Old Chimneys Good King Henry Special Reserve

Brewed by Old Chimneys
Style: Imperial Stout
Diss, England

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Black pour with a thin even dark tan head that melts down to bits of head. A ton of alcohol and oak, a real spicy aroma, light roast. Lightly carbonated and sits nicely on the palate. Light chocolate roastiness, very snooth finish considering the alcohol content. Great aroma, subdued taste. Great English style imperial stout.

2005 vintage bottle, which Fin very generously arranged to get for me from the brewery, whilst in the frantic last few days of getting the Merton Festival prep finished. So kind of you mate! Huge, huge thanks!

Oooh, good start here. Nice shiny motor oil black pour, accented with a dusting of fine rust head. Huge depth of aroma--sandalwood, leading to brandy-soaked butter-smooth flourless chocolate cake, then with a swirl of the glass it is dense cocoa power and rich spring earth. A razor-fine balance keeps all the components softly transitioning in and out, with nothing sharp or harsh to upset the flow. Flavor is a perfect compliment to the aroma: fine silky chocolate, chewy mineral sweetness, a thick sticky finish that leaves me smacking my lips like a dog with a mouthful of peanut butter. Oh it’s beautiful stuff, and dangerously drinkable too: as I finish the note taking, I notice my glass holds only a scant ounce of this nectar (rusty foam still ringing the glass), and I wonder where it all went. Fellow Ratebeerians who are fortunate enough to get a bottle of this, may I suggest, just this once, you drink it all by yourself? I suspect going 1/2s (or worse 1/3s) on a bottle of this would just cause resentment all around. Get your own.

Okay, so I’ve just come back from a once in a life time tasting in the US, and boom this little number is waiting for me in the hallway when I return! and, my god it’s great. The only, small, downside is the lack of aroma, but that is absolutely no loss. Yes, it’s oli slick in nature, that classic RIS brown rich head. Port/Pudding notes on the late aroma, but the barrel is evident yet not over powering considering my normal lack of interest in barrel aged, or over barrel aged beers. Whether these bottles are ’fresher’ than the other samples, I don’know, but this is certainly a top 50 beer, no doubting. And, possibly one of the classiest beers produced in the UK today!

Bottle, dropped off very kindly by Marc Bartram, Bartrams Brewey with casks for the Beer Festival Pours like an oil slick with a tidy little brown head. When the head starts to diminish bubbles continue to rise through the depths of this tar pit of shark eye black gloop, it looks fantastic, there are some brown edges at the top of the glass. A tiny whiff of port, bramble fruits and some oaky vanilla. First taste is glorious liqourice, top notch 95% dark chocolate, dried fruits some prunes, figs, sherry, oh my lordy lord it’s all in there, how can such a little bottle of beer pack so much punch eh?? The bitterness also starts to take hold after a while and as you slowly work your way through the glass sip by sip the glass becomes tinted with a brown sheen. Working my way to the bottom now and I kid you not this stuff get’s thicker, I’m getting Grand Marnier. What a wonderful beer only 8-9 more to go. A8 A5 F9 P5 OV18 for the first rating. Bottle 2006 edition, posted out to me amongst mixed case of beers by Alan Thompson (Old Chimneys Brewer) consumed 01-11-08 Much like the first time I had this (2005 version) this resembled an oil slick leaving its tarry fingerprint on the inside of the glass as it slowly went down. Some bitter-sweet flavours, oaky vanilla, stewed chrismassy alcohol infused spiked oranges, dark sticky fruits again, maybe not quite as thick as last time (but not at the bottom of the glass yet) This really is quite marvellous, can’t be bothered to rate anymore just wanna’ drink it. This one moves up one further notch to 4.6 a totally stunning beer. A8 A5 F9 P5 OV19

TheCheeseman strikes again! Been wanting to try this for a while. Thanks Dan! Pours jet black, with a medium light brown head. Smells of sweet dark chocolate malt, mild roast, and even a touch of some dark fruits too, but more in the background. The flavor right away seems incrdibly balanced and the alcohol is masked almost to perfection. Th flavoris a little sweet, great body to it, nice chocolate and roasty nut flavors. Maybe just a touch of some bourbon in there too, which I wasnt expecting as Im not sure if this has any barrel aging on it. Well balanced, lovely imperial stout. Bravo.

Pours a deep, motor oil black, 30 k miles. Aroma is roasted, with notes of custard, Roasted figs, prunes, sweet sorghum syrup. The flavor is more of the same, with the roast shining brightly. There is a nice bitter chocolate component that comes through, maybe some coffee. This is an awesome beer.

A Mes rate: Bottle on the train on the way back to London with Reakt.
I was expecting this to be good but I really wasn’t quite expecting this. This is a world class beer, there is absolutely no doubt. Totally black and opaque with a thick and solid tan head. A glorious pour indeed. The aroma is an incredible balance of sweet fresh oak, whiskey, juicy raspberry, crème brûlée, incredibly rich but perfectly poised malt and SO much more. This is complexity like you very rarely find. As for the flavour, I may be just over spec’ing it but honestly, this is really not far off Kaggen. The oaky notes are only bettered by the number 1. Such incredible rich chocolate, vanilla, candy sugar and caramel that is all held perfectly in check by the amazing barrelly bits. It’s so rich and extravagant that, if I am being honest, a full bottle may be too much. But that is not what this type of beer is about. This is something to share and savour amongst friends. The alcohol is utterly superb. It is very clear throughout with a real kick at the finish but not even a hint of any aggressive burn. Mellow, refined, elegant... think of a superlative and add it here. An incredible desert beer. Such unreal chocolate in the finish. So bloody much of it, it just doesn’t stop. Mouthfeel again is close to (and only bettered by) Kaggen. It’s almost melted ice cream. If I wasn’t sat down when I first sipped at it I would have needed to in a hurry. Worth every bit of its high status and my Närke comparison shows how much I think of it.

MASSIVE thanks to Craig for deciding to let me have one of his bottles.

Bottle @ Craig’s house. coffee, roasty, smoke, black, full body, thick feel, bitter, very bitter,