Black Isle are a very interesting brewery,organic brewing in the Scottish highlands and run by head brewer
Colin Stronge. Colin used to be a major part of the superb
Marble brewery in Manchester and so I was very excited earlier in the year when I bought a couple of bottles of Black Isle ale online.
When I sat down to baron rate them I thought they were nice but noticed that they were lacking a certain wow factor that I'd always experienced with Colin's beers in the past. Reading the tasting notes on the back of the bottle settled the issue - I couldn't taste what was described on the back and so got in touch with Black Isle.
Colin suggested that the bottles I had bought may had not been that fresh and so he would correct this by replacing them with some 'fresh from the brewery' bottles instead. A box arrived for me today that didn't just contain the two beers that I'd tried but a whole nine bottle selection of their line-up - that is what I call customer service!
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| A wonderful box of lovely beery goodness :) |
Black Isle Brewery
- Blonde - 4.5% premium quality blonde beer with a light biscuit palete and a fresh, grassy aroma
- Export Scotch Ale - 7.9% big brother to the regular scotch ale (see below). The finest organic malt brings a big hit of cinder toffee, figs and
liquorice whilst the increased hop charges match the strength providing
berry fruit and wood. This beer tastes fantastic young and even better
aged a year or two
- Goldeneye Pale Ale - 5.6% delicious golden beer packed with floral hops. It is fresh and unpasteurised for exceptional flavour
- Hibernator Oatmeal Stout - 7% and loaded with roasted chocolate malts giving rise to hedgerow fruit, espresso & liquorice
- Jocktoberfest - 6.2% ruby coloured and full bodied, medium strength, traditional Oktoberfest style beer
- Porter - 4.6% dark roasted malts produce this medium dry, full bodied ruby-black beer
- Red Kite Ale - 4.2% with crystal malt and the finest whole flower hops produce this distinctive amber ale
- Scotch Ale - 6.2% strong, full bodied ruby ale with a bitter sweet character of candied peel and fruit cake
- Yellowhammer - 4% refreshing straw coloured ale brewed with cascade hops adding a flinty, grapefruit aroma
