Beer Tasting : Aged Hercule Stout

Hercule Stout

In my private stash, I have this aged Hercule Stout from Brasserie Ellezelloise. It expired January, 2008 which means it's 2 years and almost 8 months past it's best before date.
It will be interesting to find out, if this beverage is improving with age or it should be drunk fresh. I have had this young several times and I like it very much. It's not my favourite but it's a nice enjoyable sipper. Not like many other belgians, this has a distinct taste from roasted black malts. But then again, it's a stout, and there are not that many belgian stouts around....

I brought out my Chimay goblet and opened the swingtop lid with only a faint hiss.
Here goes:

Aged Hercule Stout in Chimay Glass

Aroma (5/10)
Lots of tar, smoke and cold strong coffee. A bit of caramel sweets and burnt banana peel too. No hops. Pleasant, but I had expected more.

Appearance (4/5)
Pitch black, a small rim of beige foam bubbles along the sides of the glass is what this beer has for foam. Totally clear.

Taste (5/10)
Smoked taste of black malts and a little salty. Very intense with just enough sweetness to balance the roastiness. No bitterness or hop taste. Not so much to say really. It's become a bit simple or one-dimensional over time.

Palate (2/5)
The body is very full with an oily texture. Over te years the carbonation has almost disappeared. It's not completely gone, but it's very faint. I miss some carbonation because it could balance the heavy taste and give it some lightness. Overall a short finish except for the smokiness which leaves a long impression. A bit astrigent finish.

Overall (10/20)
This is an aged beer and I like aged beers very much. I have to conclude that this beer does not improve with age though, because as a young beer I would have scored it much higher. It's more an experience than it's an enjoyment to drink this beer I would say. And even though it's quite average overall, I am very happy to have tried the aged version.

Total score 2.6 of 5