Special Release at The Happy Gnome
Eric and I stopped in at the Happy Gnome tonight for a sampling of two special beers, the Harviestoun Ola Dubh and one from my new favorite Wisconsin brewery, the Tyranena Devil Over A Barrel.
The Tyranena is a special version of the Devil Made Me Do It, part of their Brewers Gone Wild series, but 60% of it is aged in bourbon barrels. The beer is an Imperial Oatmeal Porter, brewed with coffee beans. If only I could substitute this for my morning coffee and breakfast.
“Ola Dubh (or ‘Black Oil’) is a collaboration between Harviestoun Brewery and Highland Park, Distiller of the Year*. It is based on Harviestoun’s award-winning Old Engine Oil. With more than a stylistic nod to the classic Imperial Porters (and Stouts) of the nineteenth century, this deliciously rich, dark, 8% a.b.v. beer is the first ale to be aged in malt whisky casks from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, the first with genuine provenance.”
The Ola Dubh was outstanding, much smoother than I expected it to be, but at $9 a glass, we only had one.
For a snack we split the Duck Confit Bruschetta (braised tuscan kale, goat cheese, port wine poached pears) which was unbelievably good.
Actually what we had from Tyranena was the Devil Over A Barrel Imperial Oatmeal Coffee Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels.
That’s what I called it in my post, though I can see how I phrased it is a little confusing. In the opening paragraph, I called it Devil Over a Barrel, and then after that I noted that it’s a variation of the Devil Made Me Do It.