Days of the Beer, September 14

The beer for today is Harviestoun Old Engine Oil.

On September 14, 1960, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded.

Venezuela was the country that first wanted to establish OPEC. They got together with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad, to try to find ways to increase the price of crude oil.

Currently, Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Venezuela are members of OPEC.

OPEC's objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.

They regulate how much each member nation can/is supposed to produce each day. (One of the reasons that Iraq invaded Kuwait prior to Desert Storm was because they were exceeding their quota).

As to the beer:

An unusual name for an unusual beer. Strong and dark but wickedly, wickedly smooth. Chocolate dominates the flavour, which is nicely balanced by the bitterness of the hops. A delicious "after dinner" beer which leaves a bittersweet aftertaste to savour.

Harviestoun’s original master brewer Ken Brooker spend much of his early life crafting wooden design prototypes for the Ford motor company. This black, viscous beer reminded Ken of thick, gloopy car engine oil, so he named it in honour of his second love, the internal combustion engine.
The goss…

Henry Ford once remarked; “People can have the Model T in any colour--so long as it's black.” Well the same applies to this uniquely atramentous after-dinner ale.

This beer isn't found in too many bars around town (I don't know of any). It is available at Friar Tucks and at the Corkscrew. The Ola Dubh varieties are making their way around town and one will be at Crane Alley shortly.