gave myself a brain hemorrhage. Also it was dry and crumbly- an ominous sign. Poured tarry black and developed only a few scattered dark bubbles of a head. This one smelled more like wine than any other beer I’ve ever tried. I’ve never had sherry, but I wondered if this is the "sherry-like" flavor of oxidation. I also noticed a slightly smoky aroma of roasted/ dried beef. There was barely a hint of carbonation, and the alcohol warming sensation was evident. This beer reminded me of a thick, slightly smoky wine, and I despise most wines, so that’s why I rated it so low. I will admit that I may have had a bottle that was past its prime, but at that cost I’m not going to try another.

Dry, alcoholic, sour grape aroma with some tiny note of black licorice. Some roasted, dark caramel in the body, but the finish is what gets me: there is a strange, Buddig ham meat flavor in it. Hard to believe or describe, but hezron mentioned a beef jerky flavor, so I don’t think I’m totally crazy. Thanks to Brigadier for this treat. It was more complex than I expected, which was a nice surprise.