Ola Dubh Special Reserve 16
Harviestoun Brewery

A brown pour that fills the glass to a nearly opaque black appearance; thin yet creamy mocha-colored head. Chocolate, coffee grounds, grapes and figs comprise the aroma. Milk chocolate sweetness in the flavor, well-tempered with a whisky edge at the finish. Medium-heavy body; smooth and rich mouthfeel.

A fine dark ale that delivers depth and complexity with bold malt sweetness tempered with Scotch whisky undertones. Seems similar to a Russian imperial stout in many ways. Intriguing and rewarding and should satisfy any lover of big dark ales.

 

 

Black color. Thin, brown head. Malt , milk chocolate, and whiskey in aroma. Taste follows. There is a roasted bitterness at the end. Warming finish with some light alcohol.

Copenhagen 8/10 2023. 33 cl bottle from Fish & Beer, Amagerbrogade, Kbh. S. Text heavy label with signatures from both the Master Brewer and the Master Whisky Maker. And a little booklet to complete the impression of dignified luxury.

Pours opaque dark brown with a small off-white head. A bit bubbly. Settles as thin flimsy and patchy layer of foam clinging to the sides of the glass. No lacing.

Aroma is intense with a light sweet malty odor soon overpowered by a potent, earthy and boozy scent. Toffee, caramel and hints of brown sugar. Peat, leather, sea salt and a distinct presence of smoky whisky.

Light carbonation. Thick, oily, viscous, soft, smooth, almost flat texture.

Flavor is intense with a medium strong sweetness followed and balanced by a medium strong sourish bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter. Lingers for a while. Finish is rather dry.

Black brew where the old, whisky, saturated wood comes to its right.

 

 

 

 

A 330ml black foiled and capped bottle, bottle no. 15872, bottled in March 2022, and a best before end date of March 2025. Poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a half finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, sweet dark fruit, whisky, caramel, and maybe a touch of smoke.

Taste: Dark fruit sweetness, light roast, chocolate, brown sugar, caramel, whisky, toasted wood, with a light bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: Clean, balanced, aroma and flavours.

Purchased from Plonk in Fyshwisk, Canberra, in August 2023 and drunk in December that year.

The bottle, immaculately presented like all Ola Dubh variants, indicates this is the 2021 version of this beer.

L: In the glass, it shows a solid hunk of impenetrable black beneath a thin, coffee-coloured head. Densely packed streams of tiny bubbles can be seen near the edge of the glass.

S: Bitter, dark chocolate with molasses, blueberry and umami savouriness, and wood and creamy whisky notes.

T: Absolutely delightful. While the beer is still relatively cold, the scotch whisky cask is dominant, with a creamy vanilla and wood and a slightly peaty whisky note. As it warms, the barrel backs off, and a roasty, bitter, chocolaty note takes over, with subtle hints of orchard fruits and berries, particularly late in the swallow. Mouth, tongue and throat are warmed from the alcohol, which is nonetheless expertly hidden.

M: A beer that's made for slow sipping demands a thick, full mouthfeel, and this beer delivers. Carbonation is low, but there's a definite prickle as it gowns down.

O: Overall, this beer is good when it's cold and even better as it warms. The changing nature of the taste profile kept my interest in the beer from the first sip to the last, and as that last drop was drained from the glass, my immediate thoughts were to the next chance I had to sample this excellent beer.

Cheers!
#384

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and a light fluffy head.

This smells pretty roasty, with some vanilla, oak spice, bitter wood, dark chocolate, and lightly peaty smoke.

In lesser hands, these beers could be smoky and peaty monstrosities, but they always manage to be well balanced and super drinkable. Scotch barrel aged beers are such a dicey proposition, but the dice landed favorably here. There’s a lot of barrel – oak, vanilla, cedar, spicy whiskey, and a touch of smoke. There’s lots of chocolate and a hearty roasty backbone.

This is medium bodied, slightly creamy, and not really all that boozy.

These are some of my favorite beers from the UK, and some of my favorite scotch barrel aged beers taboot.

 

 

L:
-pours the darkest of brown with ebony tinges and a quickly dissipating,small,foamy,beige head
S:
-malty,coffee,caramel,vanilla,coconut,spicy,light peat smoke
T:
-Follows the nose + rye bread and a toasted finish
F:
-low-to-medium carbonation
-light-to-medium body
-alcohol lightly noticeable
O:
Another great BA stout from Harviestoun.Deep with flavors and light enough to be drunk in warmer weather, unlike many other BA Beers.
Can't reach the Ola Dubh 12 though.

Bottle 01001, February ’21

Coming off of the 14 from the other day (my least favorite to date) we’re moving on up to Ola Dubh 16. Hopefully this one fares better, but any Ola Dubh is good as it is. Let’s crack it open and see what it’s all about

Pours completely pitch black with a finger of light tan head that fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

The aroma isn’t heavy per se, but there’s a nice depth to it. I’m picking up on aromas of peat smoke, raisin, milk chocolate, brown sugar, dark bread, caramel, light baked apple, and vanilla

The cliché scotch-dervied bandage flavor I experienced in the 14 is present here too, but ever so slightly, it really blends in with everything else in the swallow and works out into something nice. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting fig, milk chocolate, toffee, peat smoke, toasted oak, nutty malt, and light black cherry. The swallow brings notes of peat smoke, cocoa powder, black cherry, dark toast, caramel, brown sugar, dates, toasted oak, and the slightest note of bandage

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes a bit sticky but dries over time

I dig this one too. I think I’m learning that these are consistently nothing amazing, yet always interesting and pretty good. Onto the 30 next

 

deep brown or even black with a bubble ring.
Has nice barrel notes as expected, a li so char notes.
I get chocolate and roast, the whiskey gives a smooth edge.
Thin mouthfeel, a really enjoyable sipper.

 

From notes 1/6/13: Pours ebony producing less than half a finger of short-lived, coarse, mocha head which leaves behind only a few small motes of lace as it recedes. Aroma is dark roast, caramel and chocolate malts, burnt pumpernickel, booze, smoky peat, oak/vanilla, candied nuts, a hint of orange peel and faint hops. Taste is chocolate and whisky forward (but less than expected), burnt dark bread, biscuity malt, caramel, molasses, candied walnuts, oak, some dark fruits. As with Ola Dubh 12 there is more burnt flavor and hop character from mid-sip through finish and into the aftertaste than in the nose. Finish and aftertaste are nicely smokey but is short-lived. The 8% ABV is well hidden. Mouthfeel is full throttle FULL bodied with medium-low carbonation, smooth and creamy but leaves behind a slickness on the tongue.