Orkney Raven Ale (Bottle)

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

Picked this up in Safeway( soon to be Morrisons) in Hawick...Raven Ale...doesn’t that suggest a big brooding very dark stout or old ale...WRONG! This is a lovely bright gold/copper colour with a good firm white head. A mouthwatering fresh fruity hop nose with sweet malt lurking in the background. Good mouthfeel, smooth with LOTS of hoppy fruit, that sweet malt creeps in on the long lasting finish...loved it! Good strength for a few bottles, who cares about the name? Can’t understand the poor overall rating, but there you go, we can’t all have the same opinion, can we?

Bottle bought in Glasgow. A most lovely copper ale with a large head. Lots of hoppiness, grass and flowers. A great session ale, I have to try this on cask at some stage. Get this if you can. Nice label, too!

50cl dark brown bottle, label slightly different than pictured (on the new label, the raven doesn’t spread his wings). Pours a slightly hazy yellow golden with a small, off-white head. Solid retention, decent lacing. Light- to medium-bodied bitter with active carbonation and tickling, but not grainy mouth feel. A bit watery, as is typical of this style. Aroma of citrus fruit, malt and hops. Some herbal spices there, too. The taste is refreshing and characterful, due to a superb balance of malt and hops - the hoppy note is stronger than usual in a bitter, almost closer to an IPA. But it’s as bitter as most English "best bitters", so fans of that style will find much to admire here. Finish is dry, after tasty very mildly bitter - inviting you to drink another one. The mix of citrusy and malty notes keep the beer interesting, so it’s also highly sessionable. Another very good brew from the Orkney Brewery. At €3.50 a bottle, it doesn’t come cheap - but then, it comes from distant shores. Both literally and figuratively. ;-)

On handpump from the Cask in The Alex, Derby. No Sparkler. Mid Redish/Brown. A good solid bitter. Kind of dry in the aftertaste. Also had a very nice pump clip :)

Bottle (in NZ). pours a hazy gold with a large pillowy off-white head. Big fruit and pepper hop aroma. More malty on the palate - with toffee flavours. The fruit and hops are more subtle, though the finish is quite dry and citrusy. How I like my bitter.

An amber beer with a fine white head. The aroma is quite grassy and hoppy. The flavor is malty with slight roasted notes. A little thin.

[bottle] Reddish body, good white head. Slightly fruity (pear, white grapes), roasted grains, tarty hoppiness; dry finish, not overly bitter. Full palate. Balanced and enjoyable.

Dusty orange-gold with fine layers of lace and a slender white head. Juicy dried stone fruit in the aroma, joined by blossomy Munich-type hop and honey. Satisfying and full; apricot and lemony fruit, hint of jam on wholemeal, sultanas, dates, same house fruitiness as the Dragon Head, despite the very different colouration and flavour profile of the two beers. Some peat, butter and pine in the finish. Packed with flavour and condition at the strength, and another well-bottled and tasty ale from Orkney.