Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Special Reserve

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

Pours black with a ring of tan bubbles. Chocolate malt with peat, smoke, and creosote in the nose. Viscous, flat mouthfeel. More chocolate and peat in the taste, joined by smoked malt, some caramel, and vanilla. It was brought down a little by the soy and over-done molasses flavors. Still, a good beer.

Strong notes of roasted malts giving off bittersweet baking chocolate and burnt coffee aromas, along with some oak, smoke and peat. Jet black body and dark brown sugar head, coat of lacing and when swirled leaves strong legs and coats the glass with clingy sugars. Not overly sweet and not too cloying, but I expected some thicker creamier body, palate was a solid 4, but I reduced b/c of the peppery alchoholic bite, needs some more aging I presume. Good one on the whole, but give the nod to the regular OEO for smoother drinkability.

I love a goold old ale and was hoping the whiskey barrel aging wasn’t going to overpower the beer. It did at first but after the first few sips, it started to come into balance. Nice whiskey and chocolate aroma. Pour was a perfect deep near black with a one finger tan head. Taste was a strong mix of oak, whiskey and chocolate with a strongly bitter roasted malt aftertaste. Nice beer.

THOUGHTS: Hid alcohol well. More flavorful than normal Old Engine Oil. Not what I was expecting from being aged in whiskey barrels. Not as much whiskey as I would have thought. It more or less just changed Old Engine Oil. Much nicer than the regular OEO. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was opaque black in the glass with a light tan, almost non-existent head that left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate chocolate malt, smoke, soy sauce alcohol, whiskey and salt. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and salty; while the finish was moderate to heavily sweet, lightly bitter and more salty with an average to short duration. There was chocolate, whiskey, a little smoke and some salt. The medium to full body was watery at first and then syrupy with soft carbonation and a light alcoholic finish.

Bottle from Monument Liq, in Concord, CA. This brew poured almost black with almost no head. It smelled of coffee and bitter chocolate, but the overwhelming taste was of cigar tobacco and espresso. Excellent beer!

Bottle from Monument Liqour in Concord, CA. Poured a dark brown almost black with a very thin head. Smelled of coffee and roasted malts. Very roasted flavor with hints of chocolate. Overall in pretty good brew.

Bottle from 2006. Thanks to secret santa for this one (not sure if it was RB or BA). Dark brown pour with thick brown head and wonderful lacing. Vanilla roast on the nose. Well balanced and slightly complex flavors consisting of coffee, roast, chocolate, malts, an bourbon

2002 bottle. Pour is dark black with no head. Aroma is of pure whiskey with maybe a hint of malt hiding in the background. Flavor is a lot more complex. Whiskey has a strong presence in the beer but other flavors include a lot of burnt malt, some fruity notes, and a hint of chocolate. Nice brew. Would buy again to compare with the original.