The Orkney Brewery is celebrating double success in a major international beer competition, with two of its ales taking top honours.
Dark Island Reserve, Orkney Brewery’s speciality 10% ale, secured the UK Country Winner accolade, in the Dark Beer (Strong) category, at this month’s World Beer Awards in London.
Meanwhile, the brewery’s 4.0% Red Macgregor won a Gold in the event’s UK Pale Beer (Amber) category.
The World Beer Awards select the very best in all internationally recognised beer styles, promoting them to consumers and trade across the globe.
Norman Sinclair, managing director of Sinclair Breweries Ltd, said: “The World Beer Awards are very high profile, and internationally important in term of the drinks trade, so we’re absolutely delighted to come away from London with these two accolades. The UK Country Winner for our Dark Island Reserve is particularly significant, demonstrating that one of our longest established beers has retained its world-class status. That’s great news for the brewing team here and also helps further strengthen Orkney’s global reputation as a superb food and drink destination.”
Dark Island Reserve is created by maturing Orkney Brewery’s iconic and multi award-winning Dark Island Ale in aged Scottish malt whisky casks for three months. Produced in limited quantities and for exclusive markets, Dark Island Reserve is renowned for its flavours of smooth roast malt, dark chocolate, caramel, figs and dates, which combine with vanilla, spice and bitter orange flavours from the wood and whisky.
Red Macgregor – already named the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Champion Bitter of Scotland 2017 – is a smooth, ruby red session beer, deliciously perfumed with hints of spiciness. Its rich hop fruits give way to a clean and dry refreshing floral hop bitterness, with its cask version the first Scottish beer to win the BIIA World Cask Beer Gold Medal.