Harveys Imperial Stout

Bottle at Plan B. Brewed in 2001. Pitch black bosy with a small brown head. Lovely fruity and lightly acidic aroma with raosted malts, salt and soy. Flavour is great. Roasted malts, liqorice, tar, smoke, soy, spices and some chocolate. Full bodied.

Pours a deep black, with no carbonation or head. Very raisin-y, with no stout character at all. More like a sweet, pungent barley wine. Cannot recommend as a stout. Cork and label give overall impression of a world class beer, but NO, it is not. Finishable, but that is it. If this is what Russians were confronted with as beer in the early 1800’s, it is no wonder they preferred vodka. I would too. Did I mention that it is as flat as Indiana?!?!?!?

Thanks 17thfloor! [Bottle 2000 vintage] Pours deep black with no head or carbonation and very straightforward. Aroma is very upfront with a lot of old woodiness and cherry and raspberry with some chocolate. Dark fruit and soy are also present along with alcohol notes. Flavor starts slightly sweet and salty, very much like soy sauce. Picks up notes of chocolate and a lot of old wood in the finish. Some signs of port hint in the flavor but it is so subdued that it never feels like it shows it true color. A bit of unpleasant undertones that come across as metallic. Medium body and nothing by means of carbonation. This beer must be past its prime and lost a lot if its oomph.

(2000 Vintage) Pulling the cork outta this bottle was very difficult, beers shouldn’t be this hard to open. Pours a very thick black, no head or carbonation initially but as it warms a thin, very dark, tan film forms. Aroma was strong and similar to a Merlot wine, in fact, I kept checking the label to make sure it was beer. Very fruity, dry and alcoholic scent with a little chocolate malt in the background. Beer has a very oily feeling in your mouth and I couldn’t get the feeling of soy sauce out of my mind. Flavor initially has a very deep dark prune flavor, moves into a overbearing Merlot/Port flavor in the middle and is followed by a very very heavy anise flavor. After the beer has gone down, you do get a slight malt and hops note, thought it’s very faint. I respect what the brewery is doing but I really can’t ever see myself having this again nor do I suggest anyone else try it. The beer definitely falls into one of my top 5 worst beers.

Black with no head even trying to pour one. Very strong sweetish smell. Thick body with an almost wine like feel. Fruity sort of taste. Reminds me of a port.

11.2 oz bottle, 2001 vintage - Pours black with almost no head. It smells fruity and funky. Bad sign! I don’t want my imperial stout to smell more like a lambic than a stout. It doesn’t taste quite as bad as I feared, but I can’t imagine this flavor is how it should be though numerous other reviewers say theirs was sour too. The roast malt and coffee flavors come through after the initial sourness and linger. Little to no alcohol is noticeable. I kept at it and really tried to appreciate this brew, but it just doesn’t work.

[Bottle 2000 Vintage enjoyed 1.23.09] Pours near black oily medium thick with zero carbonation (surprise!) and zero head. Smells a bit like Gale’s Prize Old Ale or Sam Adams Triple Bock, sweet soy/cherry, very woody, touch of varnish, touch of chocolate, and prunes. Very oily flat first taste with aggressive alcohol, unfortunately I bet this is 3 or so years past its best, must absolutely be served at room temp. Woody taste, some soft fruit, mellow sweetness, vinous, sherry, varnish, prunes. The dark roast really appears in the finish as well as a bit of bitterness. Long alcohol aftertaste. Body is too oily and flat, definitely a sipper, however not as pleasant or complex as Triple Bock or Gale’s. [Had about an ounce of 1994 Triple Bock left... poured into snifter for comparison: Triple Bock is definitely more complex and completely different, a lot of chocolate]

bottle 11.2fl.oz from ølbutikken. 2003 version. BBF 2009, sampled jan.13.2009. so 5 years old. Brewed by Harvey & Son, Sussex. As Harveys imperial extra stout. pours dark brown and black, settles pitch black. no head whatsoever, some bubbles on top as if it was red wine perhaps. vinous aroma, licorice, salty. i’ll let it warm and sample again.vinous, licorice, spices. flavor : very thick moutfull indeed. strong english licorice dominates. also some spices. aftertaste ends quite roasted. amazing 5 years of aging and it still is this good. reminds me of "nordsø olie" a danish strong licorice based licor. You would guess alc. pct. was higher just because flavors are so strong. welll rounded, balanced, soft. nice brew indeed, and quite daring as it is far from the usual imp. stout taste. would be great if you had a sore throat. i think my 3.8 is a bit low compared to how much this beer has to offer.