Tag Archives: barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Harviestoun Brewery, Old Ale, Scotland

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 14

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Brewery: Harviestoun Brewery
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: Old Ale
Other Notes: Aged in Highland Park Loyalty of the Wolf Single Malt casks

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Aged in selected oak casks, formerly used to mature Highland Park’s beautifully balanced Loyalty of the Wolf Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

(from tag) Ola Dubh (meaning ‘Black Oil’ in gaelic) is a real labour of love for our brew team. We take our Old Engine Oil and mature it in whisky casks from the award winning Orkney distillery & our good friends, Highland Park. The process is far from simple but the end result is a beautiful brew with complementary whisky notes and a chocolate, roasty and bittersweet aftertaste.

We are delighted to add the 14 year old into the Ola Dubh Range. The loyalty of the wolf barrels provide a smooth approachable ale which perfectly balances sweet flavours of vanilla, baked apples and cinnamon with a subtle spice of whisky and charred oak.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml black foiled and capped bottle, bottle no. 07501, bottled in February 2021, and a best before end date of March 2024. 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, with fruity candy notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet, dark fruit, roasted malts, roasty, toasty, chocolate, whisky, caramel, light vanilla, and a bittersweet finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Interesting aroma and flavours, although perhaps a touch thin.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Funky Fluid, Poland

Funky Fluid I’ve Seen Footage

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Brewery: Funky Fluid
Country: Poland
ABV: 11%
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
Other Notes: Bourbon BA Quadrupel with maple syrup & vanilla

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Quadrupel aged in bourbon barrels with addition of maple syrup & vanilla.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml navy blue with glitter waxed bottle, 2022 vintage, with a best before date of 30th December 2023. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark brown colour with a very thin beige head that dissipated quickly, while leaving sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, bourbon, vanilla, dried dark fruit, raisins, prunes, caramel, with notes of maple syrup.
Taste: Sweet, bourbon, raisin, prunes, figs, oak, caramel, vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very enjoyable sipper. The maple syrup didn’t really turn up, but the overall flavours were good.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Oud Beersel, Lambic - Gueuze

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille Barrel Selection Whisky Edition Port Wood

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Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 2022 vintage. Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barrel selection whisky barrels port wood.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 15th September 2042. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour, with a one and a half finger fluffy white head that had good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart, melon, lemon zest, vanilla, honey, oak, light funk.
Taste: Subtle sweet beginning, berry gummy candy, vanilla, yoghurt, honey, melon, lightly sour, tart, lemon zest, wood, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wow, loved this. Quite possibly one of my favourite gueuze’s out there. Easy to drink, with great aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), American Strong Ale, Beer Reviews, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Box Set Track #11 (Devil Went Down to Georgia)

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Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: Strong Ale – American
Other Notes: Bourbon barrel-aged ale with peaches & black tea

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Henry Jones Sr. and his son loved to fiddle each evening at dusk; their notes sweetly carried through the wooded acres. Their farm, Jones Peaches, was a southern institution. Many whispered their fiddling coaxed sugars from the earth making them the juiciest peaches known to man. Heaven smiled daily on the Jones’ until tragedy struck, summoning Henry Sr. to his final resting place. Henry Jr. assumed his father’s farming, but the peaches slowly became less sweet. Sales plummeted as bills piled up. One evening a curious banker in an orange suit arrived with an offer… One song, two fiddles – a duel with the land deed in the balance. Neighbors witnessed an evil thrashing and heaven guided harmonics that night. The man in orange left his gilded fiddle on top of the deed, never to be heard from again. Soon the whispers of JP’s greatness returned as Henry Sr. smiled down from above.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A corked and caged 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2017 vintage, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A dark brown colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate cake, caramel, toffee, bourbon, dark rum, vanilla, black tea, dark fruit, and peachy notes.
Taste: Chocolate, caramel, bourbon, lightly herbal, black tea, oak, and a lasting bittersweet finish.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft to no carbonation.
Overall: An interesting and enjoyable sipper. The black tea is there and I can even imagine the peaches at times. It makes me wonder if the peaches were more noticeable fresher, and what it would have been like.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Flanders Red Ale, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme

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Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: Flanders Red Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged wild ale with sour cherries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Bourbon & wine barrel-aged wild ale with sour cherries. You are holding in your hands one of the most elusive and sought after small batch beers known simply as Cuvee. Our Cuvee de Tomme is a blend of Old World brewing traditions and New World brewing processes. It is made from our Judgment Day ale, then aged in American bourbon and French oak wine barrels. We add some fantastic wild yeasts and sour cherries to the barrels, creating a secondary fermentation. After one year, our brewers then get together to work out the final blend. This means that each batch of Cuvee will vary slightly between bottlings. Yet, the result will always be a memorable drinking experience.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.55
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A corked and caged 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a dark brownish red colour, with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, vanilla, blackcurrant, oak, graphite, cabernet sauvignon.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, blackcurrant, blackberry, vanilla, oak, with light notes of caramel, chocolate and bourbon, and a lightly acidic finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Complex and enjoyable. Loved the aroma, while the taste was good but perhaps just a touch acidic.