Dark Island
Orkney Brewery in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular|
Score
6.89
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Dark Island is an iconic beer: The Orkney Brewery's flagship beer. Exhibiting a ripe fruity, chocolate nose, Dark Island is balanced by flavours of dark Chocolate, dried fruit, figs and nuts from the combination of roasted malts and rich hops. A standard-bearer for traditional Scottish ales.
Hops: First Gold: East Kent Goldings
Malts: Pale, Crystal, Chocolate, Malted Wheat
Hops: First Gold: East Kent Goldings
Malts: Pale, Crystal, Chocolate, Malted Wheat
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7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
BOTTLE 50CL from dcmchew. Thanks, Cristian Mihai.
Look: mostly black with some red highlights, beige creamy head.
Aroma: both dark fruit sweetness and green fruit acidity/freshness, esters, some roast and smokiness even, oily toast.
Taste: dark fruit with a distinct but light green apple-like acidic bite, burnt wood, a drop of hop bitterness in the finish. Light body.
Look: mostly black with some red highlights, beige creamy head.
Aroma: both dark fruit sweetness and green fruit acidity/freshness, esters, some roast and smokiness even, oily toast.
Taste: dark fruit with a distinct but light green apple-like acidic bite, burnt wood, a drop of hop bitterness in the finish. Light body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 May 2014
at 02:01
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Dunkelbraunes Bier mit ordentlicher Schaumkrone. Geruch röstmalzig, dunkle Früchte, Kaffee, leicht hopfig, so ist auch der Geschmack.
Tried
on 13 May 2014
at 12:09
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Dobre stare Old Ale. Ciemne bardzo czarne z leciutka gdzie niegdzie poswiata czerwieni. Piwo slodowo palone. Tostowe, sliwkowe. Gozkie wytrawne z lekkim balansem slodyczy. Ale dominuje wytrawnosc i palonosc zdecydowanie. Ciekawe zrownowazone i pelne w smaku piwo. Piana nie za wielka. Piwo niesamowicie smaczne i syte.
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 12:24
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
500 ml bottle. Pours a dark ruby red, brownish color with a small creamy beige head. Aroma is dark malt with notes of cocoa, plums and Worcestershire. Subtle mocha malt flavor. A bit of dried fruit (currants) and mild coffee. Very smooth and silky. Finishes with a light spicy hoppiness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Apr 2014
at 20:59
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle at home. It pours darkest brown with a small beige head. The nose is toasty, cocoa, earth, toffee, coffee, dark fruit and vinous notes. The taste is toasty, coffee, caramel, toffee, dark fruits, berry, earth, Riesen chocolate chew and wood with a dry finish. Medium body and fine carbonation. Interesting, good depth a well-balanced. Tasty.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Apr 2014
at 09:13
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle pour. Aroma is bread and.coffee. Doughy flavor with a malty finish. Not too bad. UPDATE: 4 years, and many beers later, I was gifted a 500 mL bottle of this, which was picked up in Scotland. Awesome to try a bottle from the source. A dark, near black pour with an active, soft foam head. Sweet, black cherry like fruit, and a bready malt forward aroma. Flavor has a smokiness to it that I must have missed before. It pairs well with a subtle sweet cherry like fruit and some wood. Glad I was able to get another bottle of this and give it a deserving rerate. Enjoy it a ton more on the second time around. Balancing rates.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Mar 2014
at 21:28
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
500ml bottle. Pours very dark brown with a large head. Aroma is sour coffee and musty apples. Taste is woody with dark berries. Some smoke. Touch of sour milk on the aftertaste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Mar 2014
at 13:55
7/10
Tried
on 23 Feb 2014
at 07:56
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
500 ml bottle into pint glass, bottled on 6/6/2011. Pours lightly cloudy nearly opaque dark brown color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty lacing clings down the glass. Aromas of chocolate, cocoa, toffee, molasses, toast, raisin, plum, pear, apple, dark bread, light roast, herbal, light pepper, light leather, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark malt and yeast ester notes; with good strength. Taste of chocolate, cocoa, dark bread, toast, molasses, raisin, plum, pear, light roast, herbal, light pepper, light leather, and toast/yeast earthiness. No bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, cocoa, dark bread, toast, molasses, raisin, plum, pear, light roast, herbal, and toast/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice balance, robustness, and complexity of dark/roasted malt and fruity yeast ester flavors; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied; with a fairly creamy, smooth, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish as expected of 4.6%. Overall this is a damn nice Scottish ale! All around good balance, robustness, and complexity of dark/roasted malt and fruity yeast ester flavors; and very smooth to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Feb 2014
at 19:18
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Appearance- very dark with a ruby tint. Small, bubbly beige head. Aroma- lots of chocolatey malt, sweetness, maltiness. Taste- bitter chocolate, cocoa, burnt notes, some plum and raisin, quite a short finish with hints of coffee. Very drinkable, and full-flavoured for the abv. Impressive.
Tried
on 31 Jan 2014
at 15:10