Orkney Dragonhead Stout (Bottle)

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

Big brown head, nearly opaque, nearly black. Chocolate, coffee and roasted malt in the nose with an underlying liqueur-like sweetness. Strong coffee in the flavor and the finish; sweeter than I'd expect for the style (assuming that this is properly classified as a dry stout). A little bit of a thin mouthfeel, but good flavors.

Pours black, but reddish brown around the edges. The head is probably the darkest I've ever seen for such a weak stout. The brown foam on top of this is what you expect for a 6% or an imperial stout. Instead it's on top of a 4% stout. Quite impressive. I was expecting to be let down, but then I stuck my nose into the glass and the aroma is HUGE. Much fresh coffee aroma. It's kind of like sticking your nose into a bag of coffee. A little chocolate backing it up. The flavor is equally big. A bit sweet, a little smokey, but oh so good. It's a little rich to be a quick drink, but you enjoy every sip. I'm impressed that they packed so much flavor into such a relatively small beer. Kudos to Orkney.

Bottle: Orgasmic pour ... pitch black with a textbook tan waterfall of a bubbly rising head. The aroma is whiskey and dried dark fruit. This drinks with a robust, dark roasted and smoky peat as the basis. Bit more watery than you’d think for such a big brew. But I could easily see this, at a hair-higher temperature, warming my insides in a dank, damp Scottish pub, instead of my dank, damp Virginia TV room. Excellent stout. Please pass the bangers and mash. (#3173, 11/4/2007)

Pours a nice, dark black color with a medium head that wears down to a thin lace. Aroma of whisky... possibly Lagavulin. The taste is more whisky and heavily roasted malts. A little tinge of sour as well. Very nice; I would definitely buy this again.

Bottle. Black pour with a big brown head. Has a nice roasted aroma with a hint of some spice. Roasted flavor becomes burnt, like charred wood, in the bitter finish. If you like your stouts with a burnt flavor (like i do) then this is a good one.

500ml bottle. Rich and dark, tar coloured with a thick creamy tan head and bitter chocolate and coffee notes with a hint of burnt toffee. Burnt flavour with a hint of nuttiness. Smooth and velvety in he mouth.

Black color with a nice creamy, dark tan head. Nice roasty chocolate aroma. Very smooth with only a touch of bitterness in the finish. A very nice session stout. At 4% I would be happy to drink this all night. I doubt I will ever see it on cask, so I can only wonder at how good it would be.

Not a heavy hitter in the ABV department, but a very tasty and enjoyable stout. Smooth creamy flavor.