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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7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Pours near black with a chocolate brown chocolate head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has strong whiskey with chocolate and toffee forming a strong backbone. Flavor has nice combination of bitter chocolate, toffee, caramel and whiskey.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jun 2013
at 17:36
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle 26508, bottled jan 2009. Deep black, dissipatgng head which settles into a tonsure. Dark chocolate on wood, light vanilla, a hint madeira, but certainly not oxidized much. Silky and round on the palate, medium chewyness, relatively dry on the finish. Full chocolate, licorice, salt, a hint wood, otherwise the whiskey asserts itself and blends wonderfully into the stout flavors. Licorice, light herbal aftertaste, whiskey aromatics retronasal. Perfect time to enjoy this one I think.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Apr 2013
at 10:29
8.1/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
330 ml bottle sampled in 2010. Practically black body with a nice, dense beige head. Aroma is surprisingly mild and smooth whisky, oak and peat. Flavor is also smooth roasted malt, peat, whisky, oak and balanced bitterness. Full body and nice aftertaste. A nice one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Apr 2013
at 02:45
10/10
Tried
on 02 Apr 2013
at 06:46
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Jan 2009 bottle at home (#34421). It pours near black with small light tan head. The nose is whisky, roasted malt, treacle, toffee, fudge, medicinal notes, chocolate covered marshmallow, Christmas pudding, nut, date and prune. The taste is roasted malt, treacle, whisky, fudge, oak, earth, salted caramel, nut, light bitterness, liquorice and warming alcohol with a bitter-sweet finish. Medium-full body, fine carbonation and sticky mouth-feel. Wow! The balance is spot-on. Great depth of flavour, yet ultra smooth and massively drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2013
at 13:48
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Sample at the Pints For Pelotonia charity tasting on 07/21/12: Murky brown-black color with a medium khaki head that recedes slowly. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of burnt malt, fruit and oak. Medium body with flavors of peaty malt, charcoal, fruit and wood. The finish is smoked malt and charred wood. A little too far on the campfire side for my tastes, but a decent beer nonetheless.
Tried
on 22 Jul 2012
at 18:22
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Brown bottle, 330 ml, bottle 28363, bottled in Jan 2009, best before April 2013, purchased at the LCBO, savoured on June 27 2012; eye: black, opaque, tiny ring of beige head, no lacing; nose: molasses, roasted barley, anise, light alcohol, light candied fruits, slight whisky, slight woody, slight smoked salmon; mouth: molasses, roasted barley, anise, light alcohol, light candied fruits, finale in molasses with presence of anise, medium-full body, not much carbonation, mildly sweet, slightly bitter, a bit thin; overall: fine FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 330 ml, bouteille 28363, embouteillée en Jan 2009, meilleure avant avril 2013, achetée à la LCBO, savourée le 27 juin 2012; œil : noire, opaque, minuscule anneau de mousse beige, pas de dentelle; nez : mélasse, orge torréfiée, anis, léger alcool, léger fruits confits, très léger whisky, très léger boisé, très léger saumon fumé; bouche : mélasse, orge torréfiée, anis, léger alcool, léger fruits confits, finale en mélasse avec présence d’anis, corps moyen-corsé, peu carbonatée, moyennement sucrée, très légèrement amère, un peu mince; en résumé : bien
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Jun 2012
at 14:03
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is oak, vanilla, coffee, roasted malt. Flavour is oak, vanilla, coffee, roasted malt, chocolat. Full body. Very nice beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 May 2012
at 03:46
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
9th September 2009
Opaque black brown beer. Soft creamy palate. Light chocolate nose. Dark malt. Wood and minerals. A little unsweet chocolate. The whisky is smooth and almost subtle and lends a little sourness. Smooth easy drinking!
Opaque black brown beer. Soft creamy palate. Light chocolate nose. Dark malt. Wood and minerals. A little unsweet chocolate. The whisky is smooth and almost subtle and lends a little sourness. Smooth easy drinking!
Tried
on 06 May 2012
at 17:05
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Small beige head over nearly black beer. Whisky, peat, chocolate, smoking woodfire, praliné. Hazelnuts, smoked over a light peatfire, whisky. Smoked ham and chocolate and felt in the background, wine on oak. Very high alcoholcontent, totally viscous. Exceptional beer, the whisky being totally blended in.
Tried
on 16 Mar 2012
at 14:23