Harviestoun Old Engine Oil (Bottle)

Bottle. Pitch Black beer with no head, Lots of carbonation bubbles come to the top instead. Powerful aroma of bitter chocolate and yeast. Smells like engine oil :) Porter-like strong taste has chocolate, lemon and roasted malt. Bitter dry oily finish. Medium body. Has character and complexity. Splendid. 180208

330ml bottle from the LCBO. black pour with a small beige head. Aroma is very roasy, and smokey with a touch of soy sauce. Flavour is very roasty, and a touch bitter with a very creamy mouthfeel, the soy sauce flavour is still there, but not a prevalent. A very nice beer, kinda like a cross between a porter, and a very roasty oatmeal stout.

330 ml bottle - pours very, very dark brown for an old ale. Looks very much like a porter, with it’s sticky, two-finger tan cap. Gorgeous aroma of sweet milk chocolate, some green hops, dry cocoa, vanilla, and a touch of booze. Dry chocolate in the mouth with a long finish that goes from sweet to lactic to slightly bitter. Wow, this is good stuff, and it improves as it warms in the glass. Very smooth and chocolatey, I don’t know what else to say; it’s GREAT!!!!

330ml bottle Decanted a deep dark chestnut color with a 3 finger mocha colored meringue cap...moderate head retention, laces well. Modest carbonation The Nose: bitter chocolate, dark roasted husks and sour cherry with a wisp of musty wet hay. Delightful..almost like a flavored stout. Profile: Roasty-malty body balanced by grassy kent golding bittering and the patent malt husk astringence. Midway you get some complexity with berry fruit tastes, figs, cocoa, tobacco, licorice. Finishes wet and goes slightly to the sweet side with lots of lingering chocolate-cherry tastes. A lovely dark beer ...not in character with an "old ale" at all...had i tried this blindfolded, I’d have pegged it as a chocolate-porter.

330ml bottle. Pours very viscous, black colour, with virtually no head. No light can get through when held up. Aroma: fruity, roasty, almost like a mild Imperial Stout. Taste: Wow, different, very sweet, almost sour, chocolate, roasted malts, delivered in a very smooth, creamy, thick liquid. The sourness is almost like that of a lambic brew, somewhat tart, which I know can be a characteristic of some old ales. Powerfully bitter in the finish from the roasted malts. Very impressive.

black dark amber color, some tan head not much, nose is choc and roasted malt, maybe a little molasses flavor is semi-sweet choc, bitter coffee, and some lactic sour pit fruit flavor, nice beer. bought from Lcbo

330 mL bottle. (Best before March ’09). Very dark chestnut brown with a ring of brown head. Lots of roast in the aroma, but no acidity or bitterness. There is roast in the flavour as well, along with some semi-sweet chocolate and a little dark fruit. Slight bitterness at the finish, although it’s as much from the roast as the hops. Quite smooth and creamy. Lightly carbonated, and a medium to full body. Great name, decent beer. I expected a little more bite and complexity.

Bottle. This stuff is pretty black with a small tan head. It doesn’t appear overly viscous, but has nice lacing and a fairly dense body. The aroma is sweet with pleasing hints of chocolate, molasses, plums, a bit of leather, and dark bread. Flavor highlights rich chocolate with soft suggestions of ripe fruit. Hops come out in the finish every so slightly and give a wimpy edge to the sweet body. This is a pretty darn tasty brew. The overall mesh of qualities makes an insanely drinkable beer. My only complaint, and this is probably only spurred by the claim of "old engine oil" is the comparatively light palate. I preferred it to the special reserve stuff, however, and I will most likely buy again and enjoy.