Dark Island Reserve
Orkney Brewery (Sinclair Breweries) in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland 🏴
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy Regular|
Score
7.71
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Dark Island reserve is a rich strong Orcadian Ale. After a gentle fermentation at our brewery, the beer is finished in old oak casks formerly used to mature fine scotch malt whisky. This unhurried process creates a timeless classic full of fruit, spice, oak and roast malt flavours.
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7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours dark brown with an almost non-existent head.Nose shows caramel, peat, charred oak, roasted malt, smoke, bready malt and heavy sweet burnt figs.Sweet flavours at first too, before some roasted malt and charred oak roll thorugh. A fair bit of booze too.Body feels a bit light.
Tried
on 10 Jun 2013
at 22:01
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
God lukt, noe ubestemmelig. Bør servetes romtemperert. Noe røyksmak men totalt sett et godt øl som gjerne vurderes igjen i annen temperatur.
Tried
on 22 May 2013
at 13:38
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bottle 750ml @ haakonm
Pours clear dark brown with a small off-white head. Aroma has notes of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate and wood. Taste is medium to heavy sweet and medium bitter with a long chocolate and caramel finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
Pours clear dark brown with a small off-white head. Aroma has notes of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate and wood. Taste is medium to heavy sweet and medium bitter with a long chocolate and caramel finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 May 2013
at 12:00
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
2012 vintage. Bottle at NK Bar. Dark brown, almost black, colour with a tan head. Mild sweet whisky, alcohol, dried fruit aroma. Flavour is oak, raisin, alcohol. Licorice after taste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Apr 2013
at 12:27
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 7
Smak och doft av malt, choklad, brunt socker, whisky och toner av vanilj och laktris. Lagom söt med bra avrundande besk.
Tried
on 13 Apr 2013
at 03:40
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Black with a brown head - sweet malt aroma with some licerice notes in the back - sweet malt body with some licorice nad vanilla with some hints of a nice alcohol heat - lingering sweet malt ending - this was very good
Tried
on 10 Apr 2013
at 14:27
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Review is a blend of a two-year-old bottle from Guildford Arms and an eight-month-old bottle from the bottle shop in Kirkwall. Jet black body with a thin tan head. Light lacing. Aroma of brown sugar, vanilla, dark chocolate, treacle and whisky. Flavour of vanilla, smoky malt, raisin, chocolate and treacle. Subtle lime finish. Very drinkable for its ABV. Full body with a slick, oily mouthfeel. Flat carbonation. A strong, rich classic from one of Scotland’s best breweries. A perfect beer for a special occasion.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Mar 2013
at 17:34
5.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 6
75 cl bottle @ home. Rated on 26.03.2011
Aroma is odd with some rubber, vegetables and overwhelming woody notes. Flavour is very bitter in a harsh way. It has rubber, some malty notes and pencils. Very, very acrid finish. I really hope that this was a bad bottle.
Aroma is odd with some rubber, vegetables and overwhelming woody notes. Flavour is very bitter in a harsh way. It has rubber, some malty notes and pencils. Very, very acrid finish. I really hope that this was a bad bottle.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Feb 2013
at 00:59
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
750 ml swing top bottle. Pours black with medium tan head. Aromas of corn chips, dark chocolate, roasted malts and vanilla. Flavors of raisins, roasted malts, dark chocolate chips, nuts, and light smoke. Quite nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Feb 2013
at 20:04
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
750mL bottle, pours a deep dark mahogany with a medium, foamy tan head. Aroma of whiskey barrels, oak, dark fruits (plums, especially), brown sugar and caramel malts. Flavour is very complex, with whiskey barrels, oak, dry dark fruits, alcohol, and a slight medicinal / cough syrup quality at the end, but it's not very pronounced. Very complex - dry and boozy, with the oak barrels leaving quite a bit at the end. A very slow sipper, but very enjoyable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jan 2013
at 17:03