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Isle of Skye
 scrapes in
 decent
 good
 excellent
 sublime
Isle of Skye, Black Cuillin Dark Ale (Scotland) 
Black Cuillin is a stout-like beer, brewed with rolled oats and Scottish honey. It pours a dense black colour with a hint of ruby, and thick coffee-coloured head. On the nose it is smoky and dark, with roasted nutty aromas and a certain fruitiness. On the palate it is surprisingly fresh: it has a moderately thick texture and plenty of bitter, dark, roasted oat and chocolaty depth, but there is also a plummy fruit and a lively, fresh acidity. It has quite low carbonation and a very grown-up, charcoally dryness in the finish. A very nice beer this. 4.5% ABV, 50cl, �1.49, Booth's, Luvians, Peckhams, Safeway. | |
Isle of Skye, Oyster Stout (Scotland)
Native oysters are part of the recipe for this beer, I believe being steeped in the mash for a period. That does not give an overt "fishy" character, but I did detect a clean, ozone-like note of sea freshness on the nose. It is a dark stout, with plenty of malt and bitter chocolate as well as that intriguing salty freshness. On the palate it is quite dense and creamy, with lots of malty dark flavour and a sourdough note that is quite grown-up and very pleasant. An unusual seasonal beer, that may be hard to track down. 4.6% ABV, 50cl, �2.00, WineRak Scotland.  |  |
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