Courage Russian Imperial Stout

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

Rating # 900. This was a gift from the generous goldtwins, thanks Larry. 1993 bottle. The cap pops off with a slight hiss but no visiible carbonation smoke in the neck. It pours completely dead, no head, no lacing, no bubbles, and no life. Swirling the glass does nothing. The color is black with blood red edges. Aroma at first is really cool with molasses, tobacco, sweet burnt sugar, and a bit of rubbing alcohol. But this soon passes and the age starts to show. There is a lot of age, cardboard, and sour oxidation. Taste never seems all that good, lots of oxidation and hints of what this beer was in the aftertaste with bitter chocolate and some roast. No carbonation and a lightly slick mouthfeel. I have been told this is the off year and I would love to try it again (a better bottle).
170mL nip bottle (another one for the collection), small sampling snifter glass.

1983 250ml bottle, courtesy of the Kulminator in Antwerp, Belgium. Opened with a slight whisper of carbonation, but pours headless. Opaque black color. Aroma is a little pungent and off, as might be expected from a 24 year old beer. The taste however, really holds up quite well. The thick roasted chocolate flavor of an imperial stout couples well with the subtle sour flavors picked up in extended aging. An awesome beer, quite a beer experience. Thank you Kulminator. 1985 bottle shared by CaptainCougar 6,3,7,3,15

Bottle from 1973 courtesy of Chris Lively of Ebenezer’s Pub. This held up amazingly. Dark black pour. Aroma of chocolate, soy sauce and fruit. Smoked flavor with bitter chocolate and some pine. Wonderfully complex.

17cl bottle, bottled in 1993, from CaptainCougar. No hiss of carbon dioxide left the bottle as it was opened. The beer poured opaque black with virtually no head (a few, small brown bubbles). The smell was lots of fruit (prune?), dark malts (espresso), and some malts with hints of molasses. The flavor started very roasty - almost burnt - but with enough interesting malts to carry it. The flavors included chocolate, wood, fruity and earthy hops, and coffee. There was also a very distracting sour flavor that I think was due to the beer’s age. The sour flavor peaked around mid-tongue and felt off - it really threw the beer off. Were the sour flavors more subtle (or non-existent) I think I would have loved this beer. The finish was dry and roasty with mild acetic notes and some hops. The mouthfeel was surprisingly nice. I was expecting it to be syrupy due to the strength and the lack of carbonation, but it was not. It was medium in body, and there was some nice effervescence from carbon dioxide that lightened the palate (completely unexpected after seeing the beer poured). When the glass was finished, there were strange, solid, chunks of black - yeast (probably mostly dead) stained from the dark beer, no doubt. Overall, a very interesting and complex beer, but possibly past its prime.

(1992) Cherry, berries, chocolate, alcohol, figs, plum, sticky malts, and spruce in the nose. Salty chocolate with cherries and figs being the prominent flavors. Thick mouthfeel with notes of cocoa, milk chocolate and plume. Unreal in its complexity. Finishes with black forest chocolate cake and chalky cocoa.

1993 17 cl bottle via trade with goldtwins last year - Pours a dark brown color with a thin bubbly brown head that faded quickly. NO carbonation or lacing. Aroma is full of dark esters (figs, raisins, molasses) and toasted malt. Flavor has strong dark esters and roasted malt. Palate is bitter, slightly tart, and oxidized. Thin to medium body. Would have like to tried this ten years ago. I think 170 ml’s is enough. Thanks Larry.

170mL bottle from CaptainUnderpants, I mean CaptainCougar. Thanks for this 1993 gem! I’ve been eager to try this. Drank with deftim13, Tim, and Brad at Pizza Port bottle shop. Barely enough pour for 3 people. This beer has some interesting statistics and reviews. A bunch of high ratings, including 3 5.0s. A few bad bottle ratings including one 1.2. The peak of the distribution is 4.2, so I think it has potential to be a top50 beer, if every beer was kept in prime condition over the many years it’s aged. The last time it was produced was 1993, the same year as the one I tried...14 years old! I notice many people trying 1983 versions, Wow! Fantastic oxidized aroma includes lots of caramel, figs, and malt. Pitch black color, with an appearance of a thin film of a clear liquid on the surface. What is that, is that an illusion? Liquid becomes caramel brown in small quantities. Pinhead sized thin hard dark yeast chunks fill the bottom 1/2" of the bottle. Sweet, and a little bit of tangy sourness. The sourness would be pleasant, if I knew was supposed to be there. Just a little scary, I’m glad I’m only drinking a little 3oz. Very fun to drink.

Bottle. [Vintage 1983] Dark black color with a small, fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, beige head. Aroma is vintage, licorice, soy sause, coffee / chocolate, quit fruity. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light to moderate bitter with a long duration. Very powerful and stille moderate. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is flat. Very nice. ;o)) (300807)