It’s been a pretty long time since I’ve posted! And it’s been a pretty long time since I last had a real ale. The two things are particularly connected but I have certainly missed both. ‘Dark Island’ from the Orkney Brewery is a beer I have had kicking around for a little bit now and have only just gotten around to. It’s a dark ale and so a style that isn’t exactly in vogue. That said, like many old school British styles there are plenty of cracking beers that people are passing up on because they aren’t trendy.

The beer pours an almost cola like colour to it with an off-white head. The nose is packed heavily with dried fruits like raisins. The body is rather rich and full with a dark chocolaty bitterness to it on the end. That raisin and date flavour is present through out as well adding an extra layer of complexity to the beer.

A quick note on the bottle design: A good, if a little small, piece of artwork depicting Orkney’s ‘Stones of Stenness’ in a sunset.

Orkney Brewery’s Golden Ale is the only other beer I’ve had from them, and it is a really good example of the style. I’d say this is another really good beer. Does what is described on the label; chocolatey and rich. There is also this really interesting Marmite like twang on the end that I really enjoyed and really added something different to the brew. Would certainly have this again on a cold winters night!

Score: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: 40
• ABV: 4.6%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: No
• Purchase Price: £1.79
• Purchase Location: Lidl