Old Chimneys Good King Henry

Brewed by Old Chimneys
Style: Imperial Stout
Diss, England

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle purchased at the brewery shop, lot number 104, 9.6%. Black as nothing, outlandish filthy tan hat collapsing to a slender cap. Dense, resolving, minutely bubbled slickness like Belgium, Black Albert maybe. Just look at it. Neopolitan ice cream,red apple, raisiny cocoa, custard and oak sweetness aroma. Black silky milk biting with charred barley, burnt toast, bitter bittering and truly stouty dry hop and full-on cocoa attack behind the opening oaky sweetness and delicate wreathes of cigar smoke. Get the toast out of the bin and spread it with melted 80% Lindt Excellence. The dirtiest tan-dappled legs you’ve ever seen in your life. Smokehead, intensified. Cherry liqueur chocs, venerable English oak, single malt, condensed Dragon Smoke and hot-faced nonsense kicking in now it’s disappearing. Bit of burnt plastic. None of the salt, soy, sourness and complication I was expecting, but a singed, velvety, cocoa-sodden treat drifting across the Atlantic in it’s intensity. Quite simply one of the best English beers I’ve ever had, and at this moment I can’t conceive of how the Special Reserve is going to top it..

Bottle. Black with low carbonation and very easy to drink.poured with a small head.Quite sweet with malts and chocolate present. Nice.

Bottle @ chriso’s Pre-GBBF Shindig 2008. Rating #3300. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty chocolate and coffee aroma with some hints of dark fruit. Roasted malty chocolate and coffee flavor. Has a roasted malty chocolate and coffee finish.

(bottle shared by Stine, thanks Eben!) Dark brown pour with a thin tan head that dissipated quickly. Aroma of beef jerky, dark roasted malt, slightly ashy, light prune, and ample booze. Flavor is rather disappointing, with a lot of soy sauce, green pepper, a light tartness, that yields to a finish of roasted malt and salt. Thick mouthfeel with smooth carbonation. This must’ve been an off batch.

275ml bottle. BB 01.11.09 Heavy molasses aroma. A bit of diacetyl. Some wet, charred wood. Lots of vanilla extract. A touch of soy. Oily roasted malt. Decent, but unspectacular. Pours a thick, dark brown, with oily yellow legs capped by a thin grey film. Flavor is loaded with soy and butterscotch. Salty brine. Slightly sour. Some green peppers. Vanilla and caramel (or is it butterscotch)? Thick and cloying on the tongue with a salty and soy finish. Really not all that great... Thanks anyway Eben!

Dark, dark brown with nothing more than a hint of tan head. Aroma is slightly soy like with a bit of butter. Flavour is very odd in comparison to the aroma. It is very bright but has some toffee/buttery like flavours. Almost seems like it has a bit of potential, but there’s really nothing much there to appreciate.

Thanks Mike for splitting. I am on Mike with this one. Was looking forward to trying this, but the bottle was in bad shape. Pour and aroma weren’t too bad...some diacetyl. Flavor was way off. Pretty much a butterscotch bomb. It was undrinkable for the most part. Hope I can re-rate this someday.

Bottle from CGarvieUK, pours a perfect viscous black with a dark pancake colored, smooth creamy head. The nose is chocolate malt, like whoppers, with a touch of roast and some dark fruits. Flavor is chocolate and a tangy vinous fruit influence, with a coffee like subtle bitternes in the finish. Creamy mouthfeel.

275 ml bottle courtesy of a trade with cgarvieuk and consumed Christmas night. Thanks, Craig! Pours a deep black with virtually no head. Very pleasant aroma of plums, dried prunes, chocolate, roasted malt, and cabernet. The flavor is equally lovely with the aforementioned dark fruit, chocolate and roasted malt up front. This is then followed by a tangy combination of cabernet and citric acid. The tanginess lingers for quite a bit after the swallow. Some mild warming from the alcohol at the finish as well, particularly as the beer warms. A very different and enjoyable imperial stout.

Bottle from reakt. Thanks! Pours a deceptively thin and viscous motor oil black with an arom of Aqua Net chocolate, cranberry, raspberry, and alcohol. Flavor is sour chocolate red wine with canned prunes. Thin mouthfeel, but it is assertive and coating. Very interesting; not what I expected from an imperial stout.