Harviestoun Ola Dubh (30 Year Old)

Brewed by Harviestoun
Style: Old Ale
Alva, Central, Scotland

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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<b>Bottle 33cl.</b>
Clear medium to dark brown black color with a average, fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, burnt, smoke - peat, wood, whisky. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long to average duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is flat. (120908)

Draft. A pitch black beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet malty combined with notes of hard roasted malt, whiskey, and wood, as well as light notes of smoke. The flavor is very powerful with strong notes of whiskey as well as medium notes of hard roasted malt, and a bit of smoke. Nice - reminds me of the Paradox beer - no wonder.

(Bottle 33 cl) Pours a very dark brown - close to black - with a vague tint of red and a small off-white head. Fairly burned malty aroma with some wooden accents. Medium body, low in carbonation, some hard roasted malts and distinctly smoked whisky notes. Subdued bitterness. 120908

From tap at OBrians. Pours pitch black with a lacing tan head. Aroma is dense roasted malt, dense oily and distinct barrel base presence. Dense roasted malt an dark barrel/whisky base presence. Solid smooth and nicely spiced. Smooth finish yet dense and mild spiced with alingering whiskey presence.

Bottled@EBF2008. Black colour, small head. Aroma is wood, vanilla, whisky and some chocolate, peat and roasted malts. Flavour is quite the same in an excellent mellow way. Alcohol shows a little bit in the finish. Pleasant and very driankable.

UPDATED: OCT 1, 2008 Bottled at European Beer Festival, Copenhagen. Dark brown no head. Dalty fatty nose. Less peaty and with more evident alcohol than the 12 y/o. Very dry with cocoa powder and whisky. The compact malt seems to hold on to the flavour and not let it come out fully.

Bottle. Black coloured with a small beige head. Roasted aroma of whisky, dried fruits and smoked eel. Roasted flavour of dried fruits and whisky with notes of smoke. Roasted finish.

Bottle at EBF08. Good vanilla aroma. Almost black colour, seems clear. The flavour has some wood and nice vanilla. Good and warming alcohol.

Bottle from Chevy Chase, Washington DC; bottled Sept 2007, 2 years old
parallel tasting with Ola Dubh 40 years old
Black color; beige creamy head. Already from the bottle it’s possible to notice a whisky aroma; it has a very good, yet not strong, aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, a bit creamy, with hints of vanilla, wood and whisky; more intriguing than in the other version.
It has a lean body, but well structured; the chocolate flavor is in the front, with late caramel and wood; there is some residual sweetness, with light liquorice and light whisky.
The final is balanced, mellower than the flavor, with the liquorice and whisky more evident. The alcohol is only warming the mouth, not evident. After some time in the glass, it’s less biting and more plain than the 40 years. Yet interesting.

UPDATED: JAN 2, 2010
Name: Ola Dubh 30
Date: March 28, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta
Appearance: black, fine tan head, bits of lace
Aroma: dry roasted dark chocolate aroma, touch of whiskey
Flavor: rich dark chocolate flavor, just a hint of sweetness from the whiskey, bitterness comes out of the dark chocolate and combines with a touch of roasted to keep it dry and bitter, whiskey sweetness comes back to balance the dry bitterness, strong oak adds a bit of tartness
Overall: too dry and bitter with the whiskey adding any character at all

Name: Ola Dubh 30
Date: April 15, 2008
Mode: cask
Source: brick store
Score: 3.2 to 3.3
Appearance: black, scant head with frothy tan edges, thick viscous liquid coats the glass and leaves a light stain
Aroma: sweet dark liquor aroma, nice dark chocolate, touch of roasted
Body: thick body
Flavor: lots of roasted and black chocolate flavor, plenty of oak that works with the roasted to provide lots of dry bitterness, scotch comes on strong at the bottom of the glass

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+ /4