Old Ale Project – Harviestoun Brewery’s Ola Dubh 30 (#7)

11.2oz bottle decanted into a snifter.  8.0% ABV.  Served at 55F and allowed to elevate to room temperature. 

Appearance:  The color of a deep porter.  No head, virtually no carbonation.  Visually, it lives up to the name “Black Oil” (3.75/5).

Aroma:  Sweet whisky, oak, and damp mustiness.  Molasses and licorice.  Very rich and interesting (4/5).

Taste:  Very dry and oaky.  Nicely attenuated.  Smoky and charred.  But fairly one dimensional.  It’s like drinking a nice whisky, but after the tumbler has been sitting out for a while and all the ice has melted.  And maybe somebody put a cigar out in it.  Where’s the beer flavor in this beer? (2.5/5).

Mouthfeel:  Thinner than expected.  Flat and heavy on the tongue.  A lingering astringency from the wood (2.75/5).

Overall:  Well… this was kind of a letdown.  For a beer that cost almost $20, I would have expected something that tasted more like beer and less like diluted, smoky whisky.    It reminds me of Hair of the Dog’s Adam, but watered down.  It's not awful, but overall it's too thin, too woody, too little like beer (3/5).

-Matt