Orkney Skull Splitter (Bottle)

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

33 cl bottle - Pours a deep amber color with a one and a half finger thick off white head. Light clumpy lacing. Has a caramel malt aroma. Has a sweet malt flavor with light esters. A smooth, medium to full body beer. Alcohol doesn’t stick out. Nice beer.

Bottle

Pours a beautiful saturated red-brown caramel with a nice light-tan head. Relatively gentle aroma with sweet dried fruit and a bit of grassy hops, a wisp of toffee and a hint of sourness. The flavor is where it really impresses: caramel and an earthy peat, whispers of smoke and tons of softly sweet malt, hints of whiskey, the tiniest bit of plum. The mouthfeel too is superb: full and creamy, and any heat warms the back of the throat rather than on the top of the palate.

I’m quite pleasantly surprised by this beer. Based on the broad availability and the aggressive promotion at some local supermarkets, I didn’t have particularly high hopes for it. But this is lovely - well balanced, rich, subtle but complex in its depth. I’m very pleased to have been wrong. This is a very nice scotch ale, and served relatively warm it absolutely shines.

11.2 oz Bottle-Pours a reddish copper color w/minimal head. Smoked/roasted malt aroma. Sweet malty up front flavor of honey, roasted barley, & toffee w/ a slight smoked/ peat flavor. Sweet but not sickly/sugary sweet-more of a natural flavor w/a slight bitter finish. Pretty good stuff, don’t really taste the high alcohol. This is a good Scotch ale-not overly complex but rereshing & drinkable, & it definatly is not a Barley Wine. Was listed as a Scotch Ale where I ordered it.

11.2 oz bottle into a Snifter style glass. Pours a mediumly thick looking light brown with copper tones and a nice foamed tan head that goes down in a minute. The aroma brings a sweet malt sense as well as a smokey malt sense. Caramel and toffee also are brought into the nose. BIG caramel notes as the beer warms. The flavor starts with a very mellow sweet malt that moves into a rich carameled toffee note. This is then over swept by a very present note of alcohol, that is overwhelming a bit, but actually really nice. A tiny bit of bitter notes are hinted at during the alcohol. A fairly syrupy feel on the palate. Easy to drink for 8%. Definitely a Scotch ale, not Barleywine. Quite enjoyable really!!

It is funny that I am only now rating this beer. I used to drink this stuff back in college (circa 1994) and I do not think that I have had it since. Let’s see what 12+ years of beer education and experience have done for my opinion. Clear copper with a nice tan head that consists of bubbles of many different sizes.The head itself does not last too terribly long. The aroma is sweet and smoky. I am not sure if they use peat in this beer but it sure smells like it. Reminds me of a whisky without the nose-hair-singing alcohol. Very sweet and caramel flavors, the peat that I picked up in the aroma (a figment of my overactive imagination?) is faint at best in the flavor. The palate is wonderful. It is full but not syrupy or sticky. I can see why I liked this stuff in college. It is really quite good, especially considering the scale at which it must be produced to be so readily available. A fine Scottish twist on a classic style.

This makes for a very nice nightcap. Pours deep caramel into the glass, with an initial off-white head that diminishes to nothing. At first, I pick up sourdough and yeast predominately on the bouquet, yet as the brew warms, I detect heavy caramel and toffee. The flavors are quite sweet, in a wonderfully comforting way.... caramel, dried dark fruits (raisins, plums, figs), toffee and honey, with a spiced peppering finish (from the alcohol notes); however, there’s no real astringency, as the ABV is well-integrated. The mouthfeel is round, although it feels initially a bit thin. This is such a comforting brew, I just wish the substance really "held up" on the palate. (Everything gets better as the brew warms, and the palate is even "more than" tolerable as I acclimate to it). Very nice offering here.

Pours deep amber into a snifter. Tan micro head leaves slightt sheet lacing as it slowly recedes. Earth and sweet ozone aromas. Sticky and flat caramel and honey with a lingering bitter finish.

Bottle. I bought it because of the abdsurd name and the cranky viking on the label. Pours reddish brown, no head to speak of. Sweet honey smell, strong hit of alcohol. Very, very malty sweet, with bitter backdrop, and noticable alcohol burn (bad, naughty beer!). With a name like skullsplitter, I kinda expected something with more punch. Not too much to it beyond the strength, I think.