Harviestoun Ola Dubh (30 Year Old)

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

Serve in English pint, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Bottled 330ml. -from Biererei, Vienna. Bottle No. 36922. Had this one to celebrate 12th anniversary with my girlfriend (she hates beers matured in whisky casks LOOOLL). Pitch black coloured, medium sized brown head, wooden whisky nose. Roasted malt, chocolate and evident smoked whisky notes with hint of alcohol in the finish. Delicious one.

Poured into a snifter. Bottle #10696, bottled Sept. 2007. I looked up how much the 30 year costs and the cheapest was just north of $300. And to think I thought this bottle of beer was expensive at $14.99. 3.5 A: Black color. Just over a finger of frothy light brown head. Retention was mediocre and no lacing was left. I gave this an extra half point since it’s getting rather old. 4.0 S: The base beer delivers roastiness and a hint of chocolate. Nothing too crazy. The whiskey, however, is enchanting. So well integrated that it smells silky. Coffee, creme, caramel, oak, vanilla - creme brulee basically. Light well tanned leather. Almost flowery with melon, peach, and apple fruits. 3.5 T: Taste is much like the nose. The base beer is just there to facilitate the barrel aging. Roastiness is the main contributor. The reason that this doesn’t score as well as the nose is because the whiskey is less intense in the taste. Still, there’s some vanilla, oak, and leather, but much less of everything else. 3.0 M: Wimpy light to lighter medium body. Carbonation is good for how old it is. Reasonably creamy for how light it is. 3.5 D: This suffers from the same problem that 50/50 does. The base beer is weak and the barrel aging is forced to carry the product. However, in this case, the bourbon seems to have faded a lot from the taste. Oh well. I’d love to try this fresh. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 05-04-2012 02:28:03

33 cl bottle. Bottle no. 04063. Bottled on 03/2009. BBE 24.06.2011.
Rated on 20110624.
Pours pitch black color with a large, lasting head. Aroma of slight ashy chocolate, some distant oak, peat and mild liquorice. Surprisingly simple aroma, at least when cool. Flavor of liquorice, peat, chocolate and vanilla. Silky smooth palate from start to finish. Very short aftertaste. Extremely well balanced even though the high complexity. Clearly the best of the reserve bunch.
5328

Bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is oak, vanilla, coffee, roasted malt. Flavour is oak, vanilla, coffee, roasted malt, chocolat. Full body. Very nice beer.

Pours dark brown with a tan head. Aroma is of malt, chocolate, and wood. Taste is of malt, sweet chocolate, wood, and dark fruit. Lingering woody malt taste. There are some small hints of whiskey, but not as much as I had expected. Mouthfeel is medium and sticky. Definitely easy to drink. Perhaps a little too sweet, but still not bad.

9th September 2009
Opaque black brown beer. Soft creamy palate. Light chocolate nose. Dark malt. Wood and minerals. A little unsweet chocolate. The whisky is smooth and almost subtle and lends a little sourness. Smooth easy drinking!

Bottle. Now wow, this is proper presentation, a nifty box, foil wrapped cap, and a fancy little "necklace" around the bottle neck. Pours a dar brown color with some slight red highlights. Very little head but what head there is collars around the glass a light tan. Molasses and dark fruit notes in the nose along with dark chocolate. Medium mouthfeel. Chocolate, leather, tobacco, and roast coffee in the flavors at different times. The barrel aging to me is subtle and sleeps in the background on this one. Much easier drinking than expected. Tasty.

330ml bottle pours jet black in color with a small off-white head with virtually no lacing on the glass. Aromas of chocolate and coffee with some smokey wood and whiskey notes. Taste is chocolate malty sweetness with some roasted barley and coffee bitterness mingled with a whiskey and smokey wood finish. Heavy body and mild carbonation. An interesting and tasty brew best enjoyed as a slow sipper.

12/27/10 next to the 12 and 16. same porter color and low carbonation. this is the best of the bunch so far... it is very well integrated and complex. very mellow on the peat stink. it has umami all over it as well as some coffee notes.

Una birra semplicemente strepitosa. La sua complessità è pari a quella di un buon whisky, ma con tutti i vantaggi dell’essere birra, e quindi alcol contenuto e buona bevibilità. La Ola Dubh merita 5 di diritto.

Small beige head over nearly black beer. Whisky, peat, chocolate, smoking woodfire, praliné. Hazelnuts, smoked over a light peatfire, whisky. Smoked ham and chocolate and felt in the background, wine on oak. Very high alcoholcontent, totally viscous. Exceptional beer, the whisky being totally blended in.