Courage Brewery

Commercial Brewery in Bermondsey, Greater London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Established in 1787

Closed in 1995

Contact
Anchor Brewery, Horselydown, Bermondsey, SE1 2LY, England
Description
This is an historical record for the original Courage Brewery, set up by John Courage in 1787. The brewery changed ownership a number of times including being owned by Imperial Tabaco between 1972 and 1986 and the Fosters group until it was sold to Scottish and Newcastle in 1995.

The ongoing use of the Courage Brand through its various owners is listed separately.

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9.3/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 10 Texture 10 Overall 9
Bottle from 1982, kept in my cellar for 18 years or so. Some extra points overall added for ageing so well. Almost black color. Rich aroma of porto, roasted malt and raisin. Roasted malt in the taste. Very vinous or sherry-like, still very dry with an alcohol burn. The carbon has almost disappeared. Very long bitter and roasted malt finish. Full bodied, almost thick and not a sign of tiredness. This beer can easily be stored for another 10 years. Re-rate fresh from cask at GBBF 2003. At last!! Opague with a big lasting head. Near pecfect lacing. Strong aroma!! Roasted malt, licorice and coffee. The taste is even bigger with loads of malt. Full bodied, syrupy and sweet, but never sticky. Raisin and mango. You can’t notice the alcohol, except for a slight burn in the throat, but it is there alright! Great beer, the best of the festival I’ve had. 1983 version: tasted September 9, 2006 in the Kulminator Antwerp. Raisinny aroma. Porto, hops, raisin and alcohol in the flavor. Sweet, complex and warming alcohol. Great stuff (7 4 9 4 15 = 3.9)
Tried from Bottle on 26 Aug 2019 at 12:08

6/10
Brown / burnt wood, leaves, cigar ash and sour foliage. 3.1
Tried on 26 Jul 2019 at 18:03

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
0,25 flaske delt på hyggelig rbhd-samling på Gandal feb-19: 1992-årgangen, brewed by Courage Ltd. 10%. Lydløs åpning, helt uten karbonering. Oksydert aroma og smak med sviskeplommer, fiken, svisker og engelsk julekake, pluss noen portvinsvinøse toner. Mørk mahognyfarge. Fin bitterhet i avslutningen. Interesting. 637413
Tried on 16 Feb 2019 at 08:10

7.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Shared 250 ml bottle, brewed by Courage 1992. ABV is 10.0%. Black colour, no head nor carbonation. Aroma of roast malts, molasses and dark dried fruits, oxidised of course, but not bad. Sweet flavour with the same elements. No acidity.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Feb 2019 at 18:44

8.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8
Shared bottle at RB/HD at Ganddal 15.12.19. Brewed i 1992. Very dark brown. Small beige head. Aroma and lingering taste of figs, prunes, ripe plums, juniper, pine shoots and English Christmas cake. Still a solid bitterness after 27 years. Good!
Tried from Bottle on 15 Feb 2019 at 18:43

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8
1968, labeled Barclay's Russian Imperial Stout brewed by Courage. 6 fluid ounces.

Pours pitch black with a surprisingly healthy head of tan foam. I didn't expect that as there wasn't even a hiss when I popped the rather stubborn cap.

Highly roasted malt and dark chocolate nose. Bits of smoke, leather and tobacco are present but the first 2 dominate.

Roasted malt kicks arse, dark chocolate adds a lot of bitterness, leather and tobacco, smoke, really much lower oxidation levels than I expected. Maybe it could have used more as I love the hints of port, sherry, raisins...oh well.

Medium bodied and whoah Nelly, the carbonation is just fine and dandy. Another thing that I would not have predicted.

All in all, I reckon that this 50 year old held up like a champ. No regrets.
Tried on 18 Dec 2018 at 22:22

7.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
Always fun to try a beer that was made before you had been born, I am a 1978er and the 2 bottles we opened thanks to Douglas 1975 and a 1976. Thanks again buddy. Pours out black top with just a few bubbles of a head. Nose is cold roast malt chocolate like soy. Taste is more of the heavy Roast malts, I cannot believe this has held up so well for all these years. Plenty of roast Ash very fun to try it.
Tried from Bottle on 01 Nov 2018 at 16:35

8/10
old brown: molasses, old book, caramel. 3.8
Tried on 03 Jun 2018 at 00:01

8.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
1971 edition. When the cap eventually comes off, the appearance is pitch black, pretty much no head unsurprisingly, a few tan bubbles. Aroma- quite a lot- leathery malt, tar, big vinous and port wine notes, plums, dates, tannins, oak, booze, rich coffee, rum, dark chocolate, scorched malt. Taste- woody malt, tar, dark bitter chocolate, rich thick coffee, stewed dark fruits, dark rum, rich and plummy, blended sugary raisin, red wine is quite dominant. Lasting smoky sticky finish. Syrupy mouthfeel, very flat of course. Actually holds up pretty well for a near 50-year-old stout.
Tried on 25 Apr 2018 at 09:42

5.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 5 Texture 4 Overall 5.5
Vintage 1993. 170mL bottle, pours black with almost no head - just some brown head. Nose is massively oxidized, with heaps of soy sauce and faded bready malt. Flavour is hilariously oxidized but surprisingly inoffensive, with lots of faded English bready malt, soy sauce and cardboard. Not too horrifying, but nothing you'd want to drink at this point.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Feb 2018 at 01:52