Day 277, Oct 4 / Old Engine Oil Black Ale

Day 277 / October 4, 2011

Old Engine Oil Black Ale

Harviestoun Brewery  /  Alva, Scotland

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

VISCOUS • CHOCOLATELY • ROASTY

Alright, I’m off my game tonight, in the comments section, see if you can complete this sentence:

“That’s what it says on the label of Harviestoun’s Old Engine Oil Black Ale.   And it also describes ___________.”

OEO is a viscous, chocolately, roasty dark English Porter from Scotland’s Harviestoun Brewery.   As you can see, the name describes it perfectly – it is almost black and very thick.  Out of 277 beers this year, this is the only one whose rating changed (quite a bit) as I drank it.  Kinda like an Everlasting Gobstopper.

The first sip is a bit startling – this is a very intense, complex beer.  It takes a few sips to really appreciate it.  You can definitely taste chocolate, roasted malts, and it actually gets better with each sip.  Over the course of 20-30 minutes, this beer went from a Passable to a Very Good.

The Harviestoun Brewery was founded in Scotland in 1985, and makes small batch beers, including a series called Ola Dubh, ales aged in oak casks previously used to age Highland Park 12 year old single malt Scotch Whisky.  Gotta find me some of that!