8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle. This was from 2001. Black, no head. Bitter chocolate and strongalmost medicinal aromas. Liquorice, chewy malts and tar, but I can’t get away from this medicinal nature that I found repulsive. 1.3/5.0 I think that my palate has changed over the past few years or perhaps the 2003 is more approachable. Had this 3 times recently, on a train back from Lewes with AndrewC, and twice at The Royal, Oak, Borough. Huge amount of character. Great aroma, still slightly medicinal, great wide mouthfeel and very interesting dark fruit flavours. So different to the run of the mill impy stouts. 4/5 2008 bottle as part of Advent calendar 2018. It says 2008 on the label. Not sure where I bought this. Pours deep deep black beer big lasting tan head. First time I had this I didn’t like it then I understood the next bottle more. So again really interested in seeing what this 10 year old beer is like. It’s a metal cap rather than the cork that used be the seal. Tarry aroma, dark chocolate, like medicinal aroma. Well it’s dark chocolate, tarry, some blackcurrant flavour. Light bitterness on the finish. Light sourness. Like sour molasses. Very smooth in the mouth. Good dark sour fruit on the finish. Black olive flavour. I loved this. So interesting yet so drinkable. 4.4/5
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Jul 2005
at 18:39
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask at Pilot, Maidstone, Kent Black colour, slightly liquoricey some burnt malt, dry finish, interesting but not my bag.. 2.9 Cask handpull at Royal Oak Borough. Black beer lasting beige head. Some roast. Some dark fruit. Decent condition. Decent chocolate beer. Nice enough.
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Jul 2005
at 07:38
5.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Cask at Pilot, Maidstone, dark ruby, vague yeasty nose, some malt and yeasty finish, bit bland to be honest
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Jul 2005
at 07:36
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 7
(Bottle 27,5 cl) Pitch black, completely opaque, tar-like appearance. Absolutely no head. Extremely thick and - again - tar-like. No carbonation whatsoever. Fatty, earthy aromas, some cork also. Dry with a bitter finish. Actually not overly complex, but completely extreme in body. A very difficult beer to finish. 250605
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Jul 2005
at 10:44
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
(On tap) Very dark brown, with an almost absent head. A little flat, typical cask character. Some malt in the nose and a slight tartness. You sense that this is well lagered although I cannot really pinpoint why. Dry wit a pleasantly subdued bitterness. Very light and mild. 220505
Tried
from Draft
on 03 Jul 2005
at 09:30
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask at The Pilot, Maidstone, Kent. I thought this was excellent as I wasn’t expecting it to be as nice as it was. A light amber colour with some good fruit flavours and some flowery floral hops Bottle 275ml from brewery shop. Filtered and pasteurised. I like the Armada on cask so I was interested to see how it stood up in bottle form. Copper colour with thin beige head. Normally yeasty and tangerine citrus, but this is toffeeish. Soft sit up and beg hop on finish. Nowhere near as good as on cask 535312.
Tried
from Cask
on 30 Jun 2005
at 10:45
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 10
Cask at The Pilot, Maidstone, Kent. This is such a distinctive beer. A flowery hop and yeast nose leads to quite a sour hoppy flavour and a good bitter hop aftertaste. At times I would go miles to have a pint of this, other times the sourness sometimes puts me off. Very good though 3.5/5 Re-rate, The Bowl Inn, Hastingleigh 14/04/07 Almost the perfect bitter, lovely aroma, character and malt in the mouth and good biting hop finish. Great condition, great flavour. The Harp, Chandos Place 2011, it’s like the beer on turbo, fantastic delineation of flavour.s The Royal Oak 2013, THE perfect Best Bitter in my opinion.
Tried
from Cask
on 30 Jun 2005
at 10:38
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Cask. Dark copper colour. Rocky white head. Nice refreshing, sourish aroma, fruity and grainy hoppiness. The bitterness has a certain sourness and fruitiness to it which is quite nice. Long, rough, fruity aftertaste. This beer is strangely appealing.
Tried
from Cask
on 09 Jun 2005
at 17:13
9.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 10
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Cask conditioned at the 32nd Cambridge Beer Festival, as "Harvey’s Double Extra Russian Stout". ABV was 9.5%. Gravity dispense. Pitch black colour, low head. LOVELY complex aroma, surprisingly fruity: Plums, cherries, oranges. Roastiness, oak and cigars too. Flavour is extremely roasty and bitter, but also elements of oak and dark fruits. Warming mouthfeel, as expected from a 9.5% ABV beer. The roasty and bitter aftertaste lasts "forever", making it difficult to move on to another beer. Belongs in the top division of beers.
Tried
from Cask
on 28 May 2005
at 13:45
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
A very nice bitter. Light brown, low carbonation. Very smooth palate. Mildly bitter from the hops.
Tried
on 29 Apr 2005
at 21:30