Orkney Brewery is behind some of the first “fancy” beers I ever had, thanks to the availability of their classics Dark Island and Northern Light at Tesco and pubs across the land.
For years they’ve been known as one of Scotland’s more popular traditional-style craft breweries, but recently they’ve launched three new bevvies in trendy-looking tins, decked out in colourful runestone designs.
If this is their attempt to expand away from the stuffy tweed-wearing “real ale” drinkers of Scotland and target the modern breed of bearded hipster beer nerds… well, it’s worked, because they certainly piqued my interest.
Here’s how I rated each of the new cans in Orkney Brewery’s new “runic range”.
Skara Blonde Orcadian IPA, Orkney Brewery
- 4.6%
- £3.95 a 440ml can on the website
- Orkney Brewery
- Style: “Orcadian” IPA, but I’d say it’s more of a lager/IPA hybrid.
My first thought upon pouring the Skara Blonde IPA was how bright, clear and fizzy it was, it really reminded me of a lovely pint of lager in appearance.
And this kept going in taste. It’s described as a blonde IPA, but for me it hasn’t got the up-front bitterness you’d expect from something with IPA on the label.
What it delivers is a fresh-tasting, malty, sweet and only ever so slightly bitter flavour. Absolutely could drink these all night with zero complaints.
Pleasantly impressive, and quite different from what I’ve had from Orkney Brewery previously.
Rating: 3.5/5
Hafn Helles Orcadian Lager, Orkney Brewery
- 4.4%
- £3.95 a 440ml can on the website
- Orkney Brewery
- Style: Helles Lager
The Hafn Helles Orcadian Lager I tried was actually much more similar to beers I’ve had from Orkney Brewery on many, many previous occasions, particularly the Northern Light.
However, the German and Czech inspiration behind this new brew really shined through.
Pouring with a pretty thin head, this lager was malty, floral and sweet, but instead of a bitterness backing it up, it had a really nice tangy flavour with every sip.
A great beer, and again like the the Skara above, would happily stay on this for an evening.
Rating: 4/5
Brodgar Bere Beer
- 4.8%
- £3.95 a 440ml can from the website
- Orkney Brewery
- Style: Bere beer…?
I must admit, I was totally stumped in trying to figure out exactly what style this beer was at first, until that was I Googled the word “Bere” on the front of the tin.
Turns out, it’s a type of barley which Wikipedia tells me is a special sort of ancient barley grown mainly on just 5-15 hectares of land in Orkney.
But how does it taste?
Well, I’ve no idea if this is like the beers Orcadians of neolithic times drank, but to me it was super duper sweet and fruity.
This dark ruby red beer poured with a silky smooth consistency.
The slightly stronger alcohol backbone of 4.8% really helped to bring the whole beer together perfectly.
It’s not a drink I’d really have more than one of in a night, but it’s in my opinion the best of the three, and certainly the most memorable, and most different to the norm.
If I’d recommend any of these three beers from Orkney Brewery’s new runic range, it’d definitely be this one.
Rating: 4.5/5
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