January 14, 2009: Skullsplitter

Tonight I'm trying a new beer called Skullsplitter. Yes, you read it right, Skullsplitter. My brother Andrew was kind enough to donate some beers to the cause and Skullsplitter was one of them. My brother told me that he'd been curious about Skullsplitter for a while, but the price tag around $12 was a bit high for a guy who's not a regular beer drinker and has two little kids at home to look after. When they finally reduced the price on this ale, my brother jumped at the chance to finally try it. He didn't really tell me anything about the beer before I came over to his house, just that it was a Scottish ale that he'd been wanting to try. So I came over to his house with few expectations about the beer, but as soon as I saw the bottle, I knew exactly why my brother had chosen it.

Skullsplitter. Holy crap, what an amazing name. It sounds more like a Swedish death metal band than a beer from Scotland. Skullsplitter hails from the Orkney Islands, off the far northern coast of Scotland. A harsh and unforgiving place, the Orkney Islands is not a place for the soft or the weak of heart. It's the kind of place where the bitter northern winds whip across the barren islands, and the unforgiving winters bring a chill to your bones. A place that the vikings, one of the most viscious, barbaric and ruthless groups of people in history chose to make as their home.

Skullsplitter gets it's name from one such Viking chief named Thorfinn Hausakluif whose viking brethren invaded the Orkney Islands around 1000 A.D. Apparently old chief Thorfinn was known by his pillaging buddies as "Skullsplitter" (I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to how he earned this dubious moniker). Anyway, this Scottish ale is named in tribute to "Skullsplitter" Hauskaluif, and for good reason.

This is a hard ale. It's not one of your sissy little cervezas that you sip by the poolside. You won't find a slice of fruit floating in this beer. This is a straight up heavy ale in the vein of it's famous neighbor to the west, Guinness. I must confess that I loved this beer immensely. From the first sip, the flavors of roasted barley and caramel jumped out at me. Like most ales, it lacks the bite of carbonationation that for me, is a plus. Bottom line, if you like your ale dark, your fistfights bloody and your vikings murderous, you'll like Skullsplitter. Be prepared to pay $10 to $13 for a four pack though.

Cheers,
Ian

http://www.sinclairbreweries.co.uk/about.html