Orkney Dark Island (Bottle)

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & biegaman -- courtesy of GregClow. Pours a murky ruby-brown with an average size tan head. Nice aroma of roasty caramel malt, chocolate, nuts and some smoke. Lightly roasted flavour of caramel malt with smoke and spices. Nice medium body. Very good as is, it must be awesome on cask.

Bottle shared with biegaman, blankboy, tupalev & HogTownHarry - my bottle, from Bello Vino in Ann Arbor. Dark ruby-brown with a small beige head. Aroma is fantastic - roasty, peaty, smoky, nutty - mmmmmm! Body is light and soft. Flavour is well-rounded, with mellow malts, some smoke and spice notes, and a quick, dryish finish. Quite nice - I would love to try the cask version someday.

Bottle (500ml). Shared with biegaman, blankboy and GregClow, GregClow’s bottle. Poured deep clear mahogany with a small off-white head. Dry, roasty, peaty aroma - rich, nutty, drop hops, faint fruit in the background. Taste - light, medium roast, fruity and quick off the palate - sweet, mildly spicy, almost a scotch ale. Decent body, creamy, no linger - really nice!

500ml bottle bought at Utobeer in London. Dark copper body - almost black. Attractive bottle design. Solid dose of tan coloured foam. Peaty aroma of malty sweetness. Roasted and dark flavour of coffee, malts, and grain. A bit cocoa impression. Medium palate. A pleasure drinking a beer like this (18.09.2006).

Sweet malt with atouch of roasted caramel and toffee. Flavors are clean caramel, leather and cocoa. Clean and easy drinking brew.

Bottled. picked up at SH Jones Bicester 28-09-06. Almost black in colour with an absolutely wonderful chocolatey aroma. Taste was a bit sweet, thin, and carried through none of the promise of the aroma some roasted notes but all in all a touch disappointing.

Bottled - A black coloured beer witha thin off-white head. The aroma has a little chocoalte and is a touch sweet and lactic. The taste is also sweet with milky charcteristics. No real roasty qualitles butr seems a bit sweet stoutesque. Not as good as, or with the depth of the cask version when it is on form.

Pretty average stuff. Reddish black with almost no head, leaving almost no lacing. Relatively thin and uninteresting. Dark malts with more of a sour than a bitter finish.