Isle of Skye Black Cuillin

Brewed by Isle of Skye
Style: Porter
Portree, Scotland

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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A nice, somewhat thin dunkel. A typical Scottish Ale that I could definitely drink a few of. Tad bit of roast, but little hops.

4th Beer in a random British Tasting Evening on 8th Jan 2011. The 500ml brown bottle was poured into an ’Abbot Ale’ glass tankard. Dark red, ruby, ruby, ruby red! The off white head fell away to a collar and wispy covering too fast, sadly. Roasted Barley aroma, couldn’t find Heather Honey or Oats in the smell, both are mentioned on the label as being in the brew. It smells sweeter than it tastes. Mellow malty flavours flow through the mouth and this easy to drink beer covers a host of styles, toying with Stout, Porters and Winter Warmers with a Scottish dark bitter/ale feel. Smooth and rich, a fine beer. Different and very drinkable.

Sorry for the german rating, but this is a lousy rating from my "newbie" time (2007-2009), and it’s not worth of being translated. I just added it for the statistics, and to complete my backlog!
Im Glas steht ein tiefbraunes, nahezu schwarzer Porter mit grob seifiger Krone, die sehr schnell verfällt. Der Geruch ist kaffeebitter schokoladig, sehr lakritzig und beerig. Der Antrunk erfolgt röstig malzig, dezent bitter, karamellig, viel Lakritz kommt durch, zudem ein leichter Honiganflug. Hier weiss man gar nicht, was man alles schmeckt, bzw was noch alles kommt. Mit jedem Schluck erfährt man neue Nuancen! Ein wahres Aromenspektakel! In der Mitte kommt noch etwas Toffee und Vanille hinzu, und es wird im gesamten Verlauf nicht schwächer. Ein wahnsinnig gutes, fast perfektes Bier!!!

Cask by handpump at Hengler’s Circus, Glasgow (1 Feb 12) - sweetish malt aroma, dark brown, thick creamy head, fruity sweetness with chocolate notes, smooth overall

First tasted this in Coanes, Johnstone in May 1996. Cask, handpump dispense. Dull black in colour with ruby highlights and a thick creamy off white head. Strong seductive aroma of treacle fudge long in intensity. Thick creamy mouthfeel and good lacing. Dark malt complex gives a rich malt loaf base with bitter chocolate, roast coffee and sweet treacle toffee present although no fruit flavours evident. Slight prickle of dusty hop resins give a very brief aftertaste which fades fast. Finish is malty with dry vinous cask notes and a warming mead like afterglow - full in the mouth. A fantastic porter and my favourite beer in the Isle of Skye portfolio. Highly recommended but really hard to find in Strathclyde.

Bottled. Very dark in colour with a thin, rapidly vanishing head despite fairly lively carbonation(at first glance, could be Coca Cola). Aromas are sweet, roasted malt, burnt sugar and a hint of liquorice. Tastes are predominantly sweet, with the burnt malt continuing through leaving a chocolatey aftertaste. Light in body and with little hop bitterness, this could almost be a mild and with modest alcohol content, a beer for a worl night.

Pours black with small beige head. Light aroma of milk chocolate and coffee. Light sharp roasty flavor, thin body, not a very good porter

50cl bottle, thanks to Lewis. Pours dark chestnut with a thin white head. The nose has coffee and hazelnut. The taste has burnt malt, heading into dry liquorice, then more burnt malt. The palate has medium body and texture with a burnt malt drying finish. Overall, this is not bad, but I’d rather have a fresher finish.

Black in colour with an off white head. Aroma of roasted malt and hint of coffee. Nice. Toffee malt flavour. Nice beer.

500ml bottle. Pours dark caramel with a medium head. Aroma is chocolate and a few sour notes. Taste has faint chocolate to start. Some grass in the finish. A bit boring.

[cask at SRAF’11] Ruby reddish/brown pour, not much of a head. Sour, sharp malty aromas. Quite harsh on the taste, the sweet malt is overtaken by a bitter metallic edge that finishes sour and quite smoky. Not sure this was at it’s best, and one for a re-rate in future [16062011]