Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

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.

2003 Bottle from Selfridge, Oxford St. London. Red-black-orange colour. Smells like glögg (spices, wine and alcohol) and soy sauce. Kind of sweet taste, iron (blood). Thick mouth feel. It is apparent that it is made to be traditional. I think it would be more balanced and better if the abv were higher(!). I kind of like it, but I´ve had plenty of better IS.

Bottle. Black. No head. Nice aroma of glögg, some smoke and soy. Overcomplex taste. I could not handle more than a couple of small sips of this beer. This is a beer for vampires, not only becouse it actually tastes blood (!), but also becouse of it’s darkness. Bitter malt. Soy. Port wine. Disgusting!

I first had this on a train with Harrisoni at the end of an all day pub crawl. It was powerful sippin’ beer, rich and vinous. The next time I had it was at Christmas (thanks again to Harrisoni) and it was just too overpowering for me to enjoy it. I will prefer to remember it as the beer on the train (as that was good stuff).

2001 33 cl bottle from Plaza Liquors - Pours a black color with no head or lacing. No carbonation. Aroma is toasted malt, hints of chocolate, dark esters and alcohol. Flavor is licorice and alcohol. Palate is slick and oily. Thick bodied. I would have like to have tried this vintage a few years ago. Im not real wild about this beer. Definitely wont be spending another 7 dollars on a bottle of this stuff.

2003 bottle from brewery shop in Lewes. Black and flat with no head. Sharp corky aroma. Very bitter earthy oilh taste. To me there is somthing wrong with this beer, however I have tried other similar beers of this type in the past and found them equally difficult to enjoy. I considermyself to have a pretty open mind to extreme flavours in food and drink, but regretfully, as I respect the brewery, I find tis to be utterly foul and will not finish the bottle. It reminds me of cod liver oil!