Harviestoun Ola Dubh (16 Year Old)

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

Bottled. Black color, short head. Aroma of roasted malt, whisky, peat. Peaty whisky taste, malty, chocolat, coffee. Good stuff.

bottle. black pour, minimal head, lightly carbonated. flavors of chocolate, sherry?, and a few other things I can’t place. Very smooth. Tasty

Name: Ola Dubh 16
Date: 03/28/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta

Appearance: black, short lived creamy tan head, bits of drippy lace,
Aroma: aroma of of dark chocolate candies filled with whiskey, touch of vanilla builds the sweetness, hint of roasted balances it back out,
Body: ceamy body,
Flavor: creamy dark chocolate flavor, touch of whiskey and vanilla for sweetness, roasted for balance, the chocolate and whiskey continues to grow and take over until it almost becomes a whiskey candy but held back by the drying character of the roasted malt, light bitter finish drifts out of the roasted and dark chocolate, touch of alcohol,
Overall: a bit richer than the 12 with more of the whiskey sweetness,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

2009-04-02. Pitch black body with a pleasant smooth creamy brown head that fades (3+). Aroma is mild in the same way as the 12 year version, but seems "smoother" somehow, even though the whisky touches that are interwoven seem slightly stronger, modest roast malt. Flavour has more prominent whisky than the 12, touch dry overall with a sweet malty core. Light bitterness throughout lingers into the aftertaste, spurred on by the alcohol. (7+) Smooth medium bodied palate is a bit under carbonated but it mostly works for the beer. Not bad by any means but the increase whisky and alcohol representation made it less drinkable for me than the 12. I might not have noticed as much if I had not had them back to back. Bottle from Village Beer Merchant, Buffalo

Bottle from Dilly Deli. Poured clear dark brown color with full brown head that diminished slowly with good lacing. Heavy aroma of caramel, nuts, and peat toasted malt. Medium to full body with smooth texture. Medium toasted sweet earthy wood flavor with a medium sweet whiskeyfinish of long duration. My expectations were met with a smooth complex brew.

(Bottle 33 cl) Courtesy of Skyview. Dark brown with a reddish hue and a rough, light brown head. Burned, smoked peaty whisky touch in the aroma. Full-bodied with burned malts and distinct peaty malt accents. Some malt bitterness in the finish. 100908

12 oz bottle. Pours an oily black color with a small light tan head that recedes to clear, teeny bubbles that eventually disappear. Nose is light roast malts, very dry, some very light hints of scotch and alcohol. Palate is smooth with a very dry finish and a filmy palate with a light alcohol note in the end. Flavors are light dark roast almost burnt malts with a hint of whiskey/scotch that doesnt over power. very well balanced. it is noticeable that the whiskey is there, but it does not take away any of the beer flavors nor does it over power with alcohol.

In short: An unclassifiable moderately roasted black beer with a semi-complex flavour spectrum
How: Bottle 11.2oz. Drank about 1 year after the beer release. Side by side comparison of the Old Dubh 12, 16 and 30
The look: Black body topped by a very small tan head
In long: Nose has the similar elements of its little 12 year old sisters with peat, dirty wood, earth and date except everything is x 2. Also a little smoky note that isn’t there in the little sister. Soft carbonation. Taste of charcoal, burnt fresh wet wood, baker’s chocolate, a whole lot of peat and also a lot of freshly cut green grass, some black liquorice and tobacco leaves. Different but very cohesive. Coming back from a pub-crawl I thought it would be an interesting experience to open the 12, 16 and 30 all at the same while watching a movie. But drinking these three strong beers after an evening of pub crawling let me tell you that I was finding my movie really funny and was laughing hysterically. The problem is I was watching Saving Private Ryan.