Harviestoun Old Engine Oil (Bottle)

Is there a better feeling than walking into a crappy liquor outlet expecting to grab a dull local six-pack and instead finding a beer you have wanted to try for years? There was a time not so long ago when this ranked amongst the most highly regarded ales in Scotland. The bar has been raised since then but this is still a fine old ale. Normally I like to drink strong dark ales at room temperature but this one is astringent enough to be worth chilling. Impenetrable teak colour with a dollop of beige shaving foam. Excellent head retention. Sweet aroma of cocoa powder, figs, caramelised sugars and licorice, plus nose-prickling white pepper. Medium bodied and creamy in the swallow. Some Milo chocolate malts and blackcurrant fruitiness before a hot finish with some licorice root astringency. Tarry malts and bitumen. Tastes like a bigger beer. A very satisfying nightcap. (330ml bottle from Vintage Cellars, Clovelly. BB Sep 09)

Pretty darn good, very crisp for such a deep array of flavors. Pitch black with no head on a very aggresive pour into a Chimay glass. Smells of malts and coffee, tastes of malts coffee, prunes, maybe grapes add the crispness. Great if you want a porter that is not too filling. Would go very well Peking Duck. Only 1.99 per bottle at Gulf Liquors in Miami Beach.

Dark black pour with a thin head. I actually found this a little boring. Roasted malt, nuts. and some chocolate on the nose. A bit of coffee roast and light chocolate along with a mild bitterness.

Sampled during Cellar’s Wine & Spirits weekly beer tasting in St Paul, MN. Pours an opaque nearly black brew with a thin tan head that has some nice retention. Aroma of dark chocolate, toasted dark malt with a hint of vanilla and oak. Taste is full bodied, with flavors of toasted dark malt, chocolate, a hint of plum and vanilla. Finish has a nice toasted dark malt and some light vanilla aftertaste.

Pitch black in colour, completely opaque - a bit hazy with a small light brown head - hardly anything. Aroma of whiskey, vanilla, peanuts, caramel, roasted malt & some light chocolate. Light to Medium-bodied; Strong oak, whiskey & malt flavours fading to a light tannic bitterness. An odd beer-not too complex, but decent. Overall, good to try, but not my favourite of the style. I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased at Whole Foods in Vienna, Virginia on 27 May 2005 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

An appropriately named beer, this baby is motor-oil black as advertised. Aroma is subdued but chocolate and roasted malts come through with a vinous quality. Some toasted bread and coffee are present as well. Bittersweet and roasty with more hop flavor than I was expecting. A light fruitiness swims beside caramel, baker’s cocoa and burnt coffee. Full-bodied and chewy with little carbonation. Much like a sweet stout or porter. A delight to drink.

This beer pours completely black with a very small head that reduces to a ring around the glass. No lacing. The colour is like a cola. Aroma is toasted brown bread with a lot of black licorice. Some good coffee smells too. Taste is very well balanced, there is a lot of sweetness but it is held in check by a lingering hop bitterness. Similar to the smell, there is a lot of coffee and toast flavours. Some chocolate too. Mouthfeel is great, thick and creamy as would be expected. A really thin and soft carbonation to make the body seem even fuller. Good and very drinkable. The mouthfeel is kind of like an oatmeal stout, but the flavour leans more towards a classic english stout IMO.

Ótima cerveja da Harviestoun assim como a Bitter & Twisted, essa cerveja surpreende. Tem uma textura que lembra óleo, corpo médio, boa espuma, aroma de café torrado e chocolate amargo, a cor é negra, ótimo amargor no final. No paladar também aparece chocolate, café, final metálico. Porém não tem caracteristicas de uma Old Ale, se não fosse pelo corpo, lembraria uma Stout.