February 18th, 2006 by Kevork
Years ago I bought a 4pk of a beer that had long intrigued me. With a viking on the bottle, Skullsplitter is an Orkney Ale from Orkney Brewery in Scotland. The beer is named after Thorfinn Hausakluif or Skullsplitter (I wouldn’t want to hang around with him after a few too many) who lived about 1,000 AD around a small group of islands off the northern tip of Scotland.
I wondered what this was all about. One thing is 8.5%. Skullsplitter has a strong caramel flavor with a smokey overtone. Date, molasses and barley are in the aftertaste. Its flavor is too straightforward in my opinion, and when combined with all the strength of the alcohol content, is unpleasant. We’ve come a long way in 1,000 years. There’s no reason to go backwards. I’ll recommend Skullsplitter as a novelty. Just remember what you’re in for if you set sail with this viking.
