Orkney Skull Splitter (Bottle)

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Barley Wine
Stromness, Orkney, Highlands & Islands, Scotland

Bottle (330ml). Poured dark ruby with a good sized, lightly tanned head which was mostly lasting. A rich malty aroma with burnt sugars, toffee, dark chocolate, caramelized dates, figs and light woody notes. Flavor was a moderate earthy hop bitterness with toasted malts, roasted nuts, rich toffee, rum & raisin chocolate, muscatels, notes of wood/oak and some light notes of allspice. Very well balanced with a well masked ABV. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation, a chewy mouthfeel, thick texture and a good length finish. Very rich easy drinking ale from Orkney, although it did seem much more like a “Wee Heavy”/Scotch Ale IMO.

33cl - Not sure of the age. Aroma of toasted caramel malts and raisins. Pours very dark reddish brown with a medium head and great lacing. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is sticky. Well, a pretty lame rating but this is a easy drinking sweet Euro barleywine.

[Oops... I wasn’t aware this was a barley wine or maybe I would have kept it longer in the cellar. Bottle that is approaching two years old enjoyed 5.3.09, this bottle is most definitely not filtered as the description says] Big buttery vinous aroma, fruity, some green vegetables, maybe celery, odd. Pours a clear glowing but quite dark amber with a small thick fizzy white head. Flavor more appeasing than the aroma, not nearly as sweet as most barley wines. Some rich aged caramel malts, smooth, faintly grassy, nicely vaguely fruity, actually quite nutty, some dried fruits. Some peat or hint of smoke in the finish. Rich but extremely dry for the style. Medium bodied with a lighter mouth feel, very smooth uniform fizzy carbonation, not sticky at all nor syrupy. Pleasantly surprised.

Poured from a bottle into snifter. Paired with a smokey bobaganoush. deep ruby brown. small tan head falls into halo. smell is of light raisins and figs. Really a fantastic wee heavy. Not overboard with sweetness or raisin or molasses. I bought it cause the bottle looked kick ass. Surprised how good it is.

(bottle from Weber St. Liqour in Colorado Springs). Pours a brown color with orange tint. Medium size off white head. Sweet malt aroma, similar to a bock. Sweet malt taste with alcohol flavor. Smooth finish with alcohol taste lasting. Soft carbonation.

Bottle @ the Gnome. Haven’t had this one in a really long time and I’m glad to say I still like it pretty well. It doesn’t taste like a typical barley wine to me. It does have that heavy, chewy toffee flavor but is more earthy, less sweet, less bready. Think Scotch ale. Hints at wood float around the dense toffee character. This is a good one. The alcohol is hidden, there are no off flavors or excessive qualities, and it seems to hold its flavor well with some age on it.

The pour was an attractive amber and brown swirl with a short, short white head and only bits of lace. The aroma was lots of malt, caramel and cedar which I’ll attribute to the hops. The flavor was brown sugar, caramel, hops and a hint of booze. The mouthfeel was medium in body and it finished fairly clean. Pretty enjoyable.

bottle. pours a deep red with an average off white head. sweet malt and some faint dark fruit aromas. nice medium body with a big sweet malt profile up front and over top with a nice amount of bitterness at the front as well. smooth and easily drinkable for near 9% abv. some more dark fruit and slight bitterness through the finish. I really wouldn’t classify this as a Barley WIne... much more of a Scotch Ale. Solid.