BREWER: Loch Ness Brewery, Highlands 

STYLE: Stout 

ABV: 4.4%

VESSEL: 500ml bottle

TWITTER: @lochnessbrewery

 

JYMI SAY’S…

Darkness is just the most stunning name for a Stout!! I mean, how very simple and just totally perfect. I’m going to ignore the fact that this is a play on words from the brewery that produced it as frankly I find it quite annoying. No, I’m concentrating on the fact that Darkness is one of the best and most apt names for a beer out there. I’m just hoping that once released from it’s rather underwhelming bottle that it pours a rich black, as when you come with a name tag like this you better hope that you’re darker than a ninja at night.

And it most certainly was… Darkness poured a beautiful deep black colour with a hint of cherry and gave off a lovely lovely rich burnt chocolate and coffee aroma. Taste wise Darkness delivers in a big way. Such a full flavour with a wonderful smooth finish. And for such a full flavour it’s amazing just how drinkable this stout is.

So big ticks for nose, taste and drinkability…. However, by the time I had finished this offering from Loch Ness Brewery the rich full flavour had given me my fill and I was only ready for one more really.

All in all this would be a great opener for any wintery occasion but for me anyway I would have to move onto something else pretty quickly.

But it’s a job well done by #LNB.

Jymi’s Rating: 72%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Loch Ness Brewery has a good thing going on with the naming of its beers.  I don’t think this needs explaining, but just in case the Ness bit of the names of all of the beers is in relation to the Ness part of Loch Ness.  This is where the beers come from.  Get it?  Clever isn’t it?  This great play on the name isn’t backed up by the packaging (the less said about that the better) so the overall marketing isn’t quite the full ticket. 

Dark Ness, is quite obviously, a stout from Loch Ness Breweries.  It most definitely looks like a stout (first box ticked) and it definitely smells like a stout (second box ticked).  To be fair, it smells really good for a stout packed full of with lovely chocolatey hints backed up by backdrops of cherry, both of which are most welcome at this time of year. 

In the drinking, there is a chocolate sweetness that is actually very well balanced with the heavier coffee, earthy flavours that we usually associate with stouts.  It’s not a deep flavour and this makes Dark Ness incredibly light for a stout.  It’s easy on the palate and it’s very easy to drink.  The flavour doesn’t have much length, but this leads to this being an incredible session beer (and please do remember that this is a stout!).

In a (Christmas) nutshell, Dark Ness is a contender for an excellent session stout, which has character in abundance.  It’s definitely a big hitter and one that I would recommend for cold winter months. 

 Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 76.5% 

 

MOB review next weekend: BLACK ISLE ORGANIC PORTER by BLACK ISLE BREWING CO. 

@MUSEONBOOZE