Harviestoun Old Engine Oil (Bottle)
Bottle: Filtered.
Black Ale
Ingredients: Pale malt; Roasted barley; Oats; Washington Galena, Worcester Fuggles and Kent Goldings hops.
A superb, rich, full-bodied beer derived from a 1970s homebrewing recipe. Wickedly smooth chocolate dominates the flavour, which is nicely balanced by the bitterness of the hops.
Black Ale
Ingredients: Pale malt; Roasted barley; Oats; Washington Galena, Worcester Fuggles and Kent Goldings hops.
A superb, rich, full-bodied beer derived from a 1970s homebrewing recipe. Wickedly smooth chocolate dominates the flavour, which is nicely balanced by the bitterness of the hops.
3.7
1875 reviews
Alva, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Community reviews
On tap at Lost Nation. Black body. Smells of intense roasted malt. Licorice and molasses. Tastes of intense roasted malt here too. Licorice, bitter chocolate, molasses, but no sweetness. Very bitter back end. Medium body. Excellent.
Liquide marron noir avec mousse très courte. Nez torréfié et chocolat. En bouche, c'est très marqué sur malt torréfié, le chocolat et le café avec une belle texture crémeuse !
Nice stout, but a little too 'watery'/too bitter for my taste (I prefer a milk stout).
330 ml can. My how the times have changed. Their putting this in a can. Nearly opaque black brown color. Dense foamy tan head. Roasted malt aroma hints at charred wood and campfire smoke. Flavor follows nose. Perhaps some smoky peat and tangy funk as well. Worcestershire sauce and dark chocolate. An iconic and tasty Porter.
苦いチョコの風味がする黒ビール
Excellent. Will buy again. We'll balanced. No bite
Old rating from 2009 - 330ml bottle, pours jet black with a small beige head. Aromas & tastes of chocolate, expresso, dark fruits, oat & roasted malt. Medium body. Light but lingering finish
330ml bottle. Pours jet black with a small tan head. Aroma and taste of dark roasted malts, chocolate, smoke and bitter espresso. Heavy on the bitterness. Excellent, though not easy drinking!
From can (BB Jan'22) in porter glass. Pours near black w/thin than head that settled into a ring, aroma of roast bready malt. Taste has a splash of Worcestershire sauce, sweet around the edges.
Aromat i smak bardzo wyraźnie ale umiarkowanie palony. Nuty palone, kawa, opalone pieczywo, palone ziarno. Niemało horzkiej czekolady leciutko w tle karmel. Bardziej wytrawne, napewno nie słodkie. Goryczka niska, palona.
Bardzo przyjemne, zbalansowane
I got a can from LCBO. Pours black with nice tan head that sticks around. Aroma and taste of dark roasted coffee and dark chocolatge without being sweet at all. Smooth medium to heavy body with amazing soft carbonation. Nice slightly bitter dry finish.
330ml bottle. Black, small tan head, modest retention. Aroma of coffee and dark chocolate. Taste is, light roast, coffee beans, dark chocolate, smoky, dry bitter finish. Its not overly sweet but there is just enough to balance. Moderate smooth body and soft carbonation. Lovely moreish quality to this. Good stuff.
Very licoricey
massive expanding head of beige. pitch black. toffee, cake aroma, burnt sugar, treacle. taste is not as roasty as expected. dark and full. body very full. great
Can from LCBO. Roasty leathery aroma. Taste of leather, coffee, chocolate. Silky smooth. Great.
Dark black like the name suggests. Smells of coffee and dark chocolate. Taste is roasted/smoked barley, dark fruits and slight coffee and dark chocolate notes. Nice little beer :)
How: bottle. BB: 28 07 22
Head: one finger, dense, tan.
Colour: black.
Aroma: caramel, chocolate, herbal, slight campfire, slight dark fruits.
Taste: medium to full body, soft carbonation, a bit oily, taste follows aroma. Herbal bitterness.
Chocolate& coffee in long quite bitter aftertaste.
Oct 2020. Small bottle, filtered, from Beer52. A rare good beer from Beer52, sold in one of their bargain boxes. Good thick dark beer with lashing of dark malt flavours, treacle and licorice, along with smokey dark hops, a little harsh. I'd prefer a few less hops, allow just the roast to carry the bitterness. But there you go. Still a damn fine beer. [3.7]
June 2018. 6%. 330ml dark bottle, filtered, from BeerWulf for £1.59. My gosh this is a deep and satisfying sipping beer. [4.2]
April, 2011 Tesco Traditional Porter. Mmm what a classic beer this Engine Oil is. Smooth and easy drinking, yet with enough flavours to keep the interest. [3.8]
Feb, 2008 330ml filtered bottle from Gretna Green. The brewery are careful not to ascribe a style to this beer - they call it a "dark beer" and a "black, viscous beer", but not a stout or an old ale - neither of which it is, but either of which would be a useful guideline. There is lots of body - probably from the use of oats - and "oil" is an appropriate name. The carbonation is very light - just enough to give some life - and doesn’t detract from the impression that you’re drinking pure engine oil. The flavours are full, soft and firm rather than aggressive. There’s a twiggy bitterness with notes of chocolate, charcoal, tobacco and bread dough. A satisfying and enjoyable brew. [3.8]
Sept, 2002 I loved this. My type of beer - full of interesting twists and turns and a wonderful balance between hops and malt. I also enjoyed the fact that it seems impossible to place into a simple box - is it a stout, an old ale, a mild or a brown ale? Mmmmm. Chocolate, roasted barley, coffee, apples, etc, etc. A lovely beer! [3.2]
330ml can brewed in Scotland at 6%. Jet-black with a generous tan head, decent duration. Strong coffee/cocoa powder aroma, somewhat smoky, with some hedgerow hops in there. Low carbonation. Thick and almost granular texture. Smoky, roasty porter, with some oat character thickening things up. Nice rustic hops for the experienced palate to pick up in the dry finish too. Canned version perhaps a little different from the bottled one I remember - could be my mind playing tricks - but regardless, a nice rich fairly complex porter (almost a stout, hence the noncommittal 'Black Ale' nomenclature) that isn't overly sweet.
Bouteille de 33 CL achetée sur Saveur Bière. Robe noire opaque sans mousse. Arômes de malts torréfiés, pain grillé, résineux. Texture huileuse, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement amère. Notes de grillé, malts torréfiés, résineuses. Finale sèche et amère portée sur le grillé.
Pours black, small off-white lacing foam. Nice smoky arome, some coffee and chocolate. Taste is slight bitter, coffee. (Arnhem 202008)
Defineately has that full on porter taste. Heavy on the coffee. Not such a full mouthfeel. A good porter but I'm not a big porter fan so wouldn't buy another.
Fles gedeelt door Roelzie1986, het is een pikzwart bier met een beige schuim. Het heeft een gebrande moutige geur en koffie achtige geur. De smaak is gebrande mout, zoethout en chocolade.
Pours a perfectly dark black with a great thick dark cappucino head. Aroma is coffee, dark fruit, English hops, malt, chocolate. Taste is perfectly unsweet chocolate, coffee, a slight anise flavor, dark fruit, malt, and good bitter at the end. This is a really excellent traditional porter without being cranked up to "the new 11."
Color negro y fina espuma blanquecina de cierta retención. Aroma a café y con un toque achocolatado. Sabor en esa línea con cierta presencia licorosa. Cuerpo medio-alto y carbonatación media. Un ejemplo paradigmático del estilo.
33cl bottle from Beer52, enjoyed in a shaker on 15-Jul-2020. Apmost black in colour with a small beige coloured head. Aroma of roasted malt and cocao nibs. Medium body and carbonation. Taste of coffee, dark chocolate, oats, dark fruit and malt. Decent hop profile and moderate bitterness. Nice oatmeal porter.
Color negro, opaca. Espuma beige de casi dos dedos de espesor y buena retención. Aroma medio recién servida que pasa a escaso rápidamente, maltas tostadas, ligero café, caramelo levemente quemado, regaliz y notas de ceniza. Sabor medio, maltas tostadas, caramelo quemado, café, regaliz, madera quemada, final medio de amargor tostado, entre herbal y cafetoso, alcohol bien integrado. Textura semioleosa. Carbonatación baja.
Flaska. Mörkt brun med ett beige skum. Dofter av kaffe, rostad malt, kavring och karamell. Smakinslag av mörk choklad, kaffe, lakrits, mörkt bröd, karamell och mörka bär. Oljig munkänsla. Välkomponerad.
Taken on a nice Canada Day afternoon after a nice lunch on the patio, after finishing my bottle from the previous day, which is maybe why I wasn’t too impressed by this one. A nice oatmeal stout, rich and wholesome.
Bottle. Deep black, somewhat red, with brownish head. The aroma has notes of dark bread, some roastiness, dark chocolate, coffee, licorice. The flavor is mild sweet and very bitter with notes of dark bread, coffee, burned, earthy, dark chocolate. Full-bodied.