Just getting ready to go to the Cincy Beer Fest!  Should be a great time.  Must remember to pace self and drink plenty of H₂O.  Looking forward to spending time with fellow BATWa members and trying great brews.  I will try to take a few notes with which to do a few reviews.  Also hope to hang out with an old friend and see if he's interested in great beer.

www.cincybeerfest.com

Dark Island

Over 5000 years in the making (it says that on the bottle but Ken Ham from http://www.answersingenesis.org/ might disagree).  Not to follow a rabbit trail but if you haven't been to the Creation museam I reccommend it!  I digress- Dark Island is brewed in Scotland at the Orkney Brewery in Quoyloo, which also makes the 5000 year claim.

The tranquil Orkney Islands, with their fertile farming lands and fishing grounds, have been inhabited for over 5000 years. The Orkney brewery is housed in the former schoolhouse in Quoyloo 1 mile from Skara Brae in the heart of Neolithic Orkney.

 I have some of my own descriptions of this beer but the website and bottle are very thorough -

 Appearance
A very dark beer with a deep ruby tint, displaying a tight, smooth, almost white head

Aroma
Chocolate, winter fruits and dried fruits, with hints of smooth roasted malt, coffee, nuts and toffee

Palate
Chocolate, coffee and roast malt flavours, giving way to warm winter fruits and a balanced, more-ish aftertaste

Key Ingredients
Chocolate malt, crystal malt and wheat give this beer its smooth, full-bodied, maltiness and sweetness; First Gold and Goldings hops combine with the malt flavours to deliver the winter fruits and dried fruits aspects

On the nose, this dark beer offers bitter chocolate, figs, toffee and hints of fruit.

On the palate, this resolves into beautiful, silky-smooth, coffee-and-chocolate flavours, followed by figs, dates and dried fruits, with a very appealing, lingering aftertaste of fruits and hop bitterness.

Just from the first impression of a glange at the bottle i was expecting something close to Mephistopheles' Stout but boy was i wrong! (obviously i knew i was wrong just from a closer bottle inspection) This beer is hand crafted in small batches, it even says and i agree, it is a robust yet exceptionally smoothe dark beer with a full - bodied malt character.

Dark Island has a 4.6 ABV so it is a smoothe easy drinking, highly reccomended beer, go have a few- enjoy.

Have a Happy New Year!  Frank

Had an Oatmeal Porter by Highland Brewery out of Asheville last night and would like to share the experience.  It poured with a light head and slightly thin porter look but definitely of the porter look.  It had a slight sweetness, touch of the oatmeal fullness, but not an overpowering porter taste.  I would recommend it for a porter for the new good beer drinker or anyone looking for a fuller winter beer but not too heavy.  I'll keep this one short and go to the BATW stamp of 6.3!  Here's a picture to let you know what to look for: