Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Engineer's Reserve
The intensely flavoured but incredibly smooth Engineer’s Reserve is our fabulous Old Engine Oil brewed up to 9% ABV. Three hop varieties - grassy Fuggles, spicy East Kent Goldings and fruity Galena - are combined with roast barley providing a slightly burnt, toasted coffee character. Enjoy a bottle after dinner and take time to savour the earthy, hop fruity flavours of this spectacularly dark, rich beer.
3.8
363 reviews
Alva, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Community reviews
Kolor bardzo ciemno brązowy, w kieliszku wygląda po prostu na czarny, bez prześwitów. Piana wysoka, brązowa, o średnio długim czasie redukcji. Tłuste, spienione nacieki ładnie oblepiają szkło, krążkując po każdym łyku.
Aromat silnie palony, kojarzący się ze zbyt mocno paloną kawą z wyraźną nutą wędzoną, a może nawet torfową. Akcenty kawowe choć sprawiają wrażenie przypalonych są w odczuciu nawet słodkie. Już po lekkim ogrzaniu aromat piwa nabiera cech słodkiego likieru kawowego i tak jest już do końca.
Smak podobnie jak aromat jest mocno kawowy, intensywnie palony. Mimo iż na ustach pojawia się słodki, lepki film to piwo jest raczej zdominowane przez kawową goryczkę. Ta pozostaje dość długo w aftertaste podobnie jak kawa ze swoją palonością.
9,0% alkoholu zostało idealnie ukryte, przez co piwo stało się bardzo zdradzieckie, pije się je z niezwykłą łatwością. Wysycenie średnie, pasuje. Pełnia, treściwość z wysokiej do średniej. Goryczka i kawowa paloność nadają temu płynowi cech lekko szorstkich.
Refrigerated small format brown bottle poured into a snifter. Black with small light brown head. Aroma is chocolate, medium body, medium/lighter carbonation, and some lacing. Taste is chocolate, roasted malt, and wood.
Sampled at Churchkey's FiftyFifty event, pours an oily black with some tan head. Malty nose, raisins, olive too, molasses. Flavor has rubber and olives, molasses, dried currant maybe. Thin finish.
Backlog, bottle that pours a midnight black with a smaller tan head. Full bodied and lighter to medium carbonation. Notes of smoked wood, toffee, ash, chocolate, spices, grass, and booze. Some off metal or soy as it warms up. Maybe too old even for a style like this. I like the Ola Dubh bottles better.
Bottled. A clear dark brown beer with a medium size beige head. Aroma is malty and roasted. Taste is caramel, burnt sugar and roasted. Some roasted bitterness but very well balanced. Very good beer
1/3 pint (9%) by hand-pump at Larbert CAMRA Ale & Cider Festival, Dobbies Hall, Larbert on 30 Mar 2019: vinous malty aroma, opaque near black, very thin short-lived tan head, very sweet and malty, very easy drinking, smooth, good carbonation.
Gedronken in mei, maar dit is meer een bier voor een lange winteravond bij de open haard. Pas op, door de rijke smaakbeleving merk je de alcohol nauwelijks bij het drinken.
Uiterlijk: Zwart als de nacht en ondoorschijnend. Dat is ook wat je verwacht bij een bier met deze naam. Bruine kraag die snel oplost, maar waarvan de restjes aan het glas blijven kleven.
Aroma: Valt wat tegen. Geen sterk aroma. Wel de verwachte tonen van geroosterde mouten, chocolade en drop.
Smaak: De smaak voldoet helemaal aan de verwachting. Zoethout, laurier, open haard, motorolie (grapje) en een hint van chocolade. Lekker vol en licht stroperig in de mond. Pas na het doorslikken merk je het bittertje. Tja, en dat er 9% alcohol in zit.
Bottle. Chocolate and bit of smoke. Pitch black color with medium sized brown head. Chocolate taste, cocoa and again some smoke. Medium body, bit creamy, bit oily. Alcohol well hidden.
Was a great beer.
Taste, smell, and look was excellent.
......................................................................................................... Nice beer......
This is more like an IPS, but can see how it's a super dark old ale. Lots of chocolate malt in this one...right up my alley! When poured, virtually no head so thought it may be one of those flat-style feels...but has some decent carb to it. Little bit of earthy hop at the end to balance out. Some roasted coffee flavors too. A little pricey, but worth the try.
Bottle from Boise Co-op. Pours out black with a nice brown head, fades to thin coating. Roasty, smoky aroma, woody notes. Taste brings some molasses notes, mild bitterness, ashy. Smooth as can be. Classic.
Excellent nose of toasted malts, barley, bread, caramel. Poured inky black with small ivory head. Taste was a bittersweet story with initial sweetness of caramel and malts fading into a well balanced hop field. Long and bitter finish with anise overtones. Good mouthfeel, not too thick not too thin. This ale got a little "old" at the end... a bit too bitter for my taste in dark ales.
Noire en bouteille de 33 cl avec petite mousse beige. Nez puissant sur les malts rôtis, l'alcool style whisky, les fruits secs, et bien sûr le café et le chocolat noir. Bouche douce, vanillée, ronde, un peu fumée. Les saveurs sont les mêmes que les odeurs révélées au nez avec une prépondérance sur café/chocolat + bois et du piment. Petite carbo et moyenne amertume. "Old ale" ou "Imperial stout" mais en tout cas fameux.
En reprenant mes notes de ma dégustation de l'Old Engine Oil, j'ai été relativement surpris des différences avec cette Engineer's Reserve. Et si cette dernière a l'avantage de ne pas posséder ces arômes de fumé que je trouvais trop présent sur la version de base et d'avoir une présence en bouche intéressante, elle pêche par un final absent et par une complexité que j'attendais au-dessus. Bref, nous sommes sur un match nul! En verre, le noir est total avec une absence de mousse. Le nez est franc, sur le café, le chocolat et une légère pointe de fumé. Appréciable pour le genre. L’attaque va piano côté intensité, mais sur un bel équilibre entre malt et amertume sur des arômes de café, de chocolat, d'épices (piment, un peu trop présent). L'arrière relativement linéaire, monte d'intensité et de présence pour envelopper tout le palis de façon durable. Les épices sont de plus un peu moins présentes. L'arrière sur un duo amertume/café légèrement épicé est très appréciable et donne un peu de contraste à l'ensemble. Le final par contre laisse sur sa soi, retombant très vite, majoritairement sur des arômes de chocolat. Heureusement que la présence de la seconde bouche est telle qu'elle continue à agir...cela sauve l'ensemble. Davantage de variations auraient tout de même était appréciable, mais cela saura contenter une large part d'entre nous.
(~choco, pâte-à-modeler, ni épaisse ni visqueuse (h2o), la non-engineer fait mieux avec 6%, 0-bulles)
Leje się jak nomen omen olej silnikowy, super gęste. W smaku gigantyczna wytrawność. Bardzo kawowe. Super piwo. Alkohol niewyczuwalny,
Bottle from Great Grog. Black body with a medium beige head. Faint lacing. Aroma of nuts, biltong and barbecue sauce. Flavour of flat Coca-Cola, charred wood and meaty malts. Medium body with a slick mouthfeel. Soft fizz. Rich and delicious. Old Engine Oil is good enough to merit various different versions, as has been done with Speedway Stout.
Pours in black colour with small brownish head. Aroma of very dark chocolate, coffee. Medium sweet, low bitterness, no sourness. Full body, very thick feel, long lasting bittery chocolate aftertaste
From a 330ml bottle on 4/6/2018. Pours a deep brown with not much of head. The aroma features roasted malt, caramel and some soy. The flavour is super bold - sweet caramel and some chocolate and a hint of coffee, which is smashed by a huge, tongue coating, roasty, burnt bitterness, layered with licorice. Quite light bodied for such a big beer and moderately carbonated. In your face, but the kind of in your face you want. There's a touch of Mikkeller Black about it. A very nice, complex fireside sipper.
Pitch black, small espresso head. Dark fruit, a bit of candy in aroma. Full body, sweet, lightly roasted. More bitterness in the end along with light smoky flavor. Good balance, great beer
Exelente cerveza.
Aroma; moradado cacao, leve pan tostado,cherry, tabaco masapan
Flavor, moderado chocolate, cafe leve masapan, toffee, cherry , pasas, ciruelas.
Baja retencion de espuma, baja carbonatacion. Color negro.
Leve calentamiento en boca producto de sus 9% altisima tomabilidad.
(Bottle) Black colour with brief, frothy, beige head. Malty, roasted nose with milky chocolate, dried fruit, prunes, black rye bread, coffee, liquorice, toffee and cacao. Malty, roasted taste with notes of dark chocolate, creamy coffee, black rye bread, liquorice, toffee, some orange peel, blueberries and a mild cacao bitterness in the finish. More than full body, fairly sweet. Smooth and velvety mouthfeel. Really tasty and exceptionally well balanced, dangerously drinkable for the 9% abv. Very nice.
Aroma is quite roasty with chocolate, perhaps coffee, some alcohol. Color is black, opaque, with a 1/2 inch tan head that relatively quickly becomes a ring and very thin cap. Exceedingly thick and rich feel and taste. Texture is viscous, maybe SAE 40! Roasted grain, chocolate taste mirrors the aroma; initially sweet, but transitioning to a slightly bitter middle and finish. No alcohol taste or burn. The aftertaste is sweet chocolate balanced by a satisfying bitterness.
Pours black, with a medium beige head and some lacing, Aroma of roasted malts. cocoa and coffee. Tastes of sweet malts, slick mouthfeel, with caramel, chocolate, coffee and dark fruits. Medium-light body, nice mouthfeel, long lingering finish. Very good ale.
Bottle from a trade. Many thanks! Black colour, dark brown foam. Nose of roasted malts, toast, coffee, light caramel flavours, some fruitiness. Well balanced, roasty and notes of cocoa. Nice beer!
Bottle, 330 ml, from Pivoljub. Pours dark brown, medium beige head. Roasted, malty, lots of chocolate, sweet, some fruity notes, some caramel, bitterness in finish. Medium bodied.
Bottle at Maruho, six months till expiration, not sure when bottled. Pours an oil black, no head, cola highlights. Aroma is rich and roasty malts, dark chocolate, savory. Flavour of cacao, molasses, dark fruits, perhaps prune or date lurking, really rich and delicious as it warms. Has a syrupy viscosity in the feel, nice second half carbonation to carry it over the palate. An older bottle, perhaps the booze had smoothed out a bit, this was very balanced and showed some good depth in flavour.
Bottled 330ml. -from Pivoljub Ljubljana. Pitch black coloured, medium sized brown head, chocolate in the nose. Roasted malt, dark chocolate, licorice, notes of wood and dried fruits with subdued hop presence. Rather dry roasty finish. Very good one.
Cask at The White Horse Old Ale Festival, Parson's Green in Nov 2017 - Pitch black in colour. Good foamy tan head. Malty; heavily malted, roasty malts, liquorice, dark chocolate, sugar, coffee notes. Fruity; dark fruits, plums, raisins. Spicy; peppery. Full bodied. Great depth of flavour. Sweet roast liquorice and chocolate malty and dark fruity spicy throughout. Very enjoyable. Lovely stuff. (2017-11)