Harviestoun Ola Dubh (16 Year Old)

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

Murky chocolate brown with a mahogany glow. Meaty aroma with hints of hazelnuts, oak, and whiskey. Winks of tropical fruit tend to simmer in this thick red meat and coffee ground maltiness. Thin flavor of beef, smoke, chocolate soda, bitter wood, and soil. Dirty malt profile lacking the silky touch anticipated from the barrel. Bit of alcohol and zesty bright fruit touch. Light sentiment in a restrained mouthfeel. Soft whiskey and smoky wood finish; plenty of rustic malt and dank earthiness. Straddling the gap between subtle and forgettable, comfortably. Thanks Ben!

Dark brown with a thin lid of tan bubbles. Darker malts and dark chocolate syrup backed by whisky. Whisky has some notes of dark cherries, oak and hint of iodine. Nice light pale malt sweet start which develops to a rich toasted malt, oak and mild peat middle. Light alcohol in the finish. Some black malt bitterness seems to kick in and out. Fairly light in feel, but there is enough depth in flavor to carry things through. Long woody linger. A balanced and thoughtful brew.

Pours black, not very thick looking, with a thin, creamy, light brown head. Smells woody, peaty, and malty with a hint of alcohol. Tastes very woody and earthy with some alcohol, and lots of toasty malt flavor as well. Just a hint of sweetness toward the finish. Medium body at most, too thin, subdued carbonation.

pours out a dark brown almost black color with nearly no head. aroma was malty and very sweet with notes of wood and scotch. flavor was very nice with a nice wood undertone in the finish. an interesting beer to say the least and rather good even though i dont care ofr scotch

Bottle Number 04291 (Thanks Argo0!) Vertical of 12 – 16 – 30 years. Aroma for this one is similar to the 12 with notes of molasses, peat (though less than with the 12) coffee (stronger than the 12), chocolate (less than the 12) and dried fruit (far less than the 12), alcohol (more so than the 12), with one that was not really present in the 12 (mild dishsoap) no, I didn’t just wash my hands! The flavor is stronger in some ways from the 12 and milder in others. The vanilla flavor is more intense and the dried fruitiness has mellowed. The molasses is strong as is the coffee though the chocolate is less than the 12. The finish is easier to handle than the 12 as it is less sticky and sweet though I am not implying that it is neither. I like this one better than the 12.

(33cl bottle, #04291, Sept07, vertical with the 12 & 30) Black body with small, quickly dissipating tan head. Aroma is medium sweet, vanilla, some caramel, molasses, roast, whisky/peat, faint mint. Taste is moderately sweet, roast, caramel, smoke, plum, molasses. Medium-full body, some stickiness, notably smoother than the 12. Scotch is complementary rather than overpowering.

Drank as a vertical of 12, 16, and 30: Pour is black with a tiny off white head...smell is roasty and sweet and not nearly as harsh as the 12...molasses and caramel and faintly smoky...somewhat medicinal though...taste is rich and smoky...lots of peat character and this one tastes much more of scotch than the 12...nothing really interesting or over the top about it though....

Bottled September 2007; Sampled May 2008
A softly vigorous pour produces a two and a half finger thick, brown stained, tan colored head. The beer is quite black in color and is opaque even when held up directly to the light. The aroma is quite rich with concentrated notes of darkly caramelized malt, touches of teriyaki, iodine and a finish that smells of salt and light peat smoke. Hints of fruit aromatics provide notes of burnt prunes and light raisin. The smokiness really picks up after the first couple draughts of the aroma. Rich malt aromatics combine with the peat character to contribute aromas of salty toffee, savory umami malt, . This just has a hearty, quite satisfying aroma to it. In fact the aroma is just expressively intoxicating and almost exactly what I am looking for in a nightcap; rich, savory, complex and deeply satisfying.

Somehow this beer tastes quite a bit cooler than I was expecting; mainly I think it is not quite as rich as I was expecting, and a thinner beer always feels cooler than a thicker beer at the same temperature. The beer finishes with a deeply roasted, burnt espresso bitterness / astringency. The beer is fairly sweet and accentuates a burnt raisin fruitiness. This has a fairly light heft to it for a beer that smells this rich, though the viscosity is quite appropriate for a beer of this alcoholic strength. The beer finishes with a touch of burnt vegetal character; burnt broccoli and burnt cabbage flavors lightly intrude on the finish. As the beer warms up it picks up a bit more texture and richness in the flavor / mouthfeel, it still does not live up to the promise of the aroma though. The roast character plays a huge role towards the finish; burnt malt, sharp espresso notes, slight charcoal and the aforementioned burnt vegetal note.

The aroma of this beer kicks some serious ass; I could smell this forever and continuously find myself just enjoying the aroma between extended sips of this beer. The flavor, while it does not quite live up to the promise of the aroma, is still quite tasty in its own right, though it has some noticeable flaws. A tasty brew, that just might age quite nicely over the next couple years, despite no being bottle conditioned.

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