Orkney Dark Island (Bottle)

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Old Ale
Stromness, Orkney, Highlands & Islands, Scotland

Bottled,A nice pint,creamy,malty and rich.Dark and easy going,a good starter.

Almost black dark brown with ruby notes. Pours with a healthy beige head that leaves a tiny bit of one and some nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is of chocolate covered raisins. A mocha-coffee bitterness stuck out at first sip but became a minor player as the glass went on. Malty with a hint of toffee in the background. Flavour is creamy but diluted velvet that combines with the flavour to make me think watery stout more than Scottish Ale. Thanks very much to IPFreely for picking this one up for me.

Bottled: Dark ruby coloured. Light brown head with medium lasting. Quite impressive looks. Has a rather full aroma. Malt, and some faint smoke characters in the nose is what comes to my mind. Smoke accents, malt, some faint hops, and a bit of chocolate in the flavour. Has a smooth bitterness in the end. Find this beer complex and interesting

I must say this is one of the most beautiful beer bottle/label i have seen..very good lookin 500ml brown bottle with ancisnt standing stones in the sunset on the label. This beer is beautiful as the bottle deep slightly murky brown with a massive creamy head..wonderful. Smell is ok but not exceptional some maltiness. the taste is great so smooth yet very complex..veery malty ..smoky even..great. Very smooth on the tongue not much carbonation.. For me a very very drinkable beer.. i will be buying this again guaranteed.

Light, almost toasted aroma with a beautiful tan head. Dark brown body that starts off lightly sweet and finishes similarly. Very light tasting for such a dark brew. Nicely crisp.

Very, very dark brown, light barely makes it through. Nice lasting head. Aroma a bit roasty and a touch of smoke. Flavor is also roasty, a bit surprising for the style. Touch of smoke, even a bit of roast beef. Lighter bodied than expected. Easy drinker. NOTE: Sampled again on 11/24/07 for BJCP training session. Noted a lot of peaty flavors this time around as opposed to smoke. Rating remains the same.

Dark amber-brown with a big, dense tan head. Malty aroma with hints of smoke. Tasty malty roast aroma with a very subtle hop background. Body is just right for style. This is a "Scottish" not a "Scotch" ale. Think a pale ale but darker and maltier. Very good version of the style.

Label looks like a cheap bottle of rum. Bit of a phenolic aroma with a bit of band-aid thrown in. Nice dark black appearance with a mocha colored head and decent lacing - one of the redeeming qualities of this one. Has bit of a smoky, bitter quality to it that just does not sit right. Not as malty as a Scottish Ale should be - a bit watery. A bit astringent as well. Overall, not one of the better Scottish Ales I have had.