Harveys Imperial Stout

Bottled - poured in a stout glass. 2000 Vintage drank in late 2005. Pours black and thick like oil. No head at all. It has a thin watery vinegar taste. It has little to no carbonation. For a beer that’s called an Imperial Extra Double Stout I would have expected to be able to chew this beer by the slice but I was wrong. This was not a pleasant experience at all. Yuck. I tasted grape and alchohol. It wa more like a wine than a beer. The finish was oily and spicy and clung to the mouth like a wine as well.

Bottle. Black. Really black. Almost no head. Very special taste. Sour almost medicine like. Rich aroma and it takes some getting use to. Very good but a real challenge.

Black pour with no head. Rich aroma of chocolate and sour . Very rich palate. Very different but pretty nice. Unique stuff. 7/4/7/3/17

RERATE: 2001 Bottle consumer April 2007. Cork pops out with only a mild pop. Pour is smooth and silky, but definitely flat after all these years. Black and oily although a touch thin looking. No head at all. The sourness in the aroma is immediately apparent. Yet it is accompanied by mild dark chocolate. The flavor is constantly changing between the sour notes, the coffee, the chocolate, and the bitterness. The finish is long and really brings out the bitterness and the roast. The body is more substantial than I would have thought. This is truly a very unique beer that’s strength is in its subtlety.

Tiny dark brown head; black opaque body. Smell of blueberries, burnt licorice, and sourness. Taste is like aroma, but overpowering. Sticks to the inside of the mouth. Aftertaste dry, lingering version of same. Very good, but could be more complex. (2001 vintage sampled Dec 2005.)

I’ve waited a long time to try this beer. 2001 vintage pours with an amber hear that quickly goes away, the aroma is toasty and malty with a slight aroma of plum pudding. What a mouth feel, chewy with slight hint of the alcohol, very complex flavor - raisin, plum, smoke and a little grass. I found this to be a wonderful brew, I bought the last two bottles and will keep the last to share. Unless I find some more. Try this beer, it’s worth the hunt.

Brown bottle purchased at Monk’s café, Philadephia, PA. Bottle conditioned. 2001 Vintage. ABV 9%. Black hued having no discernable head. No discernable carbonation. Aroma of sour cherries and roasted malt. Full bodied with mouth-coating oiliness that starts with complex flavors of smoke, dried fruit (prunes and cherries), roasted malt, and light sweet malt. Finishes dry with light bitterness. Very rich, creamy, and delicious. Probably the best imperial stout that I’ve tried so far.

Absolutly delicious. Sweet, spicy, with tones of dried fruit and chocolate. A perfect companion to chocolate or just as a stand alone after a hearty meal.

Bottle At Cock-n-Bull in Sarasota. Poured a black color with an average rocky light brown head that diminished slowly. Complex aroma of port, malt and cask wood. Full body with a sticky texture. Heavy sweet complex flavor with a long sticky finish. Expensive but interesting.