Courage Imperial Stout back on shelves after two-decade hiatus
The Wells & Young Brewing Company, the largest brewery in England, purchased the Courage line of beers in 2007 from Scottish & Newcastle (brewers of Newcastle Brown Ale). Wells’ head brewer, Jim Robertson, who used to brew Courage, brewed the new version, which debuted in the United States Sept. 30.
In 1982, I was 8 years old, so I have no way to compare the 2011 version of Courage Imperial Russian Stout to the original version. But what I can tell you is that it is one of the best stouts I have ever tasted.
Breweries: Wells and Young's Brewing
Your BeerNews headline isn’t far off the mark, but the quote from the article is incorrect. Courage brewed their Imperial Russian Stout into the early 1990’s at their John Smith brewery in Tadcaster. The “1982” date appears to be based on when it was last brewed in London and/or by the current Wells brewer, John Robertson.
The 1993 vintage was available in the US at some retailers and bars (in the Philadelphia area, at least)- don’t know who the importer was and it appears that it was a sort of “gray market” import, without a US-specific, ATF-approved label.
I look forward to giving this beer a try.