Tag Archives: Old Ale

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Old Ale, USA

Hair of the Dog Adam from the Wood

Leave a comment

Brewery: Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12.4%
Style: Old Ale
Other Notes: 2015 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Made with organic pilsner and a variety of speciality grains along with Northwest hop flowers. This beer has been aged in Kentucky rye barrels for at least 3 years. It has mild carbonation with notes of leather, walnuts and chocolate. It also has complexity and wisdom only achieved with time.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.2
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, 2015 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with pretty much no head and only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Dark malt, chocolate, roast, caramel, oak, whiskey, with light notes of vanilla and dark fruit, plum, prunes.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark malt, roasty, caramel, chocolate, oak, whiskey, light vanilla, dark fruit, grape, plum, prunes, some nutty notes, boozy, with light peppery spice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite it being both sweet and boozy (usually not my thing), it was still an enjoyable sipper.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Old Ale, USA

Hair of the Dog Cherry Adam from the Wood

Leave a comment

Brewery: Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 13.5%
Style: Old Ale
Other Notes: 2015 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Made with organic pilsner, a variety of speciality malts and Northwest grown whole hop flowers. Aged with locally grown cherries in oak barrels for at least 15 months. This beer has no carbonation, but it does have a velvet smooth body and a sweet tartness in the finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, 2015 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark brown colour with slight purple notes and pretty much no head except for a few bubbles and no lacing.
Aroma: Tarty cherry, mixed berries, roasty malts, chocolate, vanilla, with notes of oak and bourbon.
Taste: Tart and sweet cherry, dark fruit, plum, prunes, honey, bourbon, oak, booze, and a light hint of chocolate and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with no carbonation (as stated on the bottle).
Overall: It’s a sipper, but maybe on the verge of being too sweet for my palate.

4 - Good (buy), American Solera, Beer Reviews, Old Ale, USA

American Solera Old Dishoom

Leave a comment

Brewery: American Solera
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: English Old Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Old ale aged in Sherry casks.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear brownish colour with an orange tinge, and a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin layer, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, dark fruit, raisin, prunes, plum, fig, red grape, with a hint of wood, caramel and sherry.
Taste: A mix of Flanders Oud Bruin and Old Ale. Lightly tart, with lots of dried dark fruit, raisin, prunes, fig, plum, red grape, with a splash of oak, caramel and sherry.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Not your traditional Old Ale, but what appears to be some blend of Flanders Oud Bruin and Old Ale, lends itself to a nice enjoyable sipper.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Harviestoun Brewery, Old Ale, Scotland

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 10th Anniversary

Leave a comment

Brewery: Harviestoun Brewery
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: English Old Ale
Other Notes: Ale matured in whisky casks for a full two years. Special twelve year old reserve barrels – Highland Park

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This unique, tenth anniversary edition is aged for a full two years (three times longer than normal) in casks formerly used to mature Highland Park’s legendary 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, allowing even more whisky flavours to imbue the ale. Let’s toast a decade of barrel-aged brewing – Slainte!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.61
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 330ml foiled and capped bottle, bottle no. 09925, bottled in October 2017, and best before end of February 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear dark brown colour with pretty much no head and only very sparse spotted lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, whisky, raisin, fig, wood, caramel, with light peat and smoke.
Taste: Watery, whisky, roasted malts, chocolate, raisin, caramel, fig, dried fruit, with light roast and smoke.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: My first impression was that the body was so light that it drank like watered down whisky. It was better after it warmed as the complexity and roastiness came out and balanced the wateriness to the point that it was ok and drinkable. I easily preferred the Special Reserve 21 version though, but I am looking forward to trying the other varieties. A heavier body would have improved this.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Modern Times Beer, Old Ale, USA

Modern Times Devils’ Teeth

Leave a comment

Brewery: Modern Times Beer
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: English Old Ale
Other Notes: Special Release. 60 IBUs. Imperial Stout with coffee added. Malts – Barley, Oats, Munich, Chocolate, Midnight Wheat, Black Barley, Aromatic Roast Barley, Flaked Barley and Biscuit Malt. Coffee – 75% Ethiopian Hambela and 25% Sumatra Mandheling

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Devil’s Teeth is a hybrid of an Old Ale and an Imperial Stout, two English beer styles designed to withstand long voyages and dark winters. It brings rich maltiness & robust roastiness in a thick, tongue-coating, aggressively flavorful package. To this chewy mix of old world beasts, we brought a massive dose of our house roasted Black House Blend coffee, a complimentary mix of blueberry-forward Ethiopian and chocolate-forward Sumatran coffee.

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

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a nice one fingered tanned head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a ring around the glass while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet dessert like, chocolate, brown sugar, dark fruit, molasses and coffee.
Taste: Lightly bitter coffee bean, sweet chocolate, roasty coffee, nearly burnt caramel with hints of dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with low to moderate carbonation and light booze.
Overall: A self described hybrid Old Ale and Imperial Stout. At first I thought, definitely Imperial Stout, but the more I drank and as it warmed, it grew into an enjoyable Old Ale with its nice chocolate, caramel and dark fruit.