Old Chimneys Good King Henry Special Reserve

Brewed by Old Chimneys
Style: Imperial Stout
Diss, England

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle Deep, blacky body with a creamy brown head. Aroma of wood, wine, malts, molasses, ... Quite complex and extremely well balanced aroma. Moderately bitter, moderately sweet, complex flavour of spices and malts. For an imperial stout not too heavy on the malts, well balanced and very complex!

A smooth charcoally, ahs, whisky, alcohol, sticky, chewy beer. Those were my notes. While drinking it, I thought....above average, not bad. But at the end, I wanted more. Something about this beer clung to my taste buds making me crave for more.

2005 bottle thanks to Tom! Brewed 11/9/05, BB 11/9/2010. Stoutie rating #500!

Poured deep garnety brown with a short, creamy cap of mocha head. The aroma was delightfully complex.. oak sourness and tangy bourbon make a first impression, and the real goodness emerges when it has a minute to breathe.. rich, well-roasted darker chocolates meet vanilla.. a thin slice of flourless cake is delicately sprinkled with fine bourbon.. toasted oak joins spicy earth and coffee grounds.. multiple personalities come together in near perfect harmony.

The flavor fails to skip a beat.. rich, well-roasted dark chocolate rolls over the tongue slowly, giving a syrupy first impression.. vanilla, toasted oak, and sweet bourbon sugars are not far behind, and blend in nicely.. semi-sweet chocolates, vanilla, and more subtle bourbon grace the back-end.. sticky molasses jumps in near the finish as well as dry, brandy-like sugars.. long, memorable finish. Thicker-bodied with low carbonation and perfect balance on the palate.. warm, but this managed to mask its alcohol for the entirety of the drink (it showed up later). Brilliant!

Thanks, Fin, for throwing this into the trade. Pours a deep, oily black with thin, brown head, receding to reveal an oily sheen. Compelling nose reminds me of being a stupid teenager out in the woods, drinking shots of Bourbon by a campfire. Smells something like a half-charred log, still smoking a little, with serious chocolate and whiskey notes thrown in to boot. Taste is mildly sweet, lightly bitter, warming. So smooth! Roasty depth with touches of smoke. Surprisingly thin-bodied in the mouth, but finishing a touch dry. A nightcap beer that I happened to share with a neighbor at 4 on a Tuesday afternoon. What of it?

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Dark almost black pour. Huge aorma of barrelled oak with hint of vanilla and abv. Semi sweet flaovr of the BA oak very nice light bitter finish. Mouthfeel and carbonation are very solid. Creamy almost a BA chocolate syrup drink. Very special. Thanks Dan

First, I like to give a big thanks to Mes for sharing this 2005 Good King Henry Special Reserve brew at the 2008 ZBF! Pours a pitch-black espresso color topped with a thin foamy head settling fast to the rim. Wow!!!! What an aroma; the sweet oaky, vanilla fragrance leads the nose, sticky dark stone fruits with a touch of full-bodied ruby port, while the stout’s mild roast-ness is softened to a silky smooth bitter chocolate-ness underneath. Swirling the glass brings out underlying alcohol, but a Hell of lot milder than 11% suggests. Smoothly balanced between sourness, sweetness, and oak; relatively little input of bitter roasted malts, along with being well-crafted and robust without being harsh at all. The taste was incredible!!! Sticky and oily sour-sweet dark-fruitiness, quickly followed by an aromatic mouthful of black/roasted malts in the form of leather, sweet coffee, chewy and bitter chocolates gradually the taste is taken over by a delicately vanillas note of cigar and charred-woodchips aftertaste lingering at the back of the palate. The overall structure of the flavor profile evolves all the time...Got to love this brew!!! "Silky Smooth" is not strong enough to describe the superb mouth feel of this beer. This beer will be at the top of my list of favorites. Again, thanks Mes for this magnificent brew; I Need More!!!

Vintage 2005, many thanks to Phil_L Very dark mustard-coloured head over jet-black beer. End of bottle solid lumps. Beautiful brandy-like smell with dark fruits, steeped in alcohol, and liberately dosed with black coffee. Coffee², with a very strong sweetener, and doses of alcohol, fusels & benzene. Even molasses in the background, and black (REAL black) chocolate. Very sticky MF, full bodied, viscous as motor oil. Pretty complex, outstanding balance, but I’ve had more delicate flavours.

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Vintage 2005. The body is a really dark chocolate brown to nearly black. A small, bubbly tan head leaves behind sudsy spots of lacing that mostly rejoin the body. Aromas of rich caramel, chocolate, and molasses lay a rich malt background. From there, a kiss of bourbony, vanilla tinged oak adds subtle complexity and depth to the nose. Flavors of rich caramel and chocolate malts are accompanied by a faint touch of peat. Tastes very roasty and pleasing, almost decadent. Just shy of full bodied, this one sports a creamy, smooth mouthfeel. Finishes short and surprisingly tangy. Awesome brew.

just wanted to see the result of me adding my rate...proper rate 2 follow, I actually shed a tear when this reached the top 50. How many unappreciative sods are gonna buy this just coz...??? Now I know how the Westy monks feel and I’ve not even had part in the brewing...

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Black pour with a thin even dark tan head that melts down to bits of head. A ton of alcohol and oak, a real spicy aroma, light roast. Lightly carbonated and sits nicely on the palate. Light chocolate roastiness, very snooth finish considering the alcohol content. Great aroma, subdued taste. Great English style imperial stout.