Old Chimneys Good King Henry Special Reserve

Brewed by Old Chimneys
Style: Imperial Stout
Diss, England

2005 bottle from cgarvieuk. The pour is black with a lasting brown head. Strong roasted nose with raisin, date, prune concentrate, oak, and some alcohol vapors. Semi sweet roasted flavors with some dried fruits and oak. Fairly boozy. Big fluffy, flowing mouthfeel. Light carbonation. A pretty neutral finish that runs and hides very quickly.

Bottle, courtesy of yespr. Pours a black colour with a medium well lasting ligh-brown creamy head leaving a nice sticky lacing. Sweet roasty aroma with dark fruits and alcohol. Good filling mouthfeel. Sweet roasted maltiness and dark fruits in the flavour along with bitter hops, chocolate and alcohol, some wood and a slight touch of whisky. Nice! Thanks Jesper!

Bottle. [thank you, Yespr]
Now we’re talking! Pours black with slight red edges. A medium creamy brown head. Stunning, thick lacing. Aroma is vinious, chocolate, roasted malts and deep, dark overripe fruits. Exceptional mouthfeel - silky soft and creamy. Flavour is balanced, surprisingly soft, lightly vinious, chocolate, light wood, tobacco, slight peity smoke and extermely drinkable. Wonderful!

[Courtesy of yespr - what a treat] Black with medium light brown head. Sweet aroma with notes of roasted malt, caramel, coffee and chocolate notes. Sweet flavor with hard roasted malt, overripe fruits, whisky, wood, chocolate, coffee and liquerice notes. Excellent!

Bottle Deep, blacky body with a creamy brown head. Aroma of wood, wine, malts, molasses, ... Quite complex and extremely well balanced aroma. Moderately bitter, moderately sweet, complex flavour of spices and malts. For an imperial stout not too heavy on the malts, well balanced and very complex!

A smooth charcoally, ahs, whisky, alcohol, sticky, chewy beer. Those were my notes. While drinking it, I thought....above average, not bad. But at the end, I wanted more. Something about this beer clung to my taste buds making me crave for more.

2005 bottle thanks to Tom! Brewed 11/9/05, BB 11/9/2010. Stoutie rating #500!

Poured deep garnety brown with a short, creamy cap of mocha head. The aroma was delightfully complex.. oak sourness and tangy bourbon make a first impression, and the real goodness emerges when it has a minute to breathe.. rich, well-roasted darker chocolates meet vanilla.. a thin slice of flourless cake is delicately sprinkled with fine bourbon.. toasted oak joins spicy earth and coffee grounds.. multiple personalities come together in near perfect harmony.

The flavor fails to skip a beat.. rich, well-roasted dark chocolate rolls over the tongue slowly, giving a syrupy first impression.. vanilla, toasted oak, and sweet bourbon sugars are not far behind, and blend in nicely.. semi-sweet chocolates, vanilla, and more subtle bourbon grace the back-end.. sticky molasses jumps in near the finish as well as dry, brandy-like sugars.. long, memorable finish. Thicker-bodied with low carbonation and perfect balance on the palate.. warm, but this managed to mask its alcohol for the entirety of the drink (it showed up later). Brilliant!

Thanks, Fin, for throwing this into the trade. Pours a deep, oily black with thin, brown head, receding to reveal an oily sheen. Compelling nose reminds me of being a stupid teenager out in the woods, drinking shots of Bourbon by a campfire. Smells something like a half-charred log, still smoking a little, with serious chocolate and whiskey notes thrown in to boot. Taste is mildly sweet, lightly bitter, warming. So smooth! Roasty depth with touches of smoke. Surprisingly thin-bodied in the mouth, but finishing a touch dry. A nightcap beer that I happened to share with a neighbor at 4 on a Tuesday afternoon. What of it?