Harvey's Imperial Extra Double Stout
Bottle conditioned: 275ml. Has occasionally appeared on cask.
Imperial Extra Double Stout is regarded as one of the World’s most unusual and prestigious beers. The recipe contains a dense concentration of varied malts and hops to produce a bottle conditioned stout of 9.0% ABV.
This brew will improve and develop complexity up to one year and has an intense flavour which is distinctive. The roast, alcoholic and spicy notes combine in this unusually sweet & sour beer.
Contains: Barley
Imperial Extra Double Stout is regarded as one of the World’s most unusual and prestigious beers. The recipe contains a dense concentration of varied malts and hops to produce a bottle conditioned stout of 9.0% ABV.
This brew will improve and develop complexity up to one year and has an intense flavour which is distinctive. The roast, alcoholic and spicy notes combine in this unusually sweet & sour beer.
Contains: Barley
3.4
983 reviews
Lewes, England
Community reviews
275ml bottle. Viscous black with a thick tan head. Aroma is rich dried fruit soaked in brandy. Flavour is similar with notes of leather and tobacco. Lovely viscous texture
A bottle in Harvey's tap room in Borough. Pours black with a thick beige head. A prominent port and roasted barley aroma leads to a heavy wine and alcoholic taste. Dark fruits and grains are also present. the beer was served at room temperature which was a couple of degrees above the ultimate temperature for my taste. Still a classic beer from a great brewery.
Sample@Ølfestival København 2018 - black pour with a tan head. Dark and sweet malty with rich chocolate, toffee and caramel sweetness, earthy burnt charred malty notes, medium to full body, dark malty finish.
From a beer hawk case mystery case. Pours black and flat, little aroma , liqourice , malt , hops , very sweet. Ok in small doses , but an awesome Russian stout brewed in the uk, under supervision of Estonia!
Bottle from K&L in Redwood City, CA. Aroma is licorice, old coffee, mild smoked wood and roast malts. Taste is tangy licorice, sweet, tannic dark fruit and then chalky ash. This tastes like something historic, which isn’t particularly incredible but it’s definitely unique and worth trying.
Bottle. Black with a medium sized light brown head with good retention, lace and regeneration. Roasty and wooden, light charcoal, iron, earthy. Medium body, mild sweet, medium bitter and mildly acidic. Roasted and acidic finish.
DØE. Black with small beige head. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, liquorice and a little salt liquorice . Flavour is roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, liquorice, salt liquorice, warming, sweet and bitter.
DØE. Black with a brown head. Aroma is sweet, roasted malt and licorice. Flavor is quite sweet and rather bitter. Dry and rather bitter finish with a little warming alcohol. Oily. 020618
Had this a while ago, may have been my first IPS. I remember it being very tart, and the taste was off somehow. Was one of those beers that stood in my mind not to buy again, especially for the price. Not really that bad of a beer, just unique for it's style.
$6.49 bottle, Wine Warehouse. Not sure of the bottling date - on the cap there a 20 (blank) 3. 2013? or is this just a wild goose chase? Pours thick and black, no head at all. Lovely sweet aroma: chocolate, dark cherry, vanilla, caramel. Flavor is chocolate - somewhat sweet, followed by woody cherry, vanilla, earth, prune, a hint of coffee at the end. Lots of flavor, all good. Almost no carbonation, which for this beer is just fine. Oily. Yum.
Strong sour malt aroma, very deep, sour roasted malt flavour with enough sweetness that the sourness, which I'm bad with, doesn't overpower. The hops and the sourness are not my preference so I was never going to like this as much as I like the more bitter, sweet imperial stouts but still very drinkable.
I really liked this, as did my Beer-Agnostic wife. Looks superb - deep brown head, jet black. Espresso nose,and more bitterness in the taste than you'd expect. Well balanced, tasty. A great Stout.
Bottle from Beer Hawk. Black and Tan with a bubbly, lacy head. Can’t place the aroma- I’m going with tamarind?! Tastes of prunes in syrupy alcohol, more tamarind, very sweet and floral with a cocoa and coffee aftertaste.
Dark brown creamy head stayed on a jet black still body.
Bitter sweet aroma of stewed berry, over ripe fruit, liquorice & spices
Medium bodied, minimal carbonation & oily down the throat.
Strong tastes of rhubarb, malt, demerara, liquorice, concentrated grape juice, nectarine & tangy back.
AR: funky bretty, licorice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, roasted malts
AP: pitch black, brown head
TA: funky bretty, licorice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, roasted malts,
0.275 l bottle from 'Rudat', best before end 2018. Pitch black with a medium large, frothy, almost stable, light brown head. Sweetish-malty, vinous, fruity and moderately roasty aroma of dark chocolate, licorice, red wine, oak and a touch of hazelnut. Rather sweet, malty, a little sourish, moderately roasty and quite vinous taste of dark chocolate, licorice, hazelnut, red wine and oak, followed by a medium long, moderately roasty-bitter, rather vinous, woody and dry and slightly earthy finish. Medium to full body, slightly creamy, minimally astringent and moderately effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. What a beer, a totally unexpected goodie, this is not what you would expect from your average Imperial Stout. It reminds me again that ratebeer scores are not always reliable but that the ratings of experienced raters sometimes give a better impression of a beer's quality.
Bouteille. Robe noire et opaque surmontée d'un col de mousse brunâtre et rocailleux. Arômes de mélasse et cacao amer, figue, prune, café noir et mûres confites. En bouche, malt torréfié, mélasse brûlé suivi d'un fort goût d'anis. Un peu de café noir fade, figue, gelée de pruneaux, bois braisé, cacao bien sec et toujours cette anis en arrière-plan. Texture huileuse et sèche, corps moyen.
275ml bottle courtesy of Erzengel! A black beer with a mid-sized most good lasting brownish head. Aroma of tart raspberries, dark riped red berries, dark malt. Taste of strong dark malt, tart berries, some vinegar, wood, grapes.
275ml embossed bottle. Dark brown black puor. This is a super yeasty imperial stout, thick soy sauce notes, herbs, umami, meh.
Pours a thick looking black with a thin, dark tan head. The aroma is impressive, containing heavy amounts of toffee and licorice, strong raisin, chocolate, earthy malt, and vanilla. Both mildly sweet and bitter, I get an easy sourness that this one boasts. A little salty as well. The flavor is more roasted than earthy, with a lot of chocolate and licorice. Supporting elements are whiskey, plum, soy, and molasses. Long and lingering roasted chocolate aftertaste. Medium bodied, with a thick texture, and soft in carbonation. Different than most American versions in this style, I thought this was excellent.
275 ml bottle at home sourced by a colleague! Many thanks! Colour is dark brow, with a frothy, medium, beige head. Aroma is roasted malts, berries, red fruits, notes of chocolate and coffee. More fruity than roasted. Taste is medium sweet. Body is full, carbonation is flat to fine. Overall not liked so much.
Bottle from the brewery. An interesting brew that embraces the traditional "Russian Imperial Stout" flavor -- it's much more fruity (raisins, figs, etc) than roasted, although it finishes with a bit of chocolate and hop bitterness. There's an interesting sour tanginess that comes out more as it warms up.
Bottle. Purple brown head. Black body. Brett, smoke, dust, liquorice, black fruits. Taste is savoury like fish sauce and also some sweet notes. Sour and dry finish.
Bouteille. Une robe brune foncée avec une mousse beige foncée.Un nez légèrement acide de chocolat, fruits rouges, sauce soya. Une bouche ronde, chaleureuse, bien faite, texture collante avec des saveurs de chocolat noir, cacao, sauce noire et fruits concentrés. J’aime.
275 mL bottle from 2008 shared with ebone1988. The pour is a lighter black with a thicker dark khaki head that falls to a thick ring with a spot of two of lace. The aroma is really messy. There is a tartness about it. The roast and licorice is just messy. The tartness is just interesting. It’s a sharp sweetness that has an edge to it. The flavor is interesting and better. The blend of roast and licorice just works a little better together but the dark fruits are interesting. It is kind of fighting itself here. It’s not undrinkable, but it’s pretty weird. The mouth feel is lighter and a little waterybwith a sharper carbonation and a lingeringly strange sharp roast and dark fruit. Nah.
Bottle shared with koleminer20. Vintage 2008. For the book. Why. Aroma is tart, slight roasted malt, apple, oxidized, awful. Appearance is dark brown, light brown head, poured thin and flat. Taste is smoke, roasted malt, coffee, tart, oxidized, bready, weird but not as bad as it smells. Mouthfeel is medium body, light carbonation, smoky roasted malt oxidized aftertaste. Overall, it’s bad, but not as bad as expected.
Sauce soya et fruits piquants, voire aigres. Mélasse et chocolat sauvage. Profondeur vineuse dans cette texture crémeuse. Riche tête brune qui flotte longuement sur cette robe qui n’est pas noire mais bien brune. Une dentelle qui décore. Vintage 2013. Cuir de ces levures que j’imagine collées sur cette version qui pourrait bien être celle qui est la plus collée à l’histoire du stout impérial russe. Le liquide noir destiné à Catherine devait à la fois être aigre et doux, gracieuseté d’un jeu poussé des malts et des levures indomptables. Une fois tempéré, le liquide révèle une profondeur fruitée, du tabac à pipe, de la réglisse noire, du chocolat. Viande à chien, sa complexité m’impressionne. En finale, une impression rôtie infusée de framboises noires avec fioriture boisée et amertume un tantinet terreuse. Solide. D’un point de vue historique, je pense qu’on a ici ce qui se rapproche de la vérité vraie.
275ml bottle @ monthly tasting, at Chez Sophie, courtesy of Mike. Pours dark, foamy tan head. Aroma is fairly sweet, chocolate. Taste brings strong, rich liquorice, coffee, dark fruits.
Bottle from Binns, Darlington. 2001 Vintage aged for around 16 years and drank on 2017-01-01. Opaque inky black with no head at all and no carbonation. It has a very strong leather, oak and bitter chocolate flavour followed by a smooth dark chocolate, liquorice and leather finish. Pretty good considering the age.
Bottle as an Xmas gift from Sarkynorthener cheers Martin; black pour with a bubbly tan head, aroma has rich chocolate and some dark fruits, taste has deep roast, hints of liquorice, chocolate, dark fruits, some coffee.