Note from Scott Holbrook:
I would like to welcome Kevin Scott to the A Beer a Day team. Kevin is a college buddy and craft beer lover who recently returned to the Boston area. I am excited to have him join our team.
Written By: Kevin Scott
Harviestoun - Ola Dubh 12 Old Ale Matured in Whiskey Casks. Alva, Scotland, United Kingdom. 8% ABV.
It pours a deep black and very oily out of the bottle with tan/brown thin head that quickly turns into a thin ring of lace around the glass.
It smells boozy yet sweet upfront with a distinct smokey scotch character immediately following. The taste is smokey and roasted on the forefront in a very good way (I generally do not like smoked beers such as rauchbiers). The aftertaste is a sweet mellowness from the scotch barrels and just a touch of warming from the 8% alcohol. The beer is a bit more thick and viscous than the 8% abv would have you believe with very low carbonation. I was very impressed with this beer and love the added complexity from the scotch barrels where the majority of barrel aged beers go for the sweeter bourbon barrels. I would consider this the best after dinner beer I've had in a long while and I will absolutely be going back to grab a few more of these from Boston Wine Exchange and hopefully aging a few to see how they mature.
Update: I just noticed the bottle is stamped with a bottling date of August 2010 making this beer just over 4 years old so I can testify that it ages quite well.
96/100
RSS Feed