Harviestoun Ola Dubh (16 Year Old)

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

Black body and a dark brown head; Good but the aroma could be bigger, all the right and very pleasant aromas but somehow the nose doesn’t know if if really wants to be a whiskey barrel aged beer or not; Super soft very pleasant body, maybe it is the fact that it is very pleasant that is wrong an old ale should not be very pleasant, it should be pleasant and very complex and hard to understand (imo of cause); Warm soft and aroma and texture in finish, again it is to simple good and not aggressive enough. A hard rating of a very good beer, Thanks.

Black, with a light brown head. Aroma is smoke, fruit, roasted malt, and peat. Flavor is smoke, coffee, peat, licorice, and wood. A bit too much smoke for me, but not bad overall.

Shared by jerc and mabel with HogTownHarry and I. Appearance: Oily black, small brown head. Aroma: Oaky, malt, hops, chocolate, whiskey, plums, raisins and peat. Flavour: Spiced whiskey, malt, chocolate, plums, quite creamy and quite enjoyable! Bottle 12496

Bottle bonused by Cletus. Thanks, John. Pours black. Thick, but not as much as described on the bottle. Small tan head. Looks thin but attractive. Smells even more so. Lots of Scotch whisky on the nose: peat, earth, a hint of smoke. Also, some wood, vanilla, and mild chocolate. Taste adds a bit of saltiness to the overall picture. I’ve been in a Scotch mood, so maybe I’m biased at the moment, but this tastes damn fine.

(Bottle 33cl nr.61795) A black colored beer, with a thick foamy beige head. The aroma of roasted malts, oak with dark fruits. Hints of vanilla and chocolate. The taste is dry bitter, burned/roasted malts, chocolate, bitter fruits. Notes of vanilla with some whiskey in the back. The aftertaste is bitter and dry.

Bottle.

Pour deep brown, almost black, very small head. Glorious aroma. A restrained, sophisticated sweetness of stone fruit and molassas leading; deep peaty, smoky whisky following. More and more of the smoke comes out in the aroma as I progress, to the point that it’s really quite heavy once I’m half way through the beer.

The flavor and mouthfeel disappoint somewhat. The former because I was expecting a little richer dried dark fruit, and instead the beer is pretty ashy, dry, even pushing salty (not so bad in and of itself, but very much not what I was expecting and hoping for, given the aroma). It’s a bit harsh, a bit burnt, an unpleasant not-hops-but-something-else bitterness on the very long end. The latter because it comes off thin compared to what one expects from the aroma and appearance. Nonetheless, we’ve got an enjoyable and well crafted beer. Certainly interesting, certainly different, but not only for the sake of being interesting and different. It actually works pretty well. Not that this price point -- but that’s another issue altogether and not one that I’ve taken into account in the ratings. Given that I didn’t drink this one head-to-head with the 12-year and given that it’s been a while since I had the latter, I can’t really compare the two well beyond to note the similarities, suggest a slightly better integrated whisky-barrel character to the 16 (but this could be my imagination), and note that the 0.2 point difference between my ratings of the two is probably within the margin of error.

Crushed with Jakebra. Nice. Black and thick. Just like Honkeybra likes em. Whisky-y nose, with some soy sauce possibly. Flavor is complex. Bitterness, some motor oil, some black stuff. Very nice mouthfeel. Just rolls over the tongue and happiness ensues.

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.