Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

Every once in a while, you get a surprise when on the hunt for bizarre liquor to try. I found this gem at the LCBO and immediately thought it would be another horrific nightmare for my tastebuds. First of all, it is brewed in Scotland where they deep-fry or pour a pound of sugar into everything they consume. Along with that, the words "Viscous - Chocolatey - Bitter" stood out like an al Queda operative in Sudbury. While I have seen chocolate and bitter used to describe several decent beers I have tried, I can't say I have ever seen the word viscous used in an alocohol marketing campaign. Undaunted, I paid for it and took it over to Brian's to see what he and Michelle thought of it.

Brian had as many reservations as me when he put the bottle in the fridge, and made a comment to Michelle about possibly dying as a result of drinking its contents. We let the bottle chill, then set out some glasses for the tasting. I cracked open the bottle and started pouring it into the glasses. I kid you not, this stuff looks exactly like what it is called. I have changed the oil in enough crankcases in my time to know when oil is past it's prime, and this beer looked exactly like it had been sitting in the engine of an old Gremlin since '78. Neither Brian nor Michelle looked impressed by this, and as I passed out the samples their expressions probably resembled those of the People's Temple members before drinking the poisonous kool-aid in Jonestown. Glancing at each other with a silent 'salut', we raised our glasses half-expecting this to be the most vile liquor reviewed yet. However, we were all pleasantly surprised to find this to be very inoffensive and actually a decent dark ale. It was viscous and somewhat chocolatety, but not too bitter at all. Fans of porter and stout should definately give this one a try. It was definately a decent dark beer for a cold winter's night.... even if it does look exactly like crankcase oil out of an old engine.