Puffin
Orkney Brewery (Sinclair Breweries) in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland 🏴
Bitter - Ordinary / Best Bitter Regular|
Score
6.80
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Puffin is a burnished bronze beer with aromas of spices, sweet nutty malt and dark fruits. An inviting rich malt palate is balanced with notes of herbs and spicy fruitiness.
Hops: Bramling Cross, Targert
Malts: Pale, Crystal, Malted Wheat
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Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Amber ale of sorts (the brewery does not specify the intended style) honouring the puffins or 'clowns of the sea' populating the islands north of Scotland, including the Orkneys, which gave us beerlovers the great Orkney brewery, one of Scotland's trusted classics. Bottle from the Tesco (I think) in Aberdeen and my last souvenir of the holiday I had there in August. Medium thick, moussey, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, slightly greyish off-white, largely stable head on a clear, deep pure amber coloured robe with darker bronze tinge - a beauty in terms of colour, in my personal view. Aroma of wet toast, burnt hazelnuts, dried wormwood and dandelions, vague dried (faded) grapefruit peel, old mace, moist white pepper, chicory, walnut skin, cigarette shag, dried medlar, shriveled apple peel, unsugared hazelnut paste and slight butter. Dried-fruity onset, sweetish but not actually sweet, hinting at dried medlar, dried fig and dried apple peel, all restrained and softly carbonated with a somewhat creamy mouthfeel - 'fuller' even than expected at this ABV. Toasty-bitter maltiness fills the middle, with a slight 'non-sweet' caramelly side and a nutty core; the malt bitterness vastly overshadows whatever little sweetness is in it, and a very potent dosage of leafy, spicy, even wormwoody hops only extends this bitterness - in a very pronounced way, to the point where only the hop bitterness remains stuck to the tongue's root long after swallowing the last drop. English style 'best bitter' with a Scottish ale (80/-) influence in the malt department and a more severe bitterness in the hop department than is typical for a best bitter - which is why the brewery refrains from any style classification I guess, but as a Belgian, this does not frustrate me (too much)... In either case a fairly rich, tangy, characterful beer, representing the Orkney brewery proudly. Enjoyed it, also as a last tangible remainder of an interesting holiday in Scotland.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
500ml bottle poured at Halladale Inn, Melvich - Deep amber body, no head. Toffee, caramel, a bit metallic, peppery in places. Pretty standard bitter fare.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5
500ml bottle. Poured a clear copper colour with a lasting frothy white head. The aroma is toffee caramel malt. The flavour is moderate sweet and bitter, with a smooth, toffee caramel, light pepper spice, woody hop bitter palate and a lingering bitter finish. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
NilsAS (11500) reviewed Puffin from Orkney Brewery (Sinclair Breweries) 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Utseende: Gulbrun.
Lukt: Humle, malt, anelse smør.
Smak: Humle, malt, smørmalt.
Skum/kullsyre: Tynt skum.
Medium: Rating:8-5-5-8-6=6.0, Flaske@500ml, ABV@4,5%, Når@17.01.2025.
Hvor: Kjøpt@Vaaland, Bryne, Nydt@Hjemme.
Puffin
BITTER - ORDINARY / BEST BITTER
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle from Beers of Europe. Clear amber with good solid off-white head. Aroma is quite leafy and nutty with some toasted malt and mixed fruit. Taste again quite leafy with spice notes, toasted malt and fruit, quite drying in the finish. Nice light to medium body but slick. Its very good tasty stuff.
Malty caramel, moderate bitter with a roasted grainy back. Caramel, moderate nice bitter, very dry. Nice.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Ask at the Lincoln Beer Festival 2024. Amber colour with an off white head. Aroma and taste are malty caramel and sweet nutty. Slight citrus fruit. Medium body.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle from the brewery online shop. Pours clear copper with a rocky white head. Aromas of toffee and orange. Taste is more of the same. Light sweet finish.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
# 3429; 1/2023. Nutty, light floral, herbal and earthy hoppy aroma. Clear amber body; lacing tiny off-white head. Nutty, floral, spicy, fruity, bready; dry and spicy hoppy finish. Very good best bitter. 0,5 l, bottle, craft beer shop, Newark-on-Trent (Midland, England).