Courage Russian Imperial Stout

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

Two vintages, courtesy gunhaver. 1993 and 1977. Pours a thick and syrupy looking chocolate brown, with no head or lacing. The nose gives notes of chocolate cake and burnt caramel, which are nice, but then a bit of unfortunate saltiness creeps in. Flavors are similarly off, soy sauce saltiness clouding what otherwise seems to be a fine, chocolaty stout. There’s a little cardboard in there too. The palate is flat and oxidized, yet still substantial and slick enough to come off as passable, but just barely. The ’77 was the oldest beer I’ve tried to date, and it did not make a case for long-term beer aging. The ’93 wasn’t much better.

Please note: I initially decided against rating these beers, as I feel they are way past their prime, but since others at the tasting enjoyed the same bottles that I did not, I’ll cast my minority vote.

Courtesy gunhaver. 1993 version. Pours dark brown, with no head at all which isnt surprising given its age. Smells a little oxidized, but not too bad. Still had a little caramel and malty notes to it. The flavor was undercarbonated, but pretty silky smooth. Had a little oxidation and soy sauce effect going on, but didnt make it undrinkable. i got some of the caramel malt, and very mild chocolate undertones in there. tough to tell with this one because of its age, but cool to try an older beer.

FRO Throwdown: Gunhaver brought the 1977 and 1993 bottles. Damn cool, the 1977 became the oldest beer I’ve ever tasted, 32 years old! 1993: Deep sherry. Cardboard. Even with that, not overly oxidized. Some sourish funk. Wow. 1977: Similar but more funk and some weird bubblegum?

Bottle from Otown throwdown. Tried the 1977 and 1993. Black as hell with zero head. Bourbon, chocolate, caramel and some roast on the nose. Some oxidation was present but it didn’t hurt the nose or the flavor. Chocolate and coffee on the tongue with a great amount of malt. This has held up very well.

C&PLYFOTD: 1977 bottle, courtesy kramer. Dark hazy murky brown pour, no lacing and a tiny head. Nose has tobacco, some roast, slight toast and licorice, and a fair amount of oxidation. Flavor is dry chocolate, coffee, big surprising roast element, some spices. Oxidized, but it could’ve been a lot worse. Held up very well, and very drinkable.

bottle 1977 & 1993 courtesy of gunhaver. Sample at O-town throwdown ’09 Pours pitch black, no head with oily golden lacing. Aroma was malty and definitely could tell this one had some age on it, thick chocolate nose with soy. Taste, malty, chocolate, thick palate, almost no carbonation and felt very boozy, got some kind of oxidized cork, leaving a faint salty mouthfeel. Not bad at all for its longevity.

Sampled at C&P Otown Throwdown, big thanks to Gunhaver! 1977 vinatage. Pours thick and black with no head and lots of yeast chunkies. Pungent roasted grain, licorice sweet malt aroma. Taste is thick chocolate malt, roasted grain and a hint of anise. Very complex and has held up very well.

bottle, 1983 vintage from the Kulminator. Pours pitch black with a thin dark tan head. Aroma is very fruity with cherry, plum and fig notes. This beer has aged unbelievably, and could very well rival current versions of this style. The body is moderate with light carbonation. Tons of really good dark malt flavor and a slight sour sherryness. Ends with a spice bitterness. What a treat to have a beer from the year I was born. Just excellent.