Dubbed Black Oil by its good friends, this is a joy. Harviestoun’s already delicious Old Englne Oil Porter is aged in Highland Park 12 Year Old casks, a sojourn which adds numerous layers of complexity.

Rich and dark, with plenty of dark chocolate, coffee bean and fig flavours, a subtle smokiness and a dark sweetness, this goes excellently with all manners of dark chocolate – plain, dark chocolate, chocolate ganache, chilli chocolate – I can’t wait to try with some salted chocolate.

But don’t overlook dishes with the umami factor – beef bourguignon, mushroom risotto, anything with a whiff or morels or truffles. Or decadently sip on its own.

Sheer magic in a bottle, this year they went one step further and collaborated with Edinburgh-based The Chocolate Tree to make Ola Dubh Eggs. I was lucky enough to win some, so I’ll report back there…

8%, from £4-6; 
Ales by Mail, slurp.co.uk, 
harviestoun.com, 
beersofeurope.co.uk, 
BeerHawk.co.uk, 
Beerritz.co.uk