Harviestoun Ola Dubh (18 Year Old)

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

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a lazing brown head. The aroma has powerful notes of whiskey, roasted malt, wood, and soy sauce. The flavor is sweet with strong notes of roasted malt, wood, whiskey, burnt coffee, dark chocolate, and soy sauce, leading to a dry roasted finish. The alcohol burns lightly in the top of the throat. Thanks fonefan and Brugmansia for sharing.

Bottle 33 cl. Courtesy of fonefan. Pours a dark brown with a reddish hue and a light brown head. Aroma of whisky, wood, hard roasted malt and tar. Medium body, a little low in carbonation, hard roasted malt, wood and tar accents. No real bitterness. Delicious. 230809

33 cL bottle. Pours dark brown to black with a creamytan to chocolate brown head. Aroma is vanilla and dark roasted malty. Smooth whiskey, wooden, light vanilla and smoked. Dry and roasted base flavoured.

Bottle 330ml.
Clear dark red brown color with a small to average, frothy - fizzy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, caramel, smoke - peat, light chocolate, light licorice, serial soot ash notes. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090823]

Bottle. Nice fat chocolate aroma, tar, peat and some mild smoke. Almost black colour, red shine. Small brown head. The flavour is nicely coffeeish and creamy. Later comes a mild peatiness with some smoke. The mouthfeel is also creamy, low carbonation. Very late coffee aftertaste. Good.

Bottled@Tuulensuu. Pitch black colour, not much head. Aroma is wooden, smoked, ashes, roasted and peaty ntes, Fresh and brutal. Flavour is quite much the same. liquorice and smoke. Quite harsh and brutal actually. 8% ABV kicks in the head.

Bottle at Green Lion, Malmö. Black coloured with a medium sized beige head. Sweet aroma of caramel, dried fruits, liquorice and alcohol with notes of whisky. Sweet flavour of caramel, dried fruits, whisky and alcohol. Sweet and alcoholic finish.

Name: Ola Dubh 18
Date: February 05, 2009
Mode: Cask
Source: Brick Store Pub
Appearance: black, frothy tan head
Aroma: sweet winey aroma, touch of whiskey and rye, light roasted, touch of oak
Flavor: rich sweet scotch and oak flavor, touch of fruityness from the dark malt, roasty, dark chocolate, oak provides the earthy balance, instantly warming, a bit fumey as it warms, dries out to allow the scotch and oak to regain control, finally settles down after the forth snifter to be a sweet dark chocolate and vanilla stout with scotch and oak balance, and then turns dry and oaky all over again
Overall: like the 16 the 18 has the needed sweetness to pull out the full complexity of the beer
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4