This is the episode we’ve all been waiting for! One of the most polarizing beers of our time. People love this or they hate it. Watch and find out what I think and why.

Back in the day, my dear old dad owned a car repair shop.  This was before the days of environmental consciousness, so Dad used to get rid of old engine oil by pouring it down the nearest storm drain.  Times surely have changed, as I have found the best way to get rid of old engine oil is to pour it down my throat, especially if it’s Harviestouns Brewery’s Old Engine Oil Black Ale.

Old Engine Oil comes in a brown bottle with a handsome ivory, black and silver label.  The bottlecap features Harviestoun’s mascot, a mouse that looks like it has mischief in mind – he’s devilishly cute. There’s 330 ml (11.2 oz for those of us still in the non-metric dark ages) of Engine Oil in said bottle, at 6% ABV.

When I poured out the brew, it was really dark and — well, gloopy. I thought this was sort of a stupid way to describe the stuff, until I looked on the back label and saw the brewery used the same word, too!    At any rate, the beer is syrupy and black and Harviestoun isn’t kidding with the “black” ale label!  This stuff is like an alcoholic black hole- no light passes through this drink.  Not as handsome visually as some other beers I’ve seen but it’s not ugly either. All that black was a bit intimidating and I started to wonder how the ale would taste. Hopefully, not like used 10W-40.

The head on the beer was coffee-colored and very tall and frothy, with lots of bubbles of various sizes in it. It held well and it left behind a pretty ring of lacing. At the start, the carbonation was pretty frisky but settled down fairly rapidly.

I noticed that the bouquet was very noticeable even beyond the glass.  It reminded me of how my kitchen smells when I am proofing yeast prior to baking bread  but as the glass sat, I began to detect notes of roast malts and dark-roasted coffee and chocolate.

First taste – COFFEE.  Good coffee, too! Complex, carefully roasted and brewed coffee. Mouthfeel was slick, but not overly oily. I would describe the quaff as silky. While the mouthfeel was not creamy or thick,  Old Engine definitely posseses richness.  There were tastes of  dark toasted malt.  Almost near the end, the beer was bitter, but appropriately and refreshingly so.  Finally, there was a subtly sweet oatmeal finish on the sides of the mouth.  The beer is a tad sticky on the lips, but it’s a nice sticky, not a sickly, sugary one.

The biggest surprise to me was how well this beer was balanced. There’s a lot of heavy things going on, but the beer is crafted with a good spine, giving it the posture to support all the other components. Definitely more drinkable than I had assumed it would be.

The beer is advertised as an ideal “post-prandial drink” (that means after meal, for those of you preferring less high-falootin’ language), and I wholeheartedly agree that it would be great finish to a meal, just like a good cup of coffee is a nice way to finish out dinner. I would also add that this beer would be a great accompaniment to the meal itself and I’m thinking  sausages or perhaps venison (as a burger). I would suggest a black bean casserole dish or maybe a black bean burger on a dark rye bun as a vegetarian option.

So instead of pouring old engine oil down the drain, try pouring one out and enjoying a glass of Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Black Ale.

PS – I’ve been back in the US for a month now, and this is my first review after being on hiatus for some time. It’s good to be back. Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts on Old Engine Oil!

Kampai!

cur·mud·geon Pronunciation: \kər-ˈmə-jən\ Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1568 1. archaic : miser2: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man.

This Curmudgeon may as well be Poseidon himself because this potent brew brings the full wrath of the seven seas in each and every sip. It starts with a powerful, malty smell that reminds me of 10 year old Balvenie with a hint of strong sea air. Some say bourbon, but it might depend on which you drink. It pours a deep, translucent red with nearly no head. The first taste was an eye opener. Again, I got a taste that reminded me of a salty-sweet, seaworthy, scotch with a stern, burning in the back of my throat. At 9.3% ABV it is no wonder. There is a sweet, dried date flavor that is delicious. This is a scotch drinker’s ale and a good one at that. This is serious ale for serious drinkers. Check out our video review of Founder’s Old Curmudgeon Ale.

This brew is produced by a brewery located in Nyköping; Nils Oscar. When it all started, some years ago, they had their brewery just a block away from my house. Well, they have expanded and now they also make vodka. The old brewery got to small for their rapidly expanding business, they had to move to a new location. They merged with another brewery located by Nyköping. So, Stockholm, lost a fine brewery – but, what they produce is very drinkable. It is not the entire story, but I’ll save that for another time.

The beer I have reviewed got a good reception at the Stockholm Beer & Whisky festival 2006, it was praised as the best Swedish beer on bottle that year.

Three different malts has gone into to this ale; pilsner-, Munchner- and caramel. They used the American Amarillo hops for pungecy.  All together this should give “broad” taste, we’ll see.

Opening the bottle and pouring into the glass renders some good froth. It start dissolving after a while, a rather short lifespan though. Sniffing it indicates a typical ale, some hops and maybe a weak tone of sweets, almost candy. The color is amber and clear.

Taste: there is some bitterness from the hops, some maltiness, some undefined fruit – nice and agreable, but a little too weak for my palate (*). Aftertaste is a bit short, but overall the taste has a refreshing quality. It is a very nice ale, but I find it goes best together with a meal. Not really on its own, in my opnion, but definitely with something edible to accompany it. Why not something spicy and pungent, some nice Indian stews with chutney, or ..?.

Skål! (Sw: cheers!)

* Upcoming review on something I really really like!

Breakfast. The most important meal of the day and almost nothing beats a proper English breakfast. I once stayed at the Bell hotel in Sandwich Kent UK. It was a quaint, old hotel oozing with character and boasting a breakfast unlike any I had ever experienced, exceeded in brilliance only by the famous buffet at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua. This breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, toast with jam, fried tomato, mushrooms, black pudding, sausage (that’s right, 2 kinds of sausage) and pot of Earl Grey Tea.

This is the sort of stick-to-your-ribs breakfast is what gets the Brits to 10:00 AM tea and cake. I could get used to that. I could also see myself adding Founder’s Breakfast Stout to my regular rotation. Crack this English-styled brew and put your snout down in it. Take a deep snort and allow yourself to be overtaken by a nutty, coffee-chocolate, slightly smoky aroma that you can nearly taste. It pours like motor oil and has a gorgeous head that you could float a penny on. It has a deep, rich flavor and is a lot more viscous than it looks. It is complex, as a stout should be. The beer is pitch black with red hues and a thick head that seems to emit an aroma that draws you into the experience. If you drink more than one in a session, you might pay for it later. This is a sipping brew, an indulgence. There is a touch of carbonation for amusement, but overall I am in amazement.

我尝试将中文。This is the Chinese New Year of the Ox episode of Belching Monkey. Not only did I review a Chinese beer, I attempt to do the show in Chinese. Subtitles are available for the people who do not speak Chinese. The featured track is “Superstar” by Chinese super girl group, S.H.E.

An under the weather Belching Monkey tries a borderline soda in Founder’s Rubaeus Ale. We also have some footage from our visit to the Portsmouth Brewery in New Hampshire. This is a must-visit destination for beer fans everywhere. The beer is delicious, the place is beautiful inside. There is plenty of natural sunlight in the day, the pain is bright and creates a great atmosphere for enjoying a few beers with some friends. Try the mussels! They are plump, juicy and melt-in-your-mouth. We did not have one dirty mussel. Not sure how they accomplished that. GFN pulls off his impersonation of Gregory Ng’s impersonation of Belching Monkey and the featured track is “Just Drums” by the great Minneaopolis band, Tapes N’ Tapes. Belching Monkey has tickets to the concert at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Let us know if you will be there.