Harviestoun Ola Dubh (16 Year Old)

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

Pours pretty jet black, with a small, quickly dispersing, light brown head. The smell is rich with caramel cream, light peat, molasses, gingerbread, dark fruit, and mild chocolate. Really dug that nose. The flavor was a little heavier on the peat and smoke than the nose let on, although not too burning or up front. Left some nice heat in the finish however. The flavor was of burnt malts and dark fruit mixing with mild chocolate bitterness and woodsy oak. Well carbonated, more than I expected. The finish was a little fruity sweet, with the mild chocolate notes becoming apparent a bit. Very nice brew indeed.

33cl bottle, #03750, Sept 2007. At $10/bottle, this better kick ass... Near black with a thin brown head. Huge nose, sweet brown sugar and molasses, distinct whiskey notes. Very peaty flavor, whiskey and molasses, a tad hot, but not in a bad way. Rich chocolate malt, woody and roasty. Awesome satiny body. This is a lovely, rich, sipping beer.

11.2oz bottle, Bottle No & date 03749/Sept 2007. Pours pitch black in color with thin brown head. Aroma sweet, dark chocolate and roasted malt. Taste chocolate, Scotch, coffee and bitter sweet with bitter and dry finish.

A rich dark brown beer with a light beige head. aroma of caramel, peat!!!!, and a touch of alcohol that burns the nostrils. Thick carmel body with subdued whiskey character and more peat. I got a much cleaner peat and smoke character off of this beer than the 12, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Bottle side by side with the 30: Pour was thick black with little head. Aroma was of strong whiskey and oak with a lot of sweet malt. Brew was extremely well blended with some chocolate characters along with the sweet malt, strong roasted character, and even stronger whiskey/scotch flavors. Damn fine brew. Just a hint better than the 12 on my scale.

Pours pitch black and completely opaque with a thin .5 finger brown head that quickly fades into a lasting ring. Not much in the way of lacing, just some sporadic small spots. Strong roasted malt aroma with a decent amount of malt whiskey that doesn’t overtake the other aromas. Dark chocolate, roasted coffee bean and roasted nut notes. Again, the aroma is dominated by a deep roasted maltiness but there is a good bit of oak and whiskey to balance things out. Again the flavor is dominated by a deep roasted maltiness with lots of complexity and bitter dark chocolate flavor. However, they whiskey presence is much more prominent in the flavor than in the aroma. Lots of hot whiskey alcohol warmth but fortunately the other flavors still shine through. Not one-dimensional at all. Plenty of roasted coffee bean, burnt toast, hazelnut and dark chocolate notes. Sligthtly sweet because of the strong alcohol, whiskey and chocolate malt components but is overall nicely balanced with even some subtle hops, resulting in a big beer that is quite drinkable. Recommended.

Bottle # 14824, Sept 2007. Pitch black pour and a nice chocolate head. Aroma of whiskey (subtle - unlike others I have tried that end up overwhelming), smoke, dark fruit and chocolate. Serious taste on this one - again , like the 12 year, the whisky is very present but subtle at the same time.. perfect blend. Also behind the whiskey was the taste of a chocolate bar and some fruitiness. Like the 12 year, this is one thick beer. This one is also winner.

Bottle, Gøtebrg, 2009-127 AP:black beer brownish head AR/F:of malt and whiskey. sweet vanilla, woody finish.