Originally published in BEER December 2003.
NOTE This review forms part of what was originally published as a single longer article. See previous posts for an introduction to Imperial stouts and some other reviews. See the next post to read the final review.
See all parts of this article: http://desdemoor.co.uk/?tag=imperial-stouts-beer-2003
Origin: Lewes, East Sussex, England
ABV: 9%
Harveys Imperial Extra Double Stout (9%), brewed in Lewes but bottled by Gales of Horndean, advertises its authenticity with a reproduction of one of Le Coq’s original labels. While we’ve no way of telling how close this tastes to 19th century brews, my 2000-vintage bottle was certainly an extremely fine beer in its own right. It’s an impenetrable dark brown colour with a cakey, malty and slightly winey aroma, a rich malty and oily palate with hints of strawberries, gravy, coffee and fennel seeds, and a warming roasty mocha coffee finish with earthy hops and late fruit. With the demise of the Courage version, this masterfully complex beer easily deserves recognition as the current flagship of the style.
See the next post to read about more Imperial stouts.
See all parts of this article: http://desdemoor.co.uk/?tag=imperial-stouts-beer-2003
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/harveys-imperial-stout/6415/
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