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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6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottle. Redish brown with a large tan head. Aroma is sweet vanilla and candy. Flavour starts off sweet but develops into a long lasting dry roast on the tongue. Texture is velvet and rather smooth
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Oct 2012
at 11:54
5.2/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4
Smell of licorice and coffee. Black, dark brown head. Rather watery, stinging aroma hits to start with. Roasted.
Tried
on 20 Oct 2012
at 12:10
7/10
Tried
on 16 Jul 2012
at 17:58
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 4
Overall 6
500ml bottle poured into an English pint. Pours very dark with almost no head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate and dark fruit. Taste is light bitter. Chocolate, coffee, dark fruits and red wine. Light bodied with a thin texture. Fizzy carbonation and an average finish. Overall, it’s ok. Nothing to write home about.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jul 2012
at 20:47
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
Bottle - Roasted grains, molasses and raisins. Black opaque with persistent thin head. Very smokey, roasted malts also some sweet dark fruits. No bitterness and not sour. Very nice and complex.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jun 2012
at 23:38
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours a solid dark brown with the faintest of ruby highlights when held to light. Huge frothy tan head slowly subsides and leaves lots of stickies on the glass on the way down. The aroma is a bit vinous with hints of dark dried fruits. Bits of caramel and chocolate almond with dried cherries and raisins abound. The flavor is as vinous as the aroma suggested. Lots of dark and slightly tart fruit with a hint of butterscotch and light chocolate. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet creamy bubbly mouthfeel. Lots of body and flavor for such a brew with 4.6 abv. I like this.
Tried
on 03 Jun 2012
at 16:37
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
50cl bottle shared at Kermis’s. Thin creamy off-white head. Deep ruby pour. Smooth. Nice beer --- Beer merged from original tick of Dark Island (Cask) on 09 May 2019 at 16:57 - Score: Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7. Original review text: Pint at the Gate House jdw. Thin creamy beige head. Clear almost black pour. Easy drinking. Very smooth.
Tried
from Cask
at
The Gate House (JDW)
on 23 Apr 2012
at 12:16
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle shared at home tasting. Dak brown pour with a medium tan head. Coffee, roasted, chocolate and smoke in aroma. Flavour Has coffee, raisins, licorice, dark fruit, chocolate and smoke. Medium bodied and low carbonation. Great flavour considering the low ABV.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Apr 2012
at 09:50
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
I can’t believe I’ve not reviewed a beer from The Orkney Brewery before, must have drank too many and forgot to write about them! This review will right that wrong. Hand pulled pint into a UK sleeve in The Baron of Beef, Cambridge during Nov 2011. Dark, dark brown body with an off-white head of smooth foam. The head stayed and gave some good lacing. The smells where of rich malty molasses with coffee/toffee, all roasted over an open fire. The taste was of a chocolate laden fruit and nut cake baked a little too long, taken with a bitter coffee. Add some alcohol and you’re almost there, I liked it! Heavy mouthfeel, but in great condition, with a lovely soft carbonisation, only really found in well kept darker cask ales.
Tried
from Can
on 08 Apr 2012
at 01:08
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
50 cl bottle @ home. Rated on 25.03.2011
Aroma has roastiness, some coffee, hints of chocolate and smoke. Flavour has roasted malt, coffee and some chocolate. Nice one, although a bit thin.
Aroma has roastiness, some coffee, hints of chocolate and smoke. Flavour has roasted malt, coffee and some chocolate. Nice one, although a bit thin.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Apr 2012
at 06:45