This week marks the launch of a pretty exciting line of beers at the LCBO. As of today, you can purchase all 5 varieties of Harviestoun Ola Dubh, which is very good news indeed. You might remember Ola Dubh from last year’s winter release, but if you’re unfamiliar, let me take you through it a bit.
Harviestoun is a Scottish brewer, who make, among other beers, Old Engine Oil. An “Old Ale” which is boozy (8%), with nice malty chocolatey notes. Ola Dubh (Scots Gaelic for “Black Oil”), was an idea born out of the trend recently in whisky barrel aged beers. The good folks at Harviestoun made a special batch of their Old Engine Oil and aged it in a variety of whisky barrels, all from Highland Park Distillery. So there is a beer aged in a barrel that held a 12 year old, a 16 year old, an 18 year old, a 30 year old and a massive 40 year old. The older the barrel, it seems, the greater the impact on the flavour of the beer. Note, it’s all the same beer, just aged differently.
I’ll also point out quickly that these bottles are not for the feint of heart, financially. The 40 goes for $18.95/330ml bottle. A reality of the cost of buying a 40 year old whisky barrel. The good news is, the 12 year old is quite nice and goes for $5.95/330ml bottle, which is much more accessible. This is, in part, why I got myself invited to the tasting (okay, I might as well have pulled a fire alarm in the building and ran in when nobody was looking, but whatever. Thanks to my friends at the LCBO!).
So are they worth it? This is, of course, subjective. If you really like whisky and beer, and have a bit of extra cash after you paid the bills and rent, I would definitely say pick some up. Get two friends and buy all five and split each bottle three ways. If you’re not sure which to get, here are my notes and thoughts on all five. I’m not going to tell you what to buy, but my feelings should be evident. By the way, the numbers are the LCBO numbers, makes searching them a little easier.
12 Year Old #107672
The aroma is of molasses and burnt sugar, hints of cherries, port and a hit of alcohol. Taste presents more booze, rum and port, with hints of whisky, though it’s faint. A bit of wood and grains on the finish. I always forget the this beer is actually lighter in body then you would expect, quite nice though.
16 Year Old #107680
Again, spirits are in the aroma, and something I could only define as “fruity”. Taste is a bit of caramel and whisky, with a slight bit of salt. But it is a bit thin.
18 Year Old #180315
Big dose of cocoa and dark berries with a hint of peat on the nose. Taste is immediately a bit of peat, a bit of sweet rum and smoke. There’s a touch of cocoa dryness on the finish. I’d love to sip this while smoking a pipe.
30 Year Old #107698
This is the first one that says “Whisky” in the smell, a bit of alcohol astringency, peat and wood, with a hint of the beer’s cocoa. Tastes, well, like whisky. Obviously much less overall “pop”, but big oak and char, with a very clear peat taste. It’s cool though, as you can take much bigger sips then if it were whisky. Nice.
40 Year Old, #143610
The big boy, this one is huge peat in the aroma, there is booze and oak as well, but peat is the main event. Taste is just like the aroma, a peaty big whisky flavour, with almost no elements of the beer, perhaps a touch of cocoa and dark malts on the finish, but I really had to look for it. I might have been imagining. But this beer is just epic. That I felt that way after working my way through 4 pretty big beers speaks volumes. I have a bottle waiting for me, and I can’t wait to drink it. I just need a good excuse.
Seriously, if you’re a whisky fan, I would seriously consider buying one or both of the last two. Yes they’re expensive, but seriously, how much do you spend on a bottle of whisky? If you’re not sure, start small and work your way up. A side note, we were told by the crew at the LCBO that the 12 and 40 they have lots of, and you will find it at a lot of shops, the 16, 18 and 30 are much more limited, and will likely only be available at bigger stores. Check the LCBO website for availability(ish).
Thanks to the LCBO, for bringing in a cool line of beers, and also for letting me gate-crash a very limited tasting.
