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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8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
33 cl bottle, #04063: bottled MAR 2009, BBE 201Z (sic!). Rated on 24.6.2011
Tasting of all Ola Dubh versions from 12 to 40 and Old Engine Oil as a reference. This was definitely the best Dubh!
Aroma has whisky-like vanilla and it has the perfect balance; nothing disturbs here. Flavour is rich: whisky, vanilla, hints of peat and liqorice. If I would like to complain about something, it would be the loose connection between whiskey and beer. But it is hardly disturbing anyway. Earns its place as the best in Dubh series!
Tasting of all Ola Dubh versions from 12 to 40 and Old Engine Oil as a reference. This was definitely the best Dubh!
Aroma has whisky-like vanilla and it has the perfect balance; nothing disturbs here. Flavour is rich: whisky, vanilla, hints of peat and liqorice. If I would like to complain about something, it would be the loose connection between whiskey and beer. But it is hardly disturbing anyway. Earns its place as the best in Dubh series!
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jul 2011
at 00:04
8.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle from Alko Arkadia. Originally rated on 4.7.2009. Great barrel aged beer but not quite the best of the series.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Jul 2011
at 00:24
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Creamy lightbrown good mostly lasting head. Black colour. Heavy malty and light hoppy aroma. Heavy bitter flavor. Soem whisky notes. Slightly smoked and nice chocolate notes. Long nice finish. Creamy palate. Really nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 May 2011
at 12:47
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Appearance good but the head does mostly disappear quite quickly. Similar nose to the 18 year. Maybe richer, maybe a bit more bitter chocolate. The taste is really chocolatey with some nuts in the background, really praline - yes and a note of tobacco. Very complex on the palate and huge length. Great beer.
Tried
on 14 Mar 2011
at 13:07
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
33 Bottle in Klooster, Delft. Tried alongside the 12 year - Far stronger whiskey aroma and strong flavour. Lovely beer
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Mar 2011
at 03:56
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Black with small beige head. Flavour is roasted malts, chocolate, whiskey, peat, coffee and sweet.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Feb 2011
at 23:57
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours black into a snifter. Mocha head with good retention recedes to hug rim. Peaty oak aromas. Sweet oak upfront turning peaty and smoky in the lasting roasty finish.
Tried
on 26 Jan 2011
at 17:20
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle from Beers of Europe. Black colour, small tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, coffee, peat, bit of dark fruits. Flavour is roasted malts, coffee, raisins. Slightly sweet and fairly bitter finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jan 2011
at 07:35
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle. It’s quite interesting to have a side-by-side of the 12, 16 and 30 years old Ola Dubh beers, but I have to admit I don’t miss having the 18 and 40 years old here as well, as I though I would. They’re not different enough or good enough for that. It looks more or less identical as the 16 years, an oily pour leaves a tan head over a flat, black body. The alcohol aroma in this one is smoother than in the 16 and 18 years, making it slightly more pleasant, but not much. Flavorwise too it’s much the same, both the initial flavor and the finish. Overall, smooth and tasteful, but I prefer a well-hopped Imperial Stout if I’m to drink something as big, dark and roasted as these beers. 100827
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Jan 2011
at 12:03
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Cask (handpump) @ The Rake, 14 Winchester Walk, London, Greater London England SE1 9AG.Clear dark brown color with a small, fizzy, virtually none lacing, fully diminishing, beige head. Aroma is heavy malty, roasted, burnt, chocolate malt, smoke, tar. Flavor is heavy sweet and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is creamy, carbonation is flat. [20100802]
Tried
from Cask
on 11 Dec 2010
at 02:39