THE HOPRY SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DRINK OR IT WON'T GET DONE!

It took me until I was about 35 years old to become a fan of Scotch. It always tasted like mud water to me as a young man. But then one day I became fascinated with peat-smoked Scotch. I read a lot about they Islay styles, but was never adventurous enough to try it. Then again, I’ve always been willing to expand my palate, so that’s what I did. I bought a bottle of the most intense Scotch out there: Laphroaig. I’m not even going to lie; it was one of the most offensive things I ever tasted in my life. But I was bound and determined to make myself like it – because hell…I’d just bought a whole bottle. Needless to say I love it today and am happy to see that they are using some of the same types of barrels to make the beers I love just as much. Harviestoun’s Ola Dubh 16 is one of those beers. It was on last years Top 25 Beers of the Year in Draft Magazine. Of course I greatly value their opinion so I quickly set out to get a bottle. Having sat on this one for nearly ten months, I have to say it was well worth the wait. This lovely beer is only subtly perfumed by the Highland Park barrels for which it was housed. Though the claim is that this beer is an “old ale,” I have to admit that it fooled me into thinking it was a stout. It’s dark and inky with a lot of the same characteristics of a stout. But really at the end of the day, this is just a great beer to share with a friend in a couple snifters. It’ll make you feel like you should be sitting in your grandpa’s old winged-back chair reading poetry and smoking a cigar.

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man

Brewery: Harviestoun
Beer: Ola Dubh (Special Reserve 16)
Style: Old Ale (Barrel-aged)
Location: Alva, Scotland
ABV: 8%
Rating: 94/100