Orkney Dragonhead Stout (Bottle)

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Stout
Stromness, Orkney, Highlands & Islands, Scotland

There’s nothing that Orc Sealculler and I enjoy more than a Dragonhead Stout when we return to the Orkney islands after a tough week of looting and pillaging the Scottish mainland. Being a Viking is a thirsty business. First thing we do as soon as we’ve parked the longboat and raped the virgins is visit the taverna for a few flagons of this stuff. Then we torch the taverna and slaughter the landlord and all his customers. Yes, it’s good to be a Viking. This fine stout is as black as Thorfin Skullplitter’s heart and pours with a head as wild and frothy as the Pentland Firth. It has an intense aroma of something that might be dark chocolate, although I wouldn’t know because we haven’t discovered chocolate yet. It’s sweet, with a minty note and a slightly sour milky character. The palate is full and creamy for a 4% abv stout. And it’s richly flavoured with roast barley (personally I prefer roast boar, but each to their own). It’s as smooth as a virgin’s skin and as dry in the finish as forest fire. If the brewery continues to produce beer of this quality we might have to stop burning it down. (500ml bottle shared with Bridge; bb Aug 2005; many thanks to my ould fella for carrying this one all the way to Australia.)

Amazingly smooth. Smokiness and roasted tastes soothe the palate. The best overall stout I’ve experienced with a low alcohol content to boot--- the more to enjoy. Only gets better with the quantity. Highly recommended for the ’go-to’ stout!

Poured an incredibly dark brown / black with a nice head that dissapated somewhat quickly. Tastes of smokiness and malts with a hint of coffee tones. My overall feeling is that this brew was too thin, almost watered down. It got my hopes up at first, but the taste never really delivered.

Thin and watery, Not much in the way of flavor, very flat and without contrast. Not even bold in it’s one dimension... This may be a black beer but I’m not sure I would even call this a stout. Very unimpressive.

caramel malt aroma. almost black with a tan head. dry and bitter. i also taste smoked peat and hazelnuts. no hops detected. very dry.

Decent black stout. Not overly thick or in your face but balanced with a bit of chocolate and coffee. This is a stout for your nonbeer buddy.

Nice color, no light shone through. Light coffee notes and a sharp roasted bitterness. Very Irish for a Scottish beer. THere is smoothness that hints at sweet oatmeal and chocolate. NIce with fish and chips.

Poured a very dark brown, you could still see light through it. A thick brown head. Aroma was roasted malt with some coffee notes. Flavor was of roasted malts and a touch of coffee. This one was a bit watery as a stout for me.