Ola Dubh - 30 Year Old Special Reserve
Harviestoun in Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular|
Score
7.89
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This beer is 8% ABV in bottle, 10.5% in cask and keg.
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
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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7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle courtesy of goryshkewych: Poured a deep pitch-black color ale with a medium light brown foamy head with average retention and no lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with distinctive notes of scotch. Taste is a well balance mix between some sweet malt with some notes of scotch with a creamy like texture. The chocolate notes of the regular Old Engine Oil beer are still present. Full creamy body with some good carbonation and no discernable alcohol. I would say that this was good but I would have expected more scotch presence and I am not sure that this is a staple considering the price tag.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 May 2008
at 13:23
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Dark brown with a smaller tan head. Nose is more bourbon based than the 12 or 16. Lots of woody barrel type notes. Still, the smokey flavor works well with the bourbon and the malts. More caramel sweetness and toffee notes than before. Takes a runner-up finish to the 16yo.
Tried
on 27 Apr 2008
at 20:40
8.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Capital Ale House - Midlothian on 08/29/2008. Very clear dark brown body with ruby highlights and a small tan head. Smokey, peat and salt aroma with some light caramel. Chocolate and molassas flavor with some scotch kicks and some alcohol shining through. Medium body with moderately low carbonation. 8/4/8/3/15 - 3.8 04/24/2008: On tap at Capital Ale House - Midlothian. Pitch black body with no head. Huge scotch aroma, some rum soaked fruit, caramel, and molassas. Big scotch flavor, some peat, and a lot more fruit. Full body with very low carbonation. This is a lovely beer to sip on over an hour or two. 8/5/9/4/17 - 4.3
Tried
from Draft
on 24 Apr 2008
at 21:33
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle from Monument. Very dark brown color with a tan head. Aroma is very dark, approaching creosote. Medium bodied with mild carbonation. Something of an old burnt wood flavor, with old whiskey notes. Kind of vinous, kind of not. Really quite interesting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Apr 2008
at 22:05
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
11.2 oz bottle (0357/Sept07) ($16.79)from Country Club Liquors; Big foam almost came out of the bottle top; Black, brown edges, and a big cinnamon tan lightly laces the glass; Nose more chocolate than the other 2 without the fruit, mostly chocolate nose with some vanilla accents and a little bitterness, which also is the finish. I think they needed a much bigger beer to work with the Highland Park barrels because I got little in the way of woodiness or scotch from these very expensive beers!
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Mar 2008
at 13:57
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle at home with Tom and Royce deep black no head ... Woody light smokey ... smooth gentle roats malts ... some iodine ... little coffee ... definitly whiskey tone... Blind with the other 2.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Mar 2008
at 08:37