Harviestoun Ola Dubh (30 Year Old)

Draft or cask at Ebenezer’s. Pours a super dark brown with a deep brown head. Nose is buttery and smokey, chocolatey and roasty. Taste is big. There is a ton of diacetyl, but the scotch barrel kind of pulls it back in as there is a huge peaty/smoky element to the taste, almost tar-like. This would have been sublime but for the diacetyl. Still, pretty great stuff.

Bottle, No. 01176. Pitch black beer with a small light brown head. The aroma is gently sweet and lightly roasted, and the flavour is rich, roasted and whisky like (leading to a dandelion and burdock feel). Overall a nice strong beer.

Thanks DSG, pours oily deep brown with a chocolate color head, intense aromas of wood and smoke, cherry liquor, scotch and some cheesy yeast, flavor is oaky, you could actually taste the barrel, deep chocolate flavors soy souce, some ash smokiness and scotch alcohol, bitter finish, highly complex and tasty, full mouthfeel. Excellent brew.

Rating #300 - Bottle # 14583, Sept 2007. Pitch black pour and a nice foamy head. Aroma of whiskey, smoke, dark fruit and chocolate. Another Ola Dubh with some serious taste - the whisky is very present but subtle at the same time.. perfect blend. Also behind the whiskey was the taste of chocolate, roasted malt, earthiness and some faint fruitiness. Creamy and smooth palate on this one but not quite as thick as some of the younger barrel versions I don’t believe. Great, great beer.

Deep hazy dark brown covered by a fading beige head. Smokey, roasty nose with more earth and iodine than the 12 and 18yr examples I’ve had in the last weeks. There is barely any fruitiness in there, just plain good old rich chocolatey malts which provide an ample, hefty mouthfeel. The finish is quite heavy on the alcohol despite the unabusive 8% ABV. Sweet and malty all throughout, finishing up with tobacco, vanilla and wood flavours. Somehow, the older these barrels, the less beery the Engine Oil becomes, though this remains instructive and pleasant.

Bottle. Pours a deep black with a medium sized tan head. Chocolate, roast, whiskey, wood, and char. Begins rather viscous but thins out immediately. Nice vanilla tones. Big and malty. Finish with a long roast flavor, and a bit of light booze.

Shared by metmayhem at Natifest ’09.
Completely black beer. Has a sweet aroma, full of burned malts and wood. Has a flavor similar to dark chocolate, mixed in with the roasted malts. Finish is dry with a moderate bitterness. Doesn’t really taste much different than from what I remember of the 12 yr version I had awhile ago. Still good though with a rich flavor.

Bottle No. & Date: 21279 / Sept 2007

8/01/2009: Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30... Aroma: Deeply caramelized malt, hint of barrel char and some aged whisky burn. Appearance: Black; foamy tan head. Flavor: Roasted malts, barrel char, milk and bittersweet choclates, some whisky. Palate: Creamy and smooth, little slick like oil. Overall: Very good, but I thought that the 12 Year Old version is better. Sadly, this beer reminds me quite a bit of the Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged BORIS The Crusher...

Bottle shared by metmayhem at NATIFEST ’09. Thanks! Rating #263 for this beer.