Old Chimneys Good King Henry

Brewed by Old Chimneys
Style: Imperial Stout
Diss, England

Sampled during Dark Lord Day ’09 back in April (Table #1) and supplied by some one I would like to give credit to. Pours an opaque dark brown brew with a thin tan head that slowly dissipates to a thin film top. Aroma of toasted dark malt, some raisin, tart berries a hint of brown sugar and alcohol. Taste is full bodied, thick and chewy, with flavors of dark chocolate, toasted dark malt, some hit of rum barrel, and tart cherry. Finish is slightly tart with a lingering toasted dark malt, and tobacco aftertaste. Nice alcohol warmth in the finish too.

Lot 104, 9.6%. Near black with a brief brown head. Sweet, rich, alcoholic Christmas cake aroma, like the inside of my dad’s drinks cabinet in the 1950’s. Taste has sour plum crumble, old leather, burnt nuts, cognac, forest bark chippings and liqueur truffles. A classic once a year sipper, probably not fully appreciated on a warm July day in a sunny garden.

RBESG 08. Black with a light brown head. Aroma is fruity and roasted. Sweet fruity and roasted flavour with some charcoal in the finish

. . . and a big thank you to cgarvieuk for this 275mL bottle--Lot Number:1067, Best Before 01.11.2009. Black pour with a small, short lasting tan head. Lots of grape and sour cherry aromas up front with some underlying unsweetened cocoa and roasted malts. The flavor is much the same with some added alcohol heat and slightly stronger roast. The sourness is fairly intense, actually--especially for an English beer, peaking around a 4. Big full slick body with very light carbonation. First off, I don’t think the sourness is/was intentional (I had the special reserve courtesy of chriso @ RBSG ’07 and don’t remember it), and second, I can’t decide if I like it. After a half hour, I’ve decided I don’t too much.

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.