A recipe from the Barclay Perkins archive, from the year 1856. 

Smooth and rounded, not aggressive. Full-bodied without heaviness – rich, layered, and refined. Cocoa on the nose, followed by cream, chocolate, dark fruit, and a touch of plum and sour berry. The finish is long, with herbal bitterness and just enough light roast to hold it all together.

Drink it slowly. Let it open.

This beer is built to age. Over time, you can expect the bitterness to soften, the fruit to deepen, and more integration across the malt layers. Ideal for storing in a cool, dark place for a year or more.

Drink now for freshness and roast. Drink later for roundness and harmony.

Despite the name, this beer is very much black. Language moves on. The flavour stays.

The Imperial Brown Stouts developed into what became known as the Russian Imperial Stouts, and this particular recipe developed into the Courage RIS, which is most notable because a) it was an excellent beer, and b) it continued to be produced until 1992, as the only surviving link to a certain brewing tradition that was huge in London, and made London famous, for over 200 years. And of course, a tradition which is now dead there.