Orkney Dark Island (Bottle)

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

Pours mahogany-tinged black into an English pint. Mocha head with good retention leaves spotted sheets as it recedes to coat surface. Earth, soy and pit fruit aromas. Sweet smoke upfront with a dry cocoa finish.

Bottle sampled. Pours a dark brown with a 1 finger tan head. Aroma of toffee, roasted malts, smoke and a hint of chocolate. Flavor is rich and smooth with caramel malts, smoke and some spice notes. A very good old ale

bottle, pours dark brown, medium tan head. Dark fruity nose with fig and a sweet carmel note. Dark malt, cocoa powder, and a spicy yeast finish. Low to moderate carbonation, the mouth stays creamy throughout. Interesting and delicious, I would love to try this on cask.

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.

Sampled during Cellar’s Wednesday beer tasting evening. Pours a semi-clear dark reddish amber brew with a thin off-white head that quickly dissipates to a fine film and off-white ring. Aroma of smoky roasted dark caramel malt, some flowery hops and a touch of peat. Taste is medium bodied, with flavors of roasted caramel malt, some smoked wood, plenty of peat character and a touch of yeast. Finish is semi-dry with a lingering smoky peat aftertaste that easy to remember. Not quite a rauchbier, but pretty decent and solid beer.

500. Pours opaque black with a towering, thick, moussy, tan head that leaves sheets of sticky, sudsy lace. Fairly restrained nose for such an attention whore of a head--some dark fruit and a bit of sweat, faint floral notes there as well. Sweet and creamy body, veyr mild--low carbonation, body’s thin enough to be clean-drinking despite the creaminess. Much too little going on in the mid-palate flavors and in the finish for this to be exceptional, but it’s tasty enough and definitely more than just drinkable--the palate’s incredible with its smooth creaminess layered in against such clean drinkability. Really great stuff in some ways.

500 ml bottle at Haket in Gothenburg, Sweden. Pours beautifully, with the big head falling out in the liquid at first. Still it leaves a massive beige head, creamy at the top and filled with tiny bubbles underneath. Dark red color, clear. Burnt and quite a bit of smoke in the scent. Fairly low bitterness. Fresh mouthfeel, but not much taste at first, clear chocolate and a bit of coffee in the aftertaste though.

Bottle. Roasty, slightly burned taste but quite lowkey flavour. It pours as dark brown with a minimal head. A medium sourness, long finish.