Courage Russian Imperial Stout

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

1983 vintage bottle in Kulminator Dirk you r a legend. Pors a delicious deep chocolate colour with plenty of yeast spwirling in the glass and a tight beige head. Rich roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, figs, dates, plum cake golden syrup and hearty red wine bombard my nostrils. I could nose this beer alll day! Tatse is similar with dominant malt and dark chocolate character ending on a warm port/mulled wine finish as it trickles down your throat. This is my idea of heaven in a bottle and why i keep coming back to belgium for more. Complex and comforting. My favourite beer and the best most rounded and well balanced stout i have ever tasted. Excellently matured and exceptionally cheap for fantastic quality.

(Bottle, 1993 vintage, courtesy of CaptainCougar) Pours a dark brown body with some pepper-like black flakes and a spare beige head. Aroma of roasted malt, sourness, Fig Newtons, chocolate, and port. Flavor of chocolate, port, some sourness, soy sauce, and prunes.

Bottle at Kulminator 1983 Vintage bbf 1986... Solid black colour ... rich and complex treacle nose ... slightly medicinal ... smooth ... rich ... non bitter roast malt ... lots of chocolate ... little coffeee ... little smokey ... little treacle ... all round great beer. V small samples RBESG07 1975, and 1977. 75 held up well very nice, the 77 not so well but still drinkable.

Bottled. Pitch black colour, big brown head. Aroma is chocolate, roast and a lot of vinegary hints. Flavour is coffee, roasted malts, alcohol and chocolate. Some vinegary hints also. Enormously well aged (early 80’s vintage).

1993 vintage. Very still pour-no CO2. Nose-sherry/brandy big time, Fig Newton’s, raisin, grape. Taste-medium alcohol, honey, cereal, flat Dr, Pepper, figs, sweet raisins, Redman Golden Blend chewing tobacco, grape juice.

1993 vintage, rating #200. Sampled at Union Jack’s on the Manatawny. Poured deep ruby brown, with minimal carbonation and little if any head. Raisin, prune and other dried fruits dominate the aroma, along with a bit of alcohol. Complex palate, with malt,raisin, chocolate and alcohol. Very port-like. Excellent digestif.

Bottle at Kulminator, 1983 vintage, march 07. Spicy, cinamon, chocolate, tobacco and some dried fruits aroma. Phenomenal. Gorgeous, sexy black, opaque, dark as night color wiht a medium, just right size, compact, dense, creamy yellow head. Outstanding. Full chocolate, bitter chocolate flavor. Some chocolate mousse and a port finnish. Heavenly. Medium to full MF, feels amazingly fresh and vivid. Heaven in a bottle. A great beer, but I fell a little sad, since it´s only downwards from here...

Rerate 10/07: 1983 vintage drank at Kulminator. Didn’t write down any notes for this as I’ve already got a full rating, but I felt I needed to boost my rating significantly after that bottle. So rich, smooth, deeply complex. I must seek out more bottles now. One of the best beer experiences of my life. 9/4/9/4/4.6


Rating #800, 1993 nip from Moejuck. Hot damn. Oldest beer I’ve had by a good margin. This stuff is pretty nuts. Pours a totally flat black, which ironically seems to be the exact consistency and appearance of soy sauce. Hmmmm. Coincidence? I think not!

Though there is a good bit of soy sauce character all around, this one offers a good bit of complexity, and certainly a lot of interest. I wish the bottle were bigger so I could afford to take some bigger sips and see what flavors come out then. Anyway, aroma is very oxidized, dry fig and sweet caramel, apple, licorice. Very sweet pruniness up front in the taste, licorice and sugar notes, sherry. The soy sauce notes actually fade as this sits out, and by now I hardly notice them anymore.

Though it was surely an imperial stout at one point, this has almost zero resemblance left. Though there is the slightest touch of dry roast in the finish, this tastes like pure aged barleywine. Very interesting stuff! 7/3/7/3/3.9, 03/2007