Harveys Imperial Stout

Brewed by Harveys
Style: Imperial Stout
Lewes, England

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: AUG 20, 2007 2000 bottle consumed February 29 2004.
Finally decided to break this one out. Thick, viscous, oily deep dark black, could not get any head out of mine. Opaque, bottle conditioned. Aroma that you can almost drink; french roast coffee, rich dark chocolate, heavily roasted barley, light hints of maple and soy. Incredible. Flavor is immediately very salty and in your face, and makes a quick transition in to black roasted malt. Flavor deepens and adds some bitter chocolate, and plenty of vinous alcohol notes. Oak barrel flavor is subtle and combines well with the deep roast. Bitter, dark coffee on the finish and some more woodiness with a hint of anise and hazelnuts. Incredibly complex, delicious and full-bodied, supremely well-balanced. Sure, it has some preliminary signs of oxidation; there is some thinning on the finish, but it adds a vintage feel to this and stretches out the flavors. 9/4/8/4/18
2001 bottle Drunk on 11/02/05 at Sunset Grille
Completely flat pour. Even vigorously pouring it results in no head. Aroma of deep black chocolate and espresso, with a thick, pervasive dusty, cardboardy-like yeast. Prunes and lots of vinousness. Not too shabby in the nose, were it not for the thick, dulling yeast. Flavor really has suffered, unfortunately. Thick, dull, dirty yeast remeniscent of bacterial infections I’ve tasted in T. Hardys. Flat, oxidized mouthfeel. The strong black bitterness and sourish vinousness go nowhere when the beer is in this condition. A pity, really and I’m torn as to whether to lower the score. But having had this only twice now and seeing the other poor ratings, I think I will. If future samples prove that this is just an anomaly, I doubt I will count this sample. 8/2/5/2/9
1999 bottle drunk on 2/17/07
This was a strange experience to say the least. Decork it and….nothing, no carbonation escaping. The pour is completely flat and lifeless. Hmmm, this dosent bode well…But, one smell of the aroma and I’m shocked. Smells divine! All the prunes, vanilla, tar, roast and delicious chocolate you could want, without any oxidation. Flavor took some breathing, much like an old wine, but after about 25 minutes or so, it really made a huge improvement and the flavors lightened/softened and it was actually pretty enjoyable drinking. Mouthfeel/texture was very similar to wine, but the flavor had a profound and very enjoyable smokiness, with lots of char, oil and crunchy coffee. Some bitter chocolate notes on the finish, with moderate saltiness and a hint of sweet vanilla running through it. Light suggestions of brandy in the nose, upon breathing. Really phenomenal stuff. I’m going to discount my previous bad example and chalk it up to problems with shipping/storage. I really think if you get this stuff from the source and cellar it properly, it will rarely (if ever) disappoint.

pours opaque black with no head.aroma of soy sauce and port.flavor is flat witha smokey sweetness that is quite unpleasant.finish is long and bitter.no carbonation.this taste like the kind of thing your mother gave you when you were constipated.im sure im making the same face.of all the beers ive had in my 47 years this is truely the worst.

2001 bottle...Pours black with ruby hues and a thin mocha head. Aroma is dark fruity/winey. Flavor is smoky...like jerky...with mild dark fruit and ash. Mouthfeel is medium and finish is smoky...very jerky like.

2008 vintage. Thanks to KyotoLefty. Burnt wood, ash, thick roast malt flavors. Dark with a thick tan head. Wonderful blend of sweet and smokey flavors. Very thick body. Really well integrated and not over the top. 2000 vintage rated in tandem with the above: 6/3/6/2/13 = 2.9. Prune juice and soy sauce aroma. Black-purple, completely flat. Flavors of fermented prunes, salt, and wood. Flat, medium body. Strange, past its prime, but not unpleasant.

11.2 oz bottle pours black with no head. Aroma of roasted malt and coffee. Taste is nice roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. It however is missing something.

UPDATED: APR 6, 2012 What the hell is this? A sour? A stout? Both?Idk. It’s thick and creamy right out of the gate. Nice head, and preminiscent of the beer itself, also thick and creamy. It Dissipates nicely and leaves little legs on the glass. It’s nose is sweet and... Figgy? I take a sip, and raisins? No... Figs... No... Wait, that’s not just a sweet fruit taste, that’s a sour beer flavor! A sour stout?? I can’t figure this beer out, but it’s amazing in all it’s unique attributes. I might cellar a case of this and see how time treats the bottle. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

28cl, as (Harveys) Imperial Extra Double Stout, English brew, from The Bottle Shop Canterbury, very complex Stout, roasted/vinous and slightly woody/fruity, not too heavy, very balanced, hazy, good head, top class!, yet expensive!

2001 bottle. Worst soy sauce since triple bock. Total drain pour. The aroma and appearance gave me high hopes.

2008 vintage. 9.3 oz bottle poured into a snifter. 9% abv. Appearance is pitch black with a decent one finger dark brown head. Decent retention for a beer of this strength. Quite a bit of cherry in the nose along with wood, dark cocoa, and red wine. Almost a slight sour, lambic smell to it. Taste has a lot of cherry at first along with some other dark fruit. This then leads to a sweet, almost milk chocolate flavor along with some roastiness. There is a light tartness on the tip of the tongue along with a strong warmth from the alcohol. Mouthfeel is very slick and finishes quite sticky. I’m sort of torn on this beer. There are many complex flavors but the whole package seems a bit overwhelming. The alcohol is more present than the 9% would lead one to believe and the sweetness comes close to being cloying. Not sure I would get it again but I’m glad I tried it.

2003 bottle purchased at Chuck’s Fine Wines a couple years back. Black pour with nary a head to be seen. Nice aroma of dark chocolate, fig, raisin and red wine. Kinda smells like Sam Triple Bock. Flavor is red wine that’s turning to vinegar. Very tanniny with misplaced sourness. A bit of chocolate character before a bitter finish. Loved the aroma, but didn’t finish the couple ounces I poured.

An interesting beer for my 100th review. I had this from a 9.3oz bottle from 2008. Pours motor oil black with a big dark tan head. The aroma is huge! I smells lots of oak, spice, earth, brandied cherries and chocolate. This is reminding me very much of a well aged red wine, a nice Burgundy maybe. Taste like complex roasted malts, cola, dark red fruits, earth and some undertones of hops in the after taste. Mouth feel is very smooth for such a big tasting beer. The alcohol is quite present and warming, but seems to add to the experience very nicely. This is such a big and interesting beer that it is hard to be neutral about it. I think the three years of aging probably was very useful in taming some of the intense flavors, but I would like to try some other years of this beer to test my hypothesis. I am all for this big unique beer.