Orkney Dark Island (Bottle)

"The nose on this beer is ripe and fruity with slightly vinous esters, married to interesting hop notes - the colour of a glorious red ruby wine."

3.5

767 reviews

Stromness, Scotland

Community reviews

3.4 Bottle. A- Dark fruit, malt, burnt caramel. A- Dark brown color, dark liquid, tan head. T- Molasses, toffee, malt, dough. P- Medium body, average texture, average carbonation, malty finish. O- Nothing exceptionally special but easy to drink and paired well with corned beef and cabbage. Enjoyed this a bit more than I thought I would.

3.7 Aroma of fruits, dried fruits, malt, carame, chosolate and coffee. Dark brown to black with a red tint. Tan head. Medium sweet and medium bitter. Medium body with average carbonation. Overall a nice, dark Ale. Well balanced with a plesant roasted malt finish.

3.6 bottiglia 50 cl, schiuma color cappuccino fine media persistenza, colore rubino al naso cacao caffè caramello vino porto malto tostato, in bocca cioccolato al latte frutta secca datteri leggero liquirizia leggera affumicatura, corpo leggero, watery, acidula, carbonazione moderata, amaro moderato. Molto Buona c. Cantina della birra 09.10.20

3.5 Aroma of bread and coffee. Malty, bitter taste, lots of coffee notes, almost stout-like. Strong and flavorful

3.2 0.5 l bottle from 'Homberg's große Bierwelt', best before December 2020, I guess more than a year old. Clear, very dark ruby to black with a medium large, frothy, almost stable, beige head. Sweetish-malty aroma of nuts, cocoa and caramel. Gently sweet, moderately bitter, rather malty taste of caramel, nuts and cocoa, followed by a short, moderately bitter, slightly roasty and a little dry finish with a touch of dark fruits. Medium body, smooth and slightly effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Pleasant but monotonous, a tad too sweet.

3.6 Adding in my 300 Beers To Try ticks because I want to see how they impact my stats and some of them I will never see again. Will however re-rate them when practical. Hogs Back shop. Good stuff.

3.6 Bottle from Beers of Europe. Appearance - deep brown with red chunks. Off white creamy head. Nose - chocolate and caramel biscuits. Taste - chocolate hobnobs with light smoke. Palate - crunchy textured and medium bodied. Burnt / crunchy finish. Overall - challenging but good.

4.5 From the bottle, pours a very dark ruby red with a brief slightly coffee coloured head. Slight chocolate and vanilla notes on the nose. Big, really rich flavour, dates, toffee and maybe a hint of smoke. Slick mouthfeel so those flavours stay with you. I find it goes brilliantly with trad British stodgy food - steak and ale pie followed by sticky toffee pudding. I love all those things, and so accordingly, I also love this beer.

3.7 Really nice, dark, sweet with notes of fig.

3.6 Pours dark brown with a light mocha head. Head is thin but has some large bubbles and just seems to hang there. Aroma is sweet and malty with overripe cherry. Rich and smooth flavor. Maybe a bit of smoke and lots of rich malts.

3.4 Bottle from Orkney Brewery. Pours an almost black colour with a thin off white head. Aroma of roasted malts, hints of chocolate, caramel, toffee and molasses. Taste is the same with a touch of coffee and a hint of dry dark fruits. Thinnish mouthfeel, watery texture but with quite a nice long finish. Was expecting a bit more given its reputation. Not a bad beer but a tad disappointed.

3.5 14/12/2019. Bottle courtesy of Painy. Pours black with a small off-white head. Aroma of coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, liquorice, toffee and dark fruit. Medium sweetness, light roasted bitterness. Moderate body, slight oily and watery texture, average carbonation. Very nice aroma, lacked a bit of depth, but overall pretty decent.

3.3 Shared bottle at Cardinal. Pours dark brown to black with little off-white head. Aroma of dark bread, fruits, distinct diacetyl. Tastes slightly sweet with some bitterness. Thin bodied.

4.3 Good malty character of this ruby coloured Orkney brew makes for good session

3.7 Thanks hannah! Darkest brown. Aroma is dark chocolate slight mushroom some cocoa also good melasses some deep vanilla or so. Taste is a bit umami with good bitterness and a bit more complex sugars. Pretty tasty and good intensity for less than 5abv. Good one.

3.9 Orkney Dark Island 4.6%. Blackish ruby red, chocolate, toffee and dark fruity aroma, full bodied, dark malt, dark chocolate, coffee dark fruit, fig, vanilla, complex flavours. Gorgeous Dark Ale from Orkney 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

3.3 Bottle, from Lidl, Orkney. Deep red brown, almost black. Thin short lived off white head and good condition. Pleasant fruity nose with background of chocolate and sweet liquorice, soft and sweet in the mouth with pleasant chalky chocolate note, some berry fruitiness and a hint of woodiness, finish is chalky bitter chocolate powder and some fruity berries.

3.2 A bottle from Beers of Europe, drunk at Dad's place while on leave. Aroma: malt. Appearance: opaque black coffee, minimal tan head. Palate: light-bodied and slick, average carbonation; flavoursome, predominantly bitter finish. Taste: lightly bitter; malt, slightly sour, a little bit of ashtray.

3.0 Bottle. Poured a near black with an averaged sized tan head. Chocolate, roast, earthy and a lighter smokiness.

3.3 Bottle, drank at Arrochar Hotel, Scotland. Pour a jet black with a beige head. Aroma: roasted malt, cocoa, dried fruit, fig, very mild coffee notes. Taste: roasted malt, toasted grain, fig, raisins, dates, mild cocoa, mild espresso, mild woody flavours. Medium bodied. Sticky texture. Complex. This was quite nice.

2.5 Malz, Röstaromen, Kaffee und dunkler Kakao. Alles deutlich wässrig, wenig ausdrucksvoll und letztlich langweilig.

3.4 From a bottle poured an opaque black (ruby red under strong light) with 5mm of tan dense foam that diminished quickly to a sparce collar that didn't lace. Carbonation moderate, lively and very fine to fine. Aroma of sweet dark treacle and malt. Taste of sweet dark treacle, dark fruits as well ss hints of bitter coffee, dark chocolate and smoke. Medium body. Smooth with a nice sweetness on a moderately long finish.

4.1 Aromat mleczno kawowy. Barwa czarna, szara gęsta piana długo utrzymuje się na powierzchni. W smaku kawa, nieco gorzkich nut, kakao. Obecna metaliczność. Posmak kawowy.

4.0 Kalea Adventskalender 2018 Intl #5. - Finally a more traditional, Scottish entry in Kalea's Magical Mystery Advent Tour 2018: only a British (cq: Orcadian) brewer would call a 4,6% dark ale "robust", though... - - Short: lightish Scottish ale mimics richer old ale, sessionability is gastronomical+social. - Beautiful lumious mahogani-blackish pour. Nose: toffee, roasted chestnut, fig treacle, some old red wine fumes, somewhat ashen and earthy as in dried at the bottom of the bottle. 1st sip and mouthfeel are both lush, with hinted depth of dark fruits and liquorice and lighthearted sans watery pockets. Fascinating how bitter coffee remains an almost cerebral impression, the roast never docking at the palate, always hinted at from beneath the surface. Fascinating "Orcadian" classic. - Went well with Lake Constance apple-buttermilk pie.

3.5 KALEA Craft Beer Advent Calendar International 2018 – Tag 5 - Das Dark Island ist ein hervorragendes Bier wie ich finde. Dunkel, mit elfenbeinfarbener Schaumkrone. Geschmacklich viel dunkle Schokolade, Kaffeearomen und eine ganz leichte Säure. Süße nehme ich überhaupt nicht wahr.

3.9 Tag # 5 - Kalea Craft Beer Calendar International Edition 2018. Geschmack leicht malzig mit Kaffee-Schokoladen Note im Abgang. Schaum bleibt nicht lange stehen. Geschmacklich erinnert es sehr an Guinness.

3.7 28-11-2018; bottle; at home (bought somewhere in Schotland). The looks of the beer are very nice. It is a nice dark beer. So the name Dark Island at least makes sense. The veer looks dark brown on the eye, but with some light behind it, it has a rather ruby red glow. It is just to dark to say anything about clarity. The beer pours a average layer of frothy brownish foam. Foam retention is average-high. A nice layer stays on the beer for some time. The aroma of the beer is very nice. The first association I make is HP sauce. The beer has the same combination between smokiness and sweetness. The malts are quite sweet and come with a grainy touch. There is a lovely bittersweet smoke aroma, that is really like in HP sauce or in BBQ sauce. I love it. It has a touch of pure roasted malts too, together with hints of caramel. Hops are herbal and robust, but not extremely aromatic. The taste of the beer is nice. The malts give sweetness, but also quite a smokey savouriness and bitter roast touch. Hops are nice and bitter. The three flavours are all in pretty good balance. Very nice. The palate of the beer is fine. Medium body, a bit thin and slightly sticky texture and medium carbonation. The finish of the beer fine. Some bitter toasty malts and dry hops in the end. A bit short and simple to be honest.

5.0 Lovely dark slightly sweet ale

3.3 330ml bottle. Clear, darkest brown colour with ruby glimmer and small to average, frothy to creamy, half-way lasting, minimally lacing, beige head. Toasty, dark malty aroma, hints of dark bread, a cautious touch of honey and thyme, minimally smoky-ashy overtones. Taste is minimally dry and minimally sweet, toasty dark malty, slightly bready and grainy, almost a bit smoky and chocolately hints of dark bread, cautious fruity overtones with a touch of dark berries. Not overly intense - though getting better while warming up.

2.5 Heditön, kirpeä siirappi.