#12beers of Beercember Skull Splitter Orkney Ale review
Day seven of Nathaniel Square Corner Store’s 12Beers of Beercember event and nothing says Holiday Ale quite the way a good Skull Splitter does…
Seriously who voted this into a holiday beer list? I suppose the Scottish warrior on the label dressed up in a red and white cloak sort of kind of looks like Santa, maybe, if you squint, and the red foil on the top could be construed to a holiday theme.
Anyway what we are looking at here is a Scottish Ale from Orkney aka Sinclair Breweries. It’s another highish ABV coming in at 8.5%
It pours a dark red brown, sort of a ruby brown reminiscent of an Irish Red. It smells of caramel, plums and something not completely unlike port wine. My wife @trillian1117 says it smells of buckwheat honey. The head is creamy but fades to mere wisps shortly after the pour.
The taste is… well excellent. It’s sweet up front tasting of the caramel malts and syrupy fruit that we could smell but finishes with a slight bitterness that is not at all an unwelcome contrast. The bitterness makes sure the brew goes down smooth. I taste a hint of Belgian style yeast in this which might account for the higher ABV, but again it works really well.
Despite the name, this ale is a perfect winter warmer. It’s hearty but not something my podcast partner Rob would call, chewy. The flavor is sweet but clean, and the 8.5% ABV is a welcome warmer on a cold day. I am thoroughly enjoying this brew and cannot recommend it enough. This rates a supurb 5/5 on the enigmatic happy time magic hour scale.
If you have access to this beer, please go try it tonight.
Merry Beermas!
