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Harviestoun Ola Dubh (12 Year Old)

Harviestoun Ola Dubh (12 Year Old) - Old Ale

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 Percentile 
97
overall
Brewed by Harviestoun
Style: Old Ale

Alva, Central, Scotland

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
3023.8/5.03.78/5.0Special8%95English pint, Snifter
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Commercial Description:
Ola Dubh (or ‘Black Oil’) is a collaboration between Harviestoun Brewery and Highland Park, Distiller of the Year*. It is based on Harviestoun’s award-winning Old Engine Oil. With more than a stylistic nod to the classic Imperial Porters (and Stouts) of the nineteenth century, this deliciously rich, dark, 8% a.b.v. beer is the first ale to be aged in malt whisky casks from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, the rest with genuine provenance. Ola Dubh will initially be available in three different expressions; the initial release will be of small batches aged in casks formerly used to mature Highland Park 12 Year Old, Highland Park 16 Year Old and Highland Park 30 Year Old. Further variants are planned for the future. Ola Dubh is, in the words of beer afficionado Owen D.L. Barstow: “The most interesting new British beer I have tried in years.”
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 kopher (296), New York, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/102/59/103/517/20
Feb 21, 2009  
pours black, a few tan bubbles aroma is mostly kalamata olives, with some serious malt, alcohol, and a bit of nicely rotten fruit taste is mostly smoked kalamata olives, finish is long and bitter olive-y very thin dry finish smoke! bursting with scotch! after a few seconds it seems you’ve just had some pretty woody whisky of some sort


 Lalli (149), Helsinki, Finland
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/103/516/20
Feb 19, 2009  
0,33l bottle. Black color, nice head. Gentle roasted malts, vanilla and tar in the aroma. Flavor is incredibly smooth, and all sorts of nuances are notable; caramel, coffee, smoke, and a hint of whisky as well. Nice warming alcohol in the finish.


 gunnar (490), Sandnes, Norway
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Feb 14, 2009  
Bottle 4367. Pours pitch black with abig offwhite creamy head.. Aroma is full of malt, some tar as well. Taste includes liquorize and malt, thick and creamy mouthfeel. Ncei


 FatPhil (3449), Espoo, Finland
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/58/104/515/20
Feb 14, 2009  
330ml bottle (Kuikka, Helsinki)
Jet black, almost no head. Rich roasty aroma. Pleasant carbonation, but quite soft palate. Very rich burntness but without any astringency at all. No hint of 8% at all. Soft hint of chocolate. Hops only come in later, with just a bit of a tingle. Aroma is sweeter than the taste. Dry woodiness, but no blasts of whisky, unlike some of the less refined B.A.’s. Must rerate ...
... kaggen.


 Juancho (225), Clearwater Beach, Georgia, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/58/105/516/20
Feb 12, 2009  
12 Oz. I Don’t konw what an old ale is.... but Ilike it. Dark, impenetrable black color with a brownish espresso like cream head. Sweet aroma of molasses, tar, wood, leaf tobacco. Wonderful thick mouthfeel, peaty like taste, nice sweet maltiness balancing it out. Good, good, beer.


 sayravai (3720), Helsinki, Finland
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/515/20
Feb 10, 2009  
(Bottled) Almost black with a smallish, firm and lacy, beige head. Aroma of smoke, tar, wood, licorice, sweetish malt. Whisky barrel hits you right in the start of the flavor, followed by a short, malty and licoricey Old Engine Oil feeling - and then again some drying oak barrel and charcoal. Medium, slicky and low-carbonated - maybe slightly thin - palate. Well, a good beer matured in oak isn’t necessarily better than the original - and this is also the case here. Different, but not better.


 VTHopHead (895), Barre, Vermont, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/516/20
Feb 8, 2009  
Bottle #02299 9/2007 - Poured a very dark black-brown in color with only the thinest of a tan head that faded very quickly. Low carbonation. Aroma is of darkly roasted malts, oak, chocolate and vanilla. Flavor is smoky with the heaviness of very dark malt (black patent), woodiness and bitter chocolate. Lingering bitterness and woody flavors. Warming alcohol at the end. Decent...


 GAManiac (1124), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Feb 5, 2009  
Cask at the Brick Store. Pours almost completely black with a large bubbly mocha head that recedes quickly to nothing and leaves no lacing. The aroma has lots of dark roasted malts with a well balanced bourbon and chocolate on top. The oak and vanilla finish things off in the aroma. The taste is am amped-up version of the aroma with a huge bourbon kick up front which gives way to the backbone or dark roasted malts. More chocolate sweetness than in the aroma along with vanilla before the bourbon and oak come back with a slightly dry finish. The mouthfeel is velvety smooth with low carbonation and goes down easy. This is a great beer that gets even better on cask. Super smooth, well balanced and very tasty.



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