Orkney Dragonhead (Bottle)

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Stout
Stromness, Scotland

Serve in English pint

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A perfect looking beer! Black body with a faint but beautiful dark copper tint. The initial head is large, creamy, brown and very long-lived, and it ends up as a fully lasting layer with additional islands of foam on top, and even more foam along the walls. Excellent lacing. Quite strong roasted aroma with sweet notes of chocolate, coffee and dark fruits. Extraordinary potent aroma for such a low ABV stout! Light sweet taste with a moderate bitter finish. There is something about that bitterness that I don’t find that pleasing. Or maybe it’s the combination of the bitterness and the heavy dry finish that is disturbing? I end up giving more attention to the remarkably dry mouthfeel, the strange bitterness and a slight metallicity than the actual flavours. Speaking of flavours, they are less impressive than the aroma, but still quite pleasant. Roasted, close to burnt notes, with mainly coffee. The chocolate and dark fruits are very faint. A medium body and medium carbonation give a better mouthfeel than many lower ABV stouts (ignoring the massive bitterness and the light metal feel). A good one, but with some flaws.
[50 cl bottle, enjoyed 1 month before BB date, from Jacobs på Holtet, Oslo]

Bottle BBE MAR 13. Nose loaded with chocolate and heavy coffee, very pretty roast tones with mocha slurry and faint hop prickle, some burned black patent-like notes. Dark brown-black with a dark brown head. Thin, watery body is quite dry with lovely roast and coffee flavors, silky smooth (here = flat). Hops are a bit vegetal and green, though, and it might be the American homer in me, but a good PNW would take this to a whole other level. Also don’t like the yeast, and the slight green apple just doesn’t gel.

Not a very good stout, but a nice sessionable beer. Aroma was decent. Roasted malt, coffee and chocolate milk. Pour was a flat dark deep brown with no bubbles or head. Taste was very thin and watery. Strong carbonation drowns out most flavor in the front, but the aftertaste leaves a nice mix of deep roasted malt, chocolate and hints of cleaning products. Not bad for a session beer, but very lacking in the flavor department.

Dark color with a tan head. Very subtle coffee flavor, delicate enough not to distract from the hop taste. Compliments perfectly a chocolate dessert.

Pours a black colour with a nice head. Aroma is burnt malts and coffee. Taste is solid, despite being 4% alcohol. Body is actually substantial enough to make this good drinking. A nice little amount of bitter hoppiness is in there. Roasted malts leave slight aftertaste. An excellent session this beer is.

Dark, rich pour, with a thick, tan head. Very heavy burnt coffee aroma that definitely carries through when you drink it. Smooth, slightly bitter, burnt flavor on the palate. Very nice finish.

Pours out a pitch-black body with a tall tan head. Aroma is of light chocolate with slight roasted malt undertones. Flavor is similar with a chocolate maltiness being dominate with notes of roasted malt and a bitter earthiness in the back. Mouthfeel is light for a stout but otherwise smooth. Good drinkability.

Bottle (50cl) from Centra, Oslo. Small beige head, settling as a bubbly ring with a bit of lacing. Black colour (reddish brown rim). Aroma of roasted malt, licorice, wood, cola and smoked toffee, reminiscent of more ’imperial’ stouts. Medium body, soft carbonation. Well-balanced, fruity/woody and quite dry taste, with a fairly bitter finish. The body ’tapers off’ towards the finish, but still amazingly good at only 4% ABV.

Nearly black beer with a frothy, white head. Nice lacing effect all the way through this beer. Tastes of smoke, peat, roasted grains, lots of malt, and loads of bitter chocolate. Bitter chocolate, and smoke are the dominant flavors. Bitter chocolate finish. Dry, creamy mouth feel. Remarkably smooth, and flavorful. Extremely easy to drink, this beer is delicious. I will definitely get more.

Bottle form Meny, Liertoppen. Pours black with a light brown head. Aroma of roasted malt. Slightly bitter with roasted malt and hints of chocolate.