Orkney Skull Splitter (Bottle)

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

Reddish-brown pour, floaters galore, and a tan head. Aroma of dark fruit, caramel malt. Creamy, quite flavorful-some fruit, caramel malt, little alcohol. I am glad that I have tried this beer.

Bottle. A - Light amber bronze with a good number of bubbles. Good sized, thick, creamy, foamy off-white head. Average retention with a good lacing left over. S - Caramel malt. A good amount of peat and fruity smells and a bit of alcohol smell. Almost like a bit of whisky was put in a malty beer. T - Initially there is a caramel and toffee malt taste that quickly gives way to a more spiced peat flavor. Also some alcohol taste. Some apple and raisin flavors come into play with a sweet flavors interplaying with the peat taste. It then finishes with more caramel, apple/raisin, and a hint of bread taste. Somewhat sweet and some tang. M - Medium body with a bit above average carbonation. Fairly smooth and a bit sticky feel. Warming feel. D - A little sweet and strong to be a beer that I would drink with frequency but it is a decent beer to have every once in awhile. Mouthfeel makes it easy to drink. Notes: A good amount of sweetness and caramel/malt flavors. Has a fair amount of whisky flavors (peat and some fruitiness) as well.

Pours a dark amber with a small off-white head. The aroma has some caramel, mixed in with some red wine and light hops. The flavor contains white and red grapes, light toffee, and Belgian yeast. Seemingly light bodied with busy, prickly carbonation. Not the usual barley wine.

This is a really pretty ale with a wonderful nose. Reddish brown in color that manages to appear almost flat but with lively carbonation. The nose brings caramel, tangerine, prune with undertones of port. The palate is a bit light for for a barley wine and I’ve tasted more complex barley wines, but only barley wines on draught. One of the best barley wines I’ve had from a bottle.

Bottle. Amber pour with a decent sized light head. Aroma is boozy, sweet, malty and fruity. Flavor follows suit with some good caramel, fruit, honey, syrup and has a slight hop finish.

bottle: amber pour. lots of fruits and grainy notes in this one. mouthfeel is a bit thin, but packs plenty of flavor. finishes boozy with a hint of bitterness.

Pours chunky medium chestnut, with a big puffy beige head, very fine clinging lacing. Aromas of biscuit, toffee, complex fruity notes like a belgian ale, banana, apricot, cherry, citrus, and a distant grass note. Medium, creamy body, smooth, zesty, a little crisp and dry in the finish. Lightly sweet initially, mostly biscuit, more delicate than the typical barley wine, but not lacking in complexity. Very well balanced by a slight tart and bitter finish. A barley wine for abbey ale lovers.

12 oz bottle from an English pint. Pours a deep amber-red. Nice 3 finger white head. Disappears very rapidly and leaves little lacing. Aroma of dark fruits and malt. I got a hint of the EtOH in the nose. Mouthfeel is very smooth, that is noteworthy before the taste. Malt and dark fruits dominate the taste. There is a fleeting bitterness at the end that I could not completely identify. This is a pretty good beer. I bought it just for the novelty. While I’m not sure it lives up to all of the hype, I still recommend it.