Orkney Dark Island (Bottle)

pours opaque with a ruby tint, small khaki head, good lacing.
smell of malt, touch of citrus, cocoa, roastiness.
taste is tart, dark chocolate, sour malt, some licorice, some vanilla, touch of woodiness.

50 cL bottle. Pours dark brown with a golen amber glare and a light tan head. Light dark fruity aroma and mild malty aroma. Flavour is roasted mild and mild smoked. Smooth and roasted acidic at once. A bit thin bodied. Light smoked note into the finish.

Taste 7/8 Bottle (Best by 1/9). Looks: Black purple with mild lace. Smell: Sweet, grape, sticky, grain, Choc and espresso. Taste: Thin to medium bodied. Espresso, roast, grape, floral. Mild hops spice. A little earthy. Good.

Bottle, Tesco, Helensburgh. Poured a very deep dark brown with a tan head Aroma of roasty malt, nuts, hop, cinnamon, fig. Flavour was nutty, dark chocolate and malty with a great toasty coffee, and brown sugar finish. Really well balanced. Not quite up to the cask version but still good.

500ml bottle. Dark brown with little head. Smooth on the tongue but a little thin. I put "as described on bottle" for flavour and aroma, but I’ve chucked the bottle! Notes say it needs a bit more character and it certainly wasn’t outstanding.

Appearance: Very dark brown. Nice head, not longlasting. Aroma: Fruity. Blackcurrant. Malt. Taste: Pretty malty. Burnt. Fruity. Info: 500ml bottle, 19/4-2006, 104/300

This is the fifth beer in our June 11th Old Ale Blind Tasting. It finished in 9th place.

Pours dark brown with lasting mocha head. The aroma has a nice smoke component but the rest of it is tough to pin down. I get licorice and caramel mixed together with faint maple smoke house bacon. The taste enters kind of thin with some faint smoke followed by mild notes of wood, malty sweetness, caramel, a decent level of dark fruity esters and some earthy tasting licorice. Sessionable smooth and light for the style.

Bottle courtesy Ibrew2or3. Pours dark brown with a one finger tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma is slightly smokey with a hint of caramel and chocolate. Taste is the same as aroma. Thin mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness. Decent.