Orkney Skull Splitter (Bottle)

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

Bottle from Corks, Bristol. Dark brown with reddish undertones and a decent, but short-lived, off-white head. Aroma of caner sugar, red fruits, doughy malts and earthy hops. Flavour was sweet, with a touch of fortified wine fruitiness, caramel and a bitter, slightly savoury finish. Distinctive and good.

Bottle shared by durhambeer. Thanks Bobo! Nose has a strange bready malty yeastiness to it that is very similar to a cask wee heavy I once had at Boston Beer works. Very malty and bready throughout. Definitely a Scottish take on the style. Not for me.

Thought I had rated this already, having had it many times. Anyways, thanks to durhambeer for sharing this bottle (with the "dangerous" label depicting a Viking or some old school Scot ready for war). It’s actually a fairly mellow wee heavy (barleywine? for reals?) that has a nicely subdued malt profile due to aging (almost sure this had a few years on it), with a long finish of peat and a slight sharpness that recalls molasses. Decent brew.

Dark copper reddish pour with thin off-white head. Pretty strong aroma of fresh bread, specifically hot dog buns. British hops there, and a good bit of sweet toffee malt. Slight peat. Not bad at all, but certainly not life-changing.

33cl brown bottle. Pours a muddy caramel brown with thin, patchy, creamy head. Smells of butterscotch, peat roasted malt, dried alfalfa, sticky dried pitted fruit and oily hop resins. Flavor characteristics are similar to those of the aroma. Mouth feel has a wonderful rich buttery diacetyl character. Bitterness is low but noticeable and gently compliments the rich malt flavor. Alcohol is warming but barely noticeable in flavor profile. I find it strange Skullsplitter is listed as a barley wine. I always viewed it as a scotch ale or old ale. Regardless it is very good.

Attractive dark ruby red color, translucent, thin tan head. Beautiful nose as well, fruity, grape, toffee, plums. The flavor is malty, toffee, caramel, raisins, other fruit. Very pleasant. Finish has a strong alcohol component, very low on hops, and a sort of a salty quality. Not a bad finish, just a tad unusual. Good rendering of the style overall. American Barleywines tend to be over hopped on occasion. This is a decent offering (little bit on the pricey side.)

POurs reddish brown with a decent head that leaves light lacing on the glass. Aroma is malty sweet with lots of caramel and dark fruits Medium carbonation allows sweet toffee caramel flavor to coat the mouth. Raisins and figs are noticeable. Very syrupy and close to cloying on the tongue Overall a fine beer that borders on being a little too syrupy.

Pours brownish amber with a decent off white head. Aroma is big sweet caramel malt. Taste is big and malty, with big caramel malt and sweet maple flavor with a faint warming and bitter finish. Very good.