Orkney Dark Island Reserve

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Barley Wine
Stromness, Scotland

Serve in Snifter

750ml bottle, thanks to Stuart. Pours chestnut with a creme head. The nose has malt,figs and whisky. The taste has something tangy orange at the start then bitter chocolate. The palate has a full body, a tangy and rich middle section and quite a relatively elegant finish given the alcohol. Overall, a really interesting beer that would work well with a rich pudding.

750 ml bottle at the Gallows Bird XV Real Ale Festival, Espoo, Finland.
Pitch black colour with tiny tan head. Sweet sugary and woody aroma with rich alcohol notes, slightly toasted malt and vinous elements. Strong maltiness, sugary sweetness, wood and portwine in flavour. Rich and complex enough. Good one but I guess it’s not worth 44 euros we paid for it.

Bottle from The Scottish Real Ale Shop. Strong sour grassy alcohol malt aroma. Almost black colour, big yellowish tan head. Sour grassy whiskey malt flavour, rich & smooth. Not my sort of beer.

75cl (Bottled on 15th June 2011), exclusive Scottish brew, from Bierzwerg Greven, complex brew, roasted/woody and slightly alcoholic/spicy, not too heavy, balanced, cloudy, small head, very good brew, yet expensive!

Pours dark brown with a hint of red. Aroma is roasted malt, dried fruit and whisky. Flavour is whisky, wood, roasted malt, licorice and dried fruit. Got to love this. Oily texture. Accompanied cranberry pate and red onion cumberland sauce extremely well.

Thought I’d reviewed this at the time, maybe didn’t save. Bottle shared with Reuben (Tale of Ale). Pours a dark brown/black with fluffy head. Plenty of chocolate and vinous fruits on the nose. Smooth on the palate but alcohol quite noticable so harsh at the finish. Nice enough

nice looking bottle, has a very scotchish feel to the labeling and all, and a good amount of info on the beer. this is the 2008 vintage. pours thin with not much head. aroma is decent, lots of dark fruits with a bright whiskey not on top. the flavor is pretty solid, lots of barrel nots, some moderate but very smooth smoke, lots of dark fruits. the mouthfeel is not the best, a little thin and undercarbed, with a slightly sharp alcohol bite to the end of it. all and all not a bad beer, but not my cup of tea. i’m guessing this is past its prime and its much better to drink fresher.

Bottle shared at the 6th annual Richmond Industry Gathering, 11/27/11. 2008 vintage. Pours a dark brown color with lots of visible carbonation but not much of a head. Aroma of roasted malts, smoke, peat, earthy notes and chocolate. The taste is roasted malts, chocolate, smoke, earthy notes and bitter hops. Full bodied.