170 ml bottle thanks to thomat!Vintage 1985Sampled on January 13, 2012Pitch black color, no head. Butter, sweet, malty, slight bit acidic scent. Sweet, a bit acidic, raissin, roasted taste. Medium mouthfeel, low bitterness.

1992 nip bottle. I had one of these in 1995 and remember it fondly. Happy to have finally gotten the chance again, thanks to Nightfall! Black with a few light brown bubbles. Vineous aroma of rich dried fruit and brown sugar, with licorice and caramel notes. Obvious age and oxidation, but pleasantly so. Sweet roasted malt flavour with plenty of caramel and licorice, a touch of soy sauce and a bit of dusty cellar. Has held up well, and is obviously a masterpiece.

Bottle purchased from the Kulminator 2011 & consumed with Trev 17.06.11 Pours shark eye black it’s as black as yer at’ with few stray bubbles there is a tiny spark of life on opening. This smells of sweaty old leather, not unlike your watchstrap after a cycle ride on a hut summers day. Little thinner that expected, loads of liquorice and a finish of dark cherry and chocolate a bit like an old kirsch chocolate that had been forgotten in the box. Held up really well for the age. A7 A4 T7 P4 Ov14 3.6 I was given this bottle by Nigel at Hopshackle Brewery, it was from 1993 consumed at Fin & Loz’s tasting with Jan, Charlotte, Craig, Stella & kids consumed Saturday 22.10.11 The aroma is a little oxtaily, though there is still some malt, in fact the nose is quite good and on opening it did let a little tschh.. A little brown sauce in the mouth, things have started to break down a little with this, its not bad, but its well past its best. A6 A4 T6 P4 Ov13 3.3 I will knock the rating down now to 3.5 from two that I’ve had lately.

Vollmundiger Malzgeruch, süßlich, alkoholisch, vergoren fruchtig nach Pflaume, etwas Birne. Milderer Antrunk als erwartet von leichten Schokoladennoten, etwas herb, tief-malzig und trocken. Nur wenig süß werdend, die Malzigkeit wird zum Ende etwas lebendiger und so auch vollmundiger, eine leichte Herbe ist immer mit dabei. Hier scharf alkoholisch im Hintergrund, würzig, süffig. Altersspuren sind im hinteren Teil erkennbar. Vielen Dank an den Doppelbock für das Bier! /10/10/11/10/10

Tasted at the big “SeaBass has got to go” tasting.1978 vintage sampled that poured nice and dark with almost no head. The aroma is full up wet cardboard, wet concrete, some soy and faint dark roasted malts. The taste is similar with stale cardboard, muted wet earthiness, some soy and hints of roasted malts. It seems this bottle has seem better times. Very very glad to have had the pleasure of trying it though. As of Jan. 2011 this is the older beer I have ever tried. Cheers!

< 20th May 2011. 1959 Vintage. As Barclays Courage. Opened with a small ffffft, which was a surprise! Opaque black beer, tidy bubbly tan head. Nose of wet wood and something like brett. Light palate, no carbonation. Slightly salty wood. Mild dark malt with a touch of chocolate and a whisper of coffee. Touch of rum and brandy in the dry finish. Light bitterness in the aftertaste which also has a little salt. Pretty remarkable beer - still a reasonable drink after 52 years! 13th May 2011 1972 Vintage. Opaque black brown beer. Sourish marmite nose. Smooth and semi dry palate. Easy going dark malts. Some marmite - which dissipates with airing. Light chocolate. Finishes dry. A very long time past it’s best but it’s drinkable and always a kick to drink something this old!

22nd June 2023
6th floor bottleshare with the usual suspects. Thanks to Dan for this one. Opaque dark brown beer with a small bubbly tan head. Light palate, semi dry, a tiny bit of carbonation. Savoury and thin dark malts, woody dark chocolate. Some skewed whiskey like ripe fruits. Fairly dry and bitter finish. Quite a harsh vintage this one, or maybe it spent some time on grannies fireplace! Interesting nontheless. 3.3
26th November 2015 1977 Vintage. Thanks to Dan. Almost opaque dark brown beer, small dark tan head. Nose of aged dark malts, a little wood and a touch of brandy. Palate is soft and slightly viscous. Woody dark chocolate and mild dark fruits. A rich dark chocolate finish. The best of the vintages I’ve tried. Very tasty. 10th July 2017 Bodney Towers Bottleshare. Thanks to Dan for another bite of this 1977 Impy. Hazy dark brown with a very thin pale tan head. Palate is airy and semi dry and has good fine carbonation. Good fine carbonation!!! Bitterish bretty oxidised caramel. Dark chocolate and dark fruits. Woody bitterness and a little dark chocolate powder. For a 40 year old beer this pretty bloody good! 22nd February 2008 1983 Vintage. Bottle at the Kulminator - Some carbonation. Rich strong chocolate and marmite. Dry malt finish.

1983 vintage at Kulminator in Antwerp. Very dark fluid, good looking small brown foam. A lot of coffee, licorice, and dark berries. Not so much chocolate. Aftertaste was not too long, a certain sourness was there too. Rather thin mouth feel. A nice stout aged with dignity

Sampled a 1985 bottle at the DC Local Gathering. Flat, oily black with zero head. Zero carbonation. Aroma is super boozy, sweet, toasted grains, molasses and burnt sugar. Flavor is burnt toast, dark chocolate, soy. Finishes with a weird sour coffee flavor. Definite alcohol burn on the end.