Orkney Skull Splitter (Bottle)

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

Clear copper color with a large head. Good lacing. Aroma is dark molasses and smoky peat. Some dark fruit in the taste. Full bodied with a syrupy texture. Alcoholic finish.

Pours a ruby brown with about 2” thick tan head, some spotty lacing. Initial aroma of plum and cherry. Malty with a hint of maple. Smokiness in subsequent sniffs. First impression of the flavor is smoky earthy malt. Then light honey and caramel. Sweet with no hop flavors. Full body with light carbonation. The smokiness seems to balance the sweet malt. A bit of alcohol in the aftertaste, with more maple and maybe some vanilla. Smooth carbonation, full bodied, robust flavor, but not overpowering. Well, maybe just a bit overpowering - but in a good way.

I’m definitely losing it. I’ve been IN the brewery, boozed with the owners, have had the Skullsplitter in my cellar since then. And had no idea I’d never rated this one... OK, the sample is, well, ancient as Skara Brae... Rapidly dwindling off-white head, dense & fine, over beautiful dark chestnut beer. Overwhelming portwine nose, vinous, with rich nuts, a stuffing for a real royal fruitcake; sweet but noble, rich - oh, superb. Much drier taste, restrained, still portlike, but with a severe austerity - a true Tolkien king. Deceptively drinkable, indeed. Notes of hazelnuts, higher alcohols, beeswax, noble varnish and dried fruits - including brambles. Impression of fermented-out molasses. The MF is light - deceptively so - as behoves in a true British ale - or Norwegian, seen its origin? I like it, because it is fulfilling and austere at the same time. I’ve had this beer on keg too - and it beat many’s the cask ale in the same pubs effortlessly.

12 oz single from the Anderson’s in Columbus, OH; missing its front label, so perhaps it was a deal at $2.00. Dark brown; frothy, light tan head; head becomes a medium-sized ring. Aroma malt, fruit, caramel, peat, and smoke; slightly sour. Flavor more heavily smoky, with a hint of charcoal; dark fruit is hidden mid-way in the tasting; slightly sour; noticeable alcohol in the exhale. Mouthfeel is somehow simultaneously rich, frothy, and thin (?!); sticky on the lips. Overall, this beer screams "thin," "watery," and "cheap," even though it’s neither of these things. I think this beer is ultimately deceptively complex, but it’s also deceptively not that good. I don’t care for smoke in barley wines and, as such, I don’t find this terribly enjoyable.

26 May 2006 - Sweet slightly sour malt aroma. Dark brown colour, good head and lacing. Huge smoked malt and some sweet and hopiness. Big smoke finish and smoked malt aftertaste. Too smokey for me.

Nice dark chocolate color. Soaping looking head that soon fades, loses this appearance points. Flavor is chocolate and coffee at first, then plum brandy alcohol and raisens with honey or caramel. Very full bodied and smooth. excellant mouth feel. Warms the tummy.

Stale ashtray aroma. Dark brown colour with thick foamy head. Biter stale burnt flavour. Flat palate.

Pours a clear dark coppery brown, with a quarter inch head that fades pretty quickly to a thin soapy cap and ring, and leaves behind some spotty lacing. Smell; lots of rich dark malts, and a little chocolate. There’s a definite peat presence along with some dark fruits, and a touch of alcohol. Taste; the peat comes out more strongly in the flavor than it does in the nose, very earthy. A little chocolate and caramel, as well as raisins and plums make a nice appearance, and there’s almost no hop bitterness. Even though I could smell the alcohol, I was unable to detect any in the flavor at all. Mouthfell is medium bodied and very smooth, wih fairly low carbonation. If this had just a little less alcohol content, I could probably drink a four pack of these in one sitting.