Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

Black color with neither head nor carbonation. Vinous, medical, acetic and corky aroma with notes of salty licorice. Thick and stunning flavor reminding soya sauce and Fernet Branca bitter. Charcoal roastedness, licorice, apple and acetic acid. Roasted, salty, woody, corky and bitter finish with notes of apple and licorice. Great and very long finish. Not entirely pleasant experience but have to respect the complexity and uniqueness of this beer

Bottle (2001) at plan B.Black body, with a small brown head. Aroma is fruit, dark fruits (prunes). Flavor is the same, but also liqourice and soy. When it enters the mouth, it is sour. Good imperial stout.

Bottle. Pours pitch black with a medium dense brown head. Aroma is fruit and soy, with hints of prune and raisin. Flavor is mostly soy, making it quite salty, but also roasted malt, tan and some alcohol. An interesting brew, but it taste to much of soy.

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.