Orkney Dark Island (Bottle)

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

1pt 0.9oz bottle. Pours a brown so dark it is nearly black. Medium off white head which quickly dissipates. Strong aroma of caramel malts with coffee and chocolate notes. Considering the dark color and strong aroma, the beer is surprisingly light and crisp. Toasted coffee and a hint of chocolate with a sweet finish. A delicious beer, although lighter on flavor than the back of the bottle claims.

Pours near black with reddish hues and a mostly receding off-white head. Aroma of peat, chocolate, toffee, and earthy loam. Tastes of peat, light smoke, plums and toffee. Medium bodied with soft, spritzy carbonation.

Dark amber with a nice lasting white head. Sweet aroma with malt and caramel. Taste has some liquorice and is quite sweet. Toasty finish.

Dark brown pour with a half-inch beige head. Aroma and taste of smokey peat and dark malts. Not overly sweet, mostly dry fruit and dry hops. Eh. Ok, I guess. Probably would not buy again.

Bottle from Morrisons. Deep mahogany colour, a chocolatey, smokey aroma, and a malty, toffeeish, smokey, whiskeyish palate.

Pours a dark chocolate with a coca cola head, nose is a dark cherry chocolate gateaux with a hint of coffee. Very smooth palate full of light chocolate, coffee and dark fruit balanced with a nice dryness in the finish, great beer for it’s strength!

Bottle courtesy of daknole. Pours dark brown with a thin tan head. Smells of vanilla, dark fruit, some sweet malt, a touch of spice. Tastes sweet and mildly peaty with a touch of spiciness. Some peppery splashes as the beer warms. Full Mouthfeel. Excellent.

This beer pours thin almost black with an active short lived tan head. The aroma is of a merlot with some whiskey. Feel is thin. Flavor is complex and interesting. There is wood, wine, coffee, earth, smoke, vanilla, and chocolate. Warmer temperature brought the smoke and chocolate out even more. Very tasty.