Orkney Brewery is one of Scotland’s most remote and characterful breweries, operating from the village of Quoyloo on the Orkney mainland since 1988. Dark Island is their best-known and most celebrated beer — a dark ale that’s won numerous awards over the years and become something of an ambassador for Scottish dark beer. There’s something fitting about a rich, warming dark ale coming from one of the most northerly inhabited places in Britain.
Tasting Notes
Dark Island pours a deep mahogany-brown with a tan head and a nose full of toffee, dried fruit, and roasted malt — complex and inviting. On the palate it’s rich and warming: caramel and chocolate notes upfront, a hint of dried fruit and liquorice through the mid-palate, and a smooth, bittersweet finish with lingering roast character. The mouthfeel is full and satisfying without being heavy, and the ABV (around 4.6%) keeps it accessible.
Verdict
Serve at cellar temperature or slightly warmer — this is a beer that opens up as it warms. Dark Island is one of the finest Scottish dark ales going, and if you haven’t tried it you’re missing something genuinely special. It pairs beautifully with game, strong cheese, beef stew, or sticky puddings. A beer that rewards every sip and makes you glad to be somewhere with a proper dark ale tradition.
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