Islay Ales Reviews

Allistar	2.7 Islay Ales Saligo From Islay local Spar, 440ml can had on Islay Nov 23, a nice Wheat beer. Friday, November 3, 2023
Allistar	3 Islay Ales Lochindaal From local shop at £3.60, 440ml can had away on Islay Oct 23, a nice Hazy IPA. Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Allistar	2.5 Islay Nerabus Ale From local shop on Islay, an ok Red Ale, nothing special. 440ml can £3.60 440ml can. Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Allistar	3.9 Islay Ales Finlaggan IPA From shop on Islay (Brewery closed) a very nice IPA 440ml can. Had on Islay. Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Mortlach	3.1 Islay Ales Finlaggan IPA Wednesday, August 9, 2023
mcberko	2.4 Islay Ales Finlaggan IPA 500mL bottle, pours a clear pale golden blonde with a medium. Nose is full of diacetyl, English hops, and butterscotch. Flavour is full of butterscotch, diacetyl, and subdued bready malt. The diacetyl and butterscotch character ruins this for me. Not good. Saturday, August 20, 2022
Gangstergafje	3.7 Islay Finlaggan Ale 13-05-2022; bottle; bought and drank aboard the ferry towards Islay. The looks of the beer are nice. The beer is crystal clear. The colour seems be a golden yellow. On top a lovely frothy white layer of foam is formed. Foam retention is average. A fine drape and some lacing are left. Looking good. The aroma of the beer also is quite nice. Hops give some nice herbal aromas, with some nice citrus notes, some lychee, some nice piney notes. Malts are biscuity with a slight note of caramel. Yeast gives a nice fruity touch. The taste of the beer also is quite nice. Bitter hops, sweet malts and some slight acidic notes from the citrus hop notes. Well balanced. The mouthfeel of the beer is nice. Medium body, smooth texture and medium carbonation. The finish has a nice hoppy bouquet and something reminding me of strawberry marmalade. Pretty nice! Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Gangstergafje	3.4 Islay Big Strand 13-05-2022; bottle; bought and drank aboard the ferry from Islay. The looks of the beer are nice. It is a golden yellow brew. It is crystal clear. On top there is a nice layer of frothy white foam. Foam retention is average. A nice drape and some lacing are left. Good. The aroma of the beer is nice too. Malts give some grainy aromas with some caramel. Hops are nice and herbal, with some floral notes and a touch of citrus. For a lager quite aromatic. Nice. The taste of the beer also is nice. Bitter hops, sweet malts, some slight fruity sours. The beer is very well balanced. The mouthfeel of the beer also is nice. Medium body, quite a smooth texture and nice medium-high carbonation. The finish is the beer is nice and has quite a nice fruity and zesty hop bouquet, with some more herbal aromas towards the end. Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Jerseyislandbeer	3.2 Islay Kilchoman Pale Old rating - 500ml bottle, pours pale golden with a white head. Aromas & tastes of orange, lemon, cereal, toast, earth & hops. Moderate body. Light bitter finish Wednesday, June 2, 2021
BeardedAvenger	3.4 Islay Saligo Ale Adding in my 300 Beers To Try ticks because I want to see how they impact my stats and some of them I will never see again. Will however re-rate them when practical. Ordered on-line from Scotland. Hit the spot for whatever reason. Thursday, August 6, 2020
mr_h	3.4 Islay Big Strand 500ml (4%; 17th Scottish Beer Festival beer) at home on 22 Feb 2020 (purchased 6 Apr 2019; bbe 30 Sep 2020): floral, toffee aroma, straw, thin foamy white head, pretty pattern of diffuse lacing, bready malts, some lemon, caramel flavour, oily, dry finish. Saturday, February 22, 2020
CraftBeerNick	2 Islay Dun Hogs Head Ale Bottle at home, 17th November 19. Pours light black. Aroma is tart and malty. Taste is vinous and acidic, tart, infected drain pour of a beer, I hope this wasn’t intentional. Very poor excuse of a stout. Sunday, November 17, 2019
thevortex	2.9 Islay Big Strand Clear golden colour with a white head, light toffee & lemon aroma, slightly sweet, caramel, hints of lemon in the aftertaste. Saturday, August 31, 2019
Stuu666	2.8 Islay Big Strand Bottle at Craig's. Pours clear golden, nose is butterscotch, toffee, lemon, taste is sweet toffee, lemon, grassy. Sunday, August 18, 2019
cgarvieuk	2.7 Islay Big Strand Bottle at home .. light golden yellow ... thin white lacing ... soft grassy hay ... light dry fruit nose ... light grain ... soft bitter herbal lemon hay Saturday, August 17, 2019
CraftBeerNick	3.8 Islay Single Malt Ale Bottle at home, given by my Aunty for Christmas, bought at the source, 3rd August 19. Pours a golden copper colour. Aroma is bitter citrus, malts. Taste is bitter, a little oily, peach, light sour notes. Really nice bitter golden ale Saturday, August 3, 2019
CraftBeerNick	3.1 Islay Finlaggan Ale Bottle from Aunty Eileen, with BBQ, 7th July 19. Pours a golden beer, lots of ugly carbonated floaters. Aroma is slight sour, malt, citrus. Taste is citrus, slight sour, some malts, it’s sharp, full of live flavour. ok Sunday, July 7, 2019
dimeon	3 Islay Saligo Ale Backlog. Clear deep gold with almost no head. A light, lager-like ale with not a lot going on. Sunday, June 23, 2019
dimeon	3.4 Islay Nerabus Ale A: Clear amber with a small white head. N: Fruity with some toffee. T: Good bitterness with hints of sweetness. Berries. P: Medium O: Not bad Sunday, June 23, 2019
dimeon	3.7 Islay Bowmore Feis Ile 2014 Sherry Matured Backlog. The smoke and hops play together better than you may expect. Some sherry cask finish lingers in the background. Sunday, June 23, 2019
dimeon	3.5 Islay Bowmore Feis Ile 2014 Bourbon Matured Oodles of smoke, nice hops. While peat may not be everyone's bag, I enjoyed it more in a beer than I thought I would. Sunday, June 23, 2019
dimeon	3.4 Islay Black Rock Ale A: Clear amber with a small white head. N: Hints of caramel T: Slightly sweet and caramelly. Decent bitterness. P: Medium O: Very pleasing Sunday, June 23, 2019
Scopey	3.1 Islay Kilchoman Dark Bottle picked up at Kilchoman. It pours darkest brown with a quickly dissipating tan head. The aroma is rich roasted character, warming, smoked malt, peat reek, dark fruit, berry and charred wood. The taste is dry, sour dark fruits at the beginning, blueberry, blackberry, roasted malt, smoked action and prune with a drying finish. Light to medium body and fine to low carbonation. Better than the pale version. Fruity. A bit sour perhaps, but kind of OK. Sunday, March 24, 2019
Scopey	2.7 Islay Kilchoman Pale Bottled picked up Kilchoman. It pours very lightly hazy golden with a quickly dissipating white head. The aroma is nice peat smoke upfront, fruity, citrus action, cereal, toasty grain, Kilchoman wash (tasted that earlier in the day!) and hay. The taste is pretty tangy upfront, sour even, orange citrus fruit, tangerine, kumquat, dry, bit of smoke, toasty grain and cereal. Medium body and fine to low carbonation. Does really smell like the kilchoman wash! Taste is a bit weird and sour though... Unusual for sure. Sunday, March 24, 2019
Mr_Pink_152	3 Islay Black Rock Ale Bottle on Holiday. Deep golden colour lots of lemon citrus aroma and taste. with a slightly tart taste medium body. Wednesday, October 24, 2018
47574xeCD	3.2 Islay Black Rock Ale 500ml bottle. Hazy copper colour with off white head. Malty bready dark fruit notes. Friday, October 19, 2018
tmdaines	1.7 Islay Kilchoman Dark Really didn’t like this. Didn’t seem to age well in the bottle. Very harsh, bitter and sour. Not good. Wednesday, September 19, 2018
maekchu	3.3 Islay Kilchoman Pale Bottle pour at BeerFes Osaka 2018. Huge smoky peaty nose, burnt rubber, very phenolic. Cloudy medium straw color. Melange of fruitiness, then phenolic, sour stone fruit, a bit of citrus in there somewhere. Thin body. Super phenolic stuff. (Is this barreled?) Resembles an earthy sour beer. Almost barnyardy. Not exactly a pleasant beer, but it certainly is something very different. Sunday, July 22, 2018
nihtila	3 Islay Finlaggan Ale Clear deep amber. Nose is biscuit malts, red fruits. Tastes slightly bitter, malty, biscuits, faint fruits. Thursday, June 28, 2018
nihtila	2.6 Islay Single Malt Ale Clear amber. Nose is biscuity malts, malty. Tastes big malty, bitter malty, slightly sharp unpleasant, herbal. Thursday, June 28, 2018
dorain	3.9 Islay Single Malt Ale Aus der Flasche am 2016-05 im Seasalt Bistro (Port Ellen/Islay) warm serviert! Na super ein warmes Ale. Doch es hat immer noch ganz gut geschmeckt. 7-5-4-4-8 Aus Erfahrung noch aus 2010 ist diese Ale leicht getreidig und süßlich. Ein echt süffiges Ale wenn die Trinktemperatur stimmt. Monday, November 6, 2017
dorain	3.1 Islay Nerabus Ale Aus der Flasche am 2016-05 getrunken. Leicht fruchtiges (Waldbeeren?) Bitter. Schönes süffiges Teil. Monday, November 6, 2017
dorain	2.5 Islay Kilchoman Dark Aus der Flasche am 2016-05 getrunken. Leicht getorte Gerste von der Kilchoman Destillerie mit leichter Waldfrucht trifft auf ein klassiches aber auch langweiliges Stout. Monday, November 6, 2017
radassace	3.8 Islay Angus Og Ale 500ml bottle. Pours slightly hazy copper with an off white head. Nose is very bready, rye, brown and some caramel sweetness. Touch of spice and white pepper in the aroma too. Silky and light going down. Fantastic water quality. Taste is rye bread, caramel, earthy, zingy lemon and grapefruit peel bitterness. There is a bit of a smoked vibe going on here I think too. Very refreshing and tasty session ale. Saturday, September 23, 2017
Paul Parmentet	3 Islay Nerabus Ale Monday, September 11, 2017
Paul Parmentet	3 Islay Single Malt Ale Monday, September 11, 2017
Paul Parmentet	2 Islay Kildalton Ale Monday, September 11, 2017
SaintMatty	2.5 Islay Big Peat 500ml Bottle - Golden in colour. Very smoky aroma with peat and soil detected. Smoky and earthy taste with peat and burnt bread. Friday, August 18, 2017
CH-303	3 Islay Dun Hogs Head Ale Appearance: Very dark brown, good amount of tan head. Aroma: Roasted, dark malt, slight tartness. Taste: Dark malted, roasted, tart dark fruits. Strange one. Bought: Paul Ullrich (Basel), 500 ml, CHF 6.00 Info: 28/7-2017, BB: 30/9-2017 Monday, July 31, 2017
AcctError487005	3 Islay Ardnave Extra Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Michael27	2.5 Islay Single Malt Ale Aus der Flasche getrunken (Kauf bei Manufaktum). Orangegelb im Glas mit feiner weißer Schaudecke. In der Nase noch etwas zurückhaltend. Im Antrunk kommen dann aber heftige Whiskymalznoten durch. Wäre für mich eher ein Rauchbier. Sunday, July 23, 2017
Rune	2.3 Islay Single Malt Ale 500ml bottle bought at Vinmonopolet Langnes. Remaining pearl white head leaving spotty lacing behind. Bright amber coloured body. Earthy malts on the nose. Slightly perfumed malty flavours, hints of smoke and leather. Dry, very dry, ending. Drinkable, not too excited about this one. (Tromsø 24.05.2017). Monday, June 26, 2017
Sigmund	2.5 Islay Ardnave Extra Shared 500 ml bottle conditioned. ABV is 5.5%. Deep golden colour, white head. Sourish aroma of peat bog, hints of smoke. The flavour is also peaty, with fairly sharp bittering hops. Smoke and ashes in the aftertaste. Thursday, June 15, 2017
gunnar	2 Islay Ardnave Extra Shared bottle at RBHD. Pours hazy deep golden with no head. Aroma of malts, heather, weak smoke. Taste is messy, harsh hops, with some herbal notes, not convincing this one, bordering meh. Thursday, June 15, 2017
Holmen2	3 Islay Ardnave Extra Shared bottle at RB/HD at Tau 15.06.17. Slighty hazy dark golden. White head and lacing. Aroma of heather, marsh and a hint of smoke. Similar taste, with some marsh sourness. Thursday, June 15, 2017
Holmen1	2.1 Islay Ardnave Extra Fra flaske på RBHD sommeravslutning på Tau, juni-17: lett uklar kobbergylden med ok skum. Rå mesk, urter, lynghede og gress. Virkelig usjarmerende. Thursday, June 15, 2017
Finn	2.9 Islay Single Malt Ale Flaske 500ml fra Vinmonopolet Tromsø - Langnes. Delt med EgilB på Nerstranda 19 Mai 17. Gylden. Uklar. Middels høyt kremaktig skum. Spotlacing. Lett torvaroma. Smaken tørr & vassen. Spor av whisky - men en skuffelse. Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Beerkenstock	2.8 Islay Single Malt Ale Eye: pours a magnificent golden color with a quickly dissipating small white head Nose: smells fresh, sweet lemon-like hops with a tendency to IPA bitterness, orange, floral Mouth: subtle carbonation, bitterness and (british) orange marmelade, slightly smoky Palate: IPA, bitter-sweet malts, roasted or even burnt nuts or cole, a bit smoky, ashes Overall: seems like an IPA with a hint of smoke and burnt (or in whisky terms toasted) wood/cole. Wednesday, April 26, 2017
rodbod	3 Islay Kilchoman Pale Bottle at Artisan, Wishaw, to accompany whiskies and food. This smells amazing - if you like peaty whisky. Peat reek, with a little bit of malt. Taste is good, in a traditional sort of way, except that the peat is somewhat sulphurous. Palate is clean and refreshing. A decent beer. Thursday, April 13, 2017
nilsas	1.4 Islay Kilchoman Dark Islay Kilchoman Dark Dry Stout 44213 Lukt: Brent bål, røykt sild. Utseende: Sort. Skum/kullsyre: Dekkende skum. Smak: Brent bål, røykt sild, askebeger. Hvor: Kjøpt@VP Bryne, Nydt@Hjemme. Medium: Flaske@500ml, ABV@5%, Når@08.04.2017 Monday, April 10, 2017