Ola Dubh - 30 Year Old Special Reserve
Harviestoun in Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular|
Score
7.90
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We make Ola Dubh 30 by taking our Old Engine Oil (amped up to 10.5%) and aging it for up to 6 months in casks that previously held Highland Park’s phenomenal 30 Year Old single malt whisky.
Ola Dubh (pronounced ‘ola-doo’ and Gaelic for ‘black oil’) was conceived in 2007. It was the first ale to be matured in whisky barrels from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, it is a beer with real provenance.
This amazing brew has been aged in selected oak casks formerly used to mature Highland Park 30 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, adding complementary whisky notes to our chocolatey, bittersweet beer.
Ola Dubh 30 pours deep brown with a burgundy flush and a head the colour of milled oatmeal. On the nose it has gently-finessed top notes of fresh heather and honey, subtly toasted malts and vanilla with balancing hints of red fruits and a distant, beguiling smoke. The flavour has elegantly-subtle developing wine-like notes; from bitter chocolate and espresso beans into to a sustained, oaked conclusion. Extended, oaky finish with pine resin, juniper, perfumed honey and traces of peat.
HOPS: Galena, East Kent Goldings, Fuggles
MALTS: Roast barley, oats
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle. (vintage 2009, BF 2012) Dark brown with a minimal head. Aroma of whisky, peat and licorice. The same in the taste. Smooth and with a low carbonation.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
From Apr 2008
Okay, time to try ths expensive puppy:
This pours a pitch black with a good 2 finger of tannish foam. Nice.
The smell has notes of whiskey, Smoke, vanilla, and some fruit.
The taste is very fruity(plum and black cherries) up front followed by some caramel, smoke, vanilla(which is done very nicely), more fruit, some fig, some toffee, and a light but satisfying whiskey flavour. I even get a touch of chocolate when I swish the beer in my mouth.
Nice thickish body here and it's lightly carbonated so I don't get distracted from all the flavours going on here. The head retention is *very* good and the lacing is good as well.
The more I sip, the sweeter it seems to get but it doesn't cross the border and become cloying.
Wow. I just took my last sip typing this. A good indicator of how drinkable it is for me. I know the alcohol is there, for sure, but the tastiness and smoothness of this Old Ale makes it easy to not notice it. Well done.
I'm sure glad I opted to get a few bottles of the Ola Dubh series as each one brought something different to the table and were very enjoyable. The only thing stopping me from seeking them out again is that they're so darn expensive!
10.5% but drinks like 3. Holy shit. Stunning ba super mellow. Stunning chocolate. Super smooth
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Cask at Andrew Ushers , Edinburgh, Sunday 20th March 2016 in the company of Dad, Barry, Craig, Stella, Jan and Charlotte. (courtesy of Craig, cheers mate!) Pours black (pitch black) lots of whisky on the nose, a touch boozy, I like it, great temperature, warming, nice silky smooth mouthfeel, lovely beer. A7 A4 T9 P4 Ov16 4.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Keg at The Hanging Bat. Paired with Lovibond’s Sour Grapes, which made for an odd combination! Pours jet black with a very thin tan head. Aromas of chocolate, tobacco and leather, alongside light woody-boozy notes. Quite a sweet taste impression at first, but the then roasted malt and whisky make themselves known. A good beer should take you on a journey, and this certainly does.
30th Anniversary. Can't find the proper listing here. Solid malty piece with masterful barrel treatment. Sadly a bit thin... Close to great!
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Cask at ushers. Pours black, nose is chocolate, oak, coconut, whisky, taste is sweet, rich, smoked sausage, toffee, vanilla, boozy.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Cask at 33rd Old Ale fest at White Horse, Parsons Green, London. A black coloured pour with a thin beige head on top. Roasty, whiskey, caramel, dark fruit aroma. Tastes similar, roasty, whiskey, caramel, dark fruit, chocolate. Very rich and slight smoke.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Handpump at the WHOAF 2015 - London. Pours oily, mostly clear, deep brown with a small, bubbly tan head. Rich semi-dark malts in the nose, brown sugar, heavy peat, dried berries. Hearty sweet flavor with rich burnt malts, oily peat, charred wood, earth, slight vanilla. Full bodied, oily and chewy, with soft carbonation. Warm to hot on the finish, with lingering peat, smokey fire, burnt toast, scorched earth. Great depth. If you like peat, and I do, then you will love this.