Courage Russian Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at John Smiths (S&N, Heineken)
Style: Imperial Stout
Tadcaster, England

Bottle dated 1993 from Frumptydumpty in a lopsided trade. This was either stored improperly or was way past its prime and I think it was stored wrong. Watery and tasted like a day old glass of Cola and what was ice. Yuck.

1978 170 ml. Dark reddish to black with small ring of mocha head. Aroma of chocolate and sharp alcohol on the nose. Some smoke when drinking. Sweet,cocoa chocolate smokey, a slow sipper. Warming alcohol, like a 40 or 50 proof. Surprisingly not thick, but rich. A cognac.There is still some carbonation there.Worth its weight in cognac price.Cigar tobacco and scotch aftertaste. Thank you Hopdog.

1993 bottle thanks to CaptainCougar: Dark brown to black in color with a few bubbles, but not much of a head at all. Aroma, some warming (sherry), a bit sweet, but also some hints of oxidation. Flavor, some chocolate, sugary, it certainly tasted 13 years old though. Definitely oxidized, but not too horrible. Interesting to try something so old, and a pretty solid #500! 3.6

Re-rate on a 1976 bottle shared by footbalm. Poured black with a dark tan head. Aroma, sherry, port, chocolate, vanilla and some woody notes. Flavor, dark fruits, chocolate, port, caramel, roasted malts, vanilla, a dry woody finish, some dark chocolate. 4.3

1977 nip bottle courtesy of hopdog. Pours a dark brown with some minor swirls of bubbles. Smells of caramel, some sherry (hints of oxidation but far from overwhelming), cherries, alcohol. Tastes of bourbon, chocolate, earthy hops, some oaky qualities, cognac, cherries. Almost no oxidation at all in the flavor profile which is surprising for a 30 year old bottle. Mouthfeel is thick and oily. Finish is of dark chocolate and some metallic elements. Very creamy and smoothed out. A definite long term cellar candidate and not what I was expecting at all.

1992 vintage. Black colour with very little head or carbonation (great, no need to remove it): leather, black chocolate, plum, cherry, sherry, liquorice, toffee, roast and coffee aroma; sweet/bitterish taste with chocolate, caramel, liquorice, cream, roast, smoke, dates, aloroso sherry, plum aromas; bitter finish with smoke, chicory, espresso, burnt, liquorice, black toffee, caramel and dates. Seamlessly complex with every dark malt and fruit flavour imaginable. Sweet up front, yet ending as burnt as a spent match. Everything melds so smoothly - never rough nor coarse. Wonderful. Only 50 bottles left. Just enough for every remaining birthday. On my scale, 131 out of 100. In my all-time top three. The other two were also Courage Russian Stout. In the 1980’s this stuff could be found in working-class East-end pubs. Sic transit (I don’t mean puke in a van). Tasted 19.10.2006.

170 ml bottle from 1993 thanks to JHop. Dark Dark pour with no head. Not much phsss when opened either. Aromas were dark fruit and roasted malts. Flavor was a touch of sherry. Surely oxidized a bit, but it wasn’t bad. I could still get the flavors underneath. More dark fruit and chocolate. Very full mouthfeel. Very Good.

#1700! 1993 vintage via trade with FrumptyDumpty! - Thanks! - Pours black with not much head at all. Big aroma of raisins, black currant, roasted malts, chocolate, and light coffee. Flavor is raisin, black currant, plum, roasted malts, chocolate, and a touch of coffee. Full bodied with not much carbonation. Nice to get to try something that is as old as my oldest daugher though.. Pretty worthwhile of #1700..

Bottle at Kulminator 1983 vintage thanks to maeib. Black, slightly musty but wonderful aroma. Lots of juicy tar. Really great dark fruit.