500ml bottle bought at Utobeer in London. Dark copper body - almost black. Attractive bottle design. Solid dose of tan coloured foam. Peaty aroma of malty sweetness. Roasted and dark flavour of coffee, malts, and grain. A bit cocoa impression. Medium palate. A pleasure drinking a beer like this (18.09.2006). --- Beer merged from original tick of Dark Island (Cask) on 08 Dec 2008 at 08:56 - Score: Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7. Original review text: Half pint enjoyed in a perfect atmosphere at Guildford Arms where the ale was kept in good shape and served at the very right drinking temperature. Dark Island is an old ale with a decent off-white head over a deep, ruby dark body. Smell of roasted dark malts. Blended taste of roasted coffee malts, nuts and dark chocolate with accomplishing notes of dark fruits. Dry in the mouth. Easy to drink. Edinburgh, 23.10.2008.

Cask at Ye Old Mitre Holborn London EC1 19 Sep 06. Deep red coloured. A creamy tanned head. Perfect appearance! Sweet aroma of caramel. Fruity flavour with hints of caramel. A subtle bitter aftertaste. Splendid!

Bottle picked up from SH Jones, Bicester, 23-09-06 Has a lovely label. Pours almost orange like in colour, fruit hops and detected some yeastiness in the aroma. Quite an easy drinking beer, with malt and caramel swishing around in balanced proportions, taste a slight sourness and comes across as being a little on the weak side but I can’t be too critical as this isn’t too bad a beer.

Bottle from SH Jones, Bicester, 23-09-06. Pours a Dark ruby colour, with an interesting spicey and raisiny aroma. Sweet toasted malts, dark fruits chocolate come through in the taste, and the alcohol is disguised incredibly well. I enjoyed this but felt that it still lacked a certain something and fell a little bit short at the end certainly compared to some barley wines that I’ve had recently.

(Bottle 33 cl) Slightly hazy dark amber with a fine, dense almost cappuchinoish off-white head. Fat aroma of overripe fruit and alcohol. Full, fruity body with plenty of malt and some notes of wood. Quite fat and alcoholic with a subdued bitterness. A pleasant but far from great Barley Wine. 040906

Mahogany colour. Small off-white head. Aroma of smoked malt which is also present in the taste together with dark fruits and a marked sweet finish (330ml bottle - thanks to Ambrosius for bringing it from Edinburgh to the Arctic).

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is sweet roasted coffee. Flavour is roasted coffee and caramel.

Bottle. Dark, reddish brown, almost clear, with a small beige head. Light chocolate aroma, some roasted sourness, coffee and cocoa. Smoked flavor with notes of coffee. Medium body. Nice beer, but not my old ale. Rating: 5-4-6-4-12-3.1 (060720)

Bottle. Clear, ruby body, topped by a lasting, beige head. Caramel, hints of butterscotch, smoke, coffee, vanilla, peat and a little saltyness in the aroma. Licorice, smoke, peat, caramel and hints of coffee in the flavor. Medium body. Long, coffee-bitter finish. Quite lovely. Rating: 7-4-6-3-13-3.3. (070914)

Bottle. A pitch black beer with a finger-thick beige head. Dryish nose with coffee and chocolate, roasted malts and some dried fruits. There seems to a faint note of peat too. Some sweetness in the mouth, but drying towards the finish. Chocolate, figs and dates, coffee and some peat. Not much bitterness. Dry, full-bodied mouthfeel with a tad too much co2. Coffee-like finish with chocolate sweetness and some dried fruits. A rather nice one, especially considering it’s low ABV. (090620)

Cask gravity at Bowl Inn, Charing, BF 2006. Very hazy russet colour. Thick lasting beige head. Yeast and red berry aroma. OK in mouth, fullish good malt. Dry finish, bit earthy, red fruits. Pretty good red fruit malt bitter with very hoppy finish.