Ola Dubh Special Reserve 16 - Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.

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BA SCORE
92
outstanding
-
351 Ratings

rAvg: 4.12
pDev: 9.95%
Reviews: 251
Hads: 100

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.

United Kingdom (Scotland)

Style | ABV
Old Ale | 8.00% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (251).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (27) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by milkbaby9:

milkbaby9

Florida

4.72/5 rDev +14.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

330ml bottle (#39710 bottled July 2009, drank 9-2-2010) into Duvel tulip. 1 finger tan brown head reduces to a thin layer of bubbles. Looks opaque brown black in the wide balloon tulip, on the pour it looked like soy sauce.

Aroma was initially a hit of soy sauce which disappears after it warmed up a little whereupon raisin takes over, then roasty malt, then alcoholic scotch whisky and a creamy smell, probably vanilla. Taste begins with a sweetly malty entry, then dark chocolate, vanilla and scotch, sweet dark raisin and dates, and finishing with a gentle bitter roastiness. Sooo smooth!

Very low carbonation, medium bodied mouthfeel, maybe a tad lighter than I expected. The long finish was a nice mix of tangy espresso roastiness, light vanilla, scotch whisky, and sweet malt and crusty biscuit.

Though Ola Dubh is based on Old Engine Oil, I much preferred Ola Dubh, maybe because I was somewhat surprised how smooth it compared to what I feel is a certain sharpness or harshness in Old Engine Oil. Not sure I would drink two or more bottles of this at a time, but it's relatively expensive and really, it's probably not meant to be a drink-mass-quantities kinda beer. Complex but everything comes together well and results in a supremely smooth drink. Awesome!

Note: I had the Special Reserve 12 later and enjoyed this 16 more. However, the 12 was bottled 7 months earlier than the 16 and maybe that was part of the difference...

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 23:07:47 | More by milkbaby9

More User Reviews:

BAsbill

California

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

06-19-2013 21:02:29 | More by BAsbill

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

4.33/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Vertical tasting, from notes.
A - thin whispy lacing, thick black colour 4
S - coffee, plummy esters, fragrant berries, rich vanilla, raspberries. 4.25
T - more rich coffee, salt, lot of wood character, dry vanilla, very flavourful and tasty. Salty nute, dry woody finish. So complex and rich. 4.5
M - dry, some dry alcohol spice, no carbonation, thick and rich feel. 4
O - a dry berry and fruity character, no harshness, some earthy spice. Nose is is very rich, taste has smooth sweet coffee, light bitterness, toasty and honey, dry bitter coffee grounds on finish. 4.25

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2013 17:35:27 | More by mick303

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

06-16-2013 15:05:53 | More by TheBeeraholic

HopsMatt

Kentucky

4/5 rDev -2.9%

06-13-2013 06:38:24 | More by HopsMatt

CameronMcDaniel

Mississippi

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

06-09-2013 23:29:43 | More by CameronMcDaniel

Dirt

Ohio

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

06-09-2013 04:02:02 | More by Dirt

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

06-03-2013 20:17:46 | More by Kmat10

Chugs13

New Jersey

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

06-02-2013 22:15:38 | More by Chugs13

ediaz

Florida

4/5 rDev -2.9%

05-23-2013 01:37:12 | More by ediaz

VAcrossr

Virginia

4/5 rDev -2.9%

05-19-2013 20:01:00 | More by VAcrossr

heygeebee

Australia

4.11/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Appearance - black 'n' tan one finger head clingy lace

Smell - vanilla, roasts, choc.

Taste - dark chocolate, roast malts, vanilla, hint brown sugar.

Mouthfeel - medium bodied, moderately oily

Overall - delighful beer, well balanced, and moderate bitterness. Just like dark chocolate in a glass.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 12:10:31 | More by heygeebee

UCLABrewN84

California

3.96/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to GRG1313 for gifting me this one.

Bottled 1/2009. Bottle # 06435.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that fades to nothing. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, molasses, smoke, wood, whisky, and some oxidation aromas. Taste is much the same with dark roasted malt, cocoa, and whisky flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of woody bitterness and a very slight tang on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with some complex aromas that I am enjoying slightly more than the flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 04:12:14 | More by UCLABrewN84

acevenom

Louisiana

4.6/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a snifter glass. The beer pours dark brown to black with no head. There's some streaming carbonation that is visible on the side of the glass, but there isn't a lot of it. There are aromas of dark roasted malt, oak, vanilla, and some alcoholic character from the scotch. There's some sweetness from the malt as well as the alcohol. The taste follows the nose for the most part. There's a nice malt backbone that has some dark roastiness and toffee sweetness that mingles with the oak, vanilla, and scotch. Those oak characteristics really blend nicely with the flavors. The body is medium to full with light carbonation. The beer is smooth and drinks pretty well for a bigger beer. This is an excellent beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 23:09:14 | More by acevenom

Bill235

Ohio

4/5 rDev -2.9%

05-12-2013 22:52:18 | More by Bill235

BeerBucks

New York

4.25/5 rDev +3.2%

05-12-2013 22:32:34 | More by BeerBucks

stephenjmoore

Maryland

4.11/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle Dated August 2010

A- Pours a very dark brown and settles into the glass as an oily black. Frothy tan head that lingers around for awhile.

S- Baker's chocolate, boozy scotch with hints of vanilla, oak, caramel and smoke, roasted malts.

T- Big roasty malts up front, huge flavor. The big roasty flavors give way to lots of oak and vanilla about half way through, which stays around until the finish.

M- Mostly smooth, with just a hint of sharpness towards the end. Slightly boozy, but very drinkable.

O- Very good beer with lots of flavor complexity. Big roast, oak and vanilla.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 22:41:04 | More by stephenjmoore