Beer Review – The Orkney Brewery’s Skullsplitter

At the beginning of every beer review, we typically tell you why we made a particular beer purchase, and we’ll even let you know where we made our beer purchase. While this information doesn’t really speak to the quality of the beer that is being reviewed, it does get you inside our heads so that you can understand why we buy what we buy. Sometimes it has to do with word of mouth about a particular beer getting the best of us, and sometimes it has to do with us being suckers for marketing gobbledygook, i.e. pretty labels and bottles.

When you look at the label in the above picture, I think it’s pretty obvious why I bought this bottle of The Orkney Brewery’s Skullsplitter. If you have any doubts, check out the movie trailer that immediately popped into my head when I first saw this beer…

Now that you that I’m a sucker for pretty labels and family movies about Vikings and dragons (FYI, I highly recommend How To Train Your Dragon!), let’s find out a bit more about this beer from the good people at The Orkney Brewery…

Skull Splitter is our strongest ale: which is named after Thorfinn Einarsson who was the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney. Sophisticated, satiny smooth with a deceptively light character, it is a tribute to our colourful forbear.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on with the review…

• Appearance: Dark reddish brown color with ruby red highlights at the edges when held up to the light. Fast rising, tan foam that settles down to a thin bead that hugs the edge of the glass.
• Aroma: Very fruity and malty with little to no hop scent. I’m picking up fig jam, dried fruit, and some musty grapes.
• Taste: Lightly carbonated with a medium mouthfeel. Lots of those dried fruits and jams coming through immediately. A bit of baking spices coming through as well, i.e. some nutmeg and allspice (very subtle). Mild hop bitterness kicks in towards the finish to lend some balance and a subtle booziness shows up at well. Mellow, malty, and lightly bitter finish that coasts your mouth with flavor and lingers for a minute or two.
• ABV: 8.5%

This is my second experience with The Orkney Brewery’s Skullsplitter. I first had this beer during an anniversary dinner with Mrs. G-LO at a Scottish gastropub in Manhattan called Highlands. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “sipping whisky”, well this is a sipping beer. If I had to compare it to another beer (we all need a reference point right?), I would say that it reminds me of the Trappistes Rochefort 6, or a much less hoppy version of Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine. This beer is the opposite of a thirst quencher, and it’s definitely not a summer or lawnmower beer. While it’s not as heavy as an Imperial Stout, the flavors are definitely rich, and lend themselves to being savored over an extended period of time. I really enjoyed this beer and definitely recommend it, but I will probably wait for the colder months to come back around before I have it again.

Beer Review – Williams Brothers Brewing Company Kelpie Seaweed Ale & Alba Scots Pine Ale

My better half gave me a sampler of the historic ales from Scotland. This sampler pack is from Williams Brothers Brewing Company, a Scottish brewer that began “operations” in 1988 using a single recipe and space at a 5 barrel brewery. Today, Williams Brothers is the sole remaining brewer in Alloa, Scotland and has a line-up of 24 beers. A part of this line-up consists of the 4 bottles from the sampler. Made with such fine additives as elderberries, heather, kelp and pine, I wasn’t quite sure whether to thank her or quietly dispose of the sampler in the recycle bin. Not one to waste a beer, I chose the former and placed the bottles in the mini-fridge until such time as I had worked up enough nerve to give them a try. At New Year’s Eve, I gave the Fraoch Heather Ale and the Ebulum – Elderberry black ale a try. Now, it was time to break down and give the Seaweed Ale a try. While I am all for experimentation in the fermentation process, I have to admit that the use of seaweed had a bit worried. In an attempt to assuage my fears, I consulted the Williams Bros. website.

Here is what Williams Brothers has to say about the Kelpie Seaweed Ale:

Prior to the 1850′s Scottish coastal alehouses brewed with malted barley, grown in fields fertilised by seaweed. This environment gave the barley a very specific flavour which we recreate by the inclusion of fresh seaweed in the mash tun. A rich dark chocolate ale, which has the aroma of a fresh Scottish sea breeze and a distinctive malty texture.

I found the Kelpie to be:

• Appearance: Mahogany with light foam.
• Aroma: Roasted malt, chocolate, a little coffee, roasted nuts and dried fruit.
• Taste: A little thin, a little flat with a fair amount of sweetness and a slight acrid, coffee flavor in the finish.
• ABV: 4.4%

This looked and smelled like a beautiful beer. Unfortunately, it lost a little something in the bottle. I found it too be just okay and not all that remarkable.

The last bottle was the Alba Scots Pine Ale. I suspected this would be more like a Belgian Ale with the obvious pine flavors and a lot of hops and after a quick consultation with the Williams Brothers site (they call it a “Tripel”), I was pretty sure I was correct.

Here is what Williams Brothers has to say about the Alba:

A traditional Highland recipe, popular in Northern Scotland until the end of the 19th Century. This “triple” style ale is spiced with sprigs of spruce and pine, harvested in the spring and brewed with only a small token handful of hops . Break out the goblets and pour with abandon. Rich, tawny and best enjoyed at Room temperature.

I found the Alba to be:

• Appearance: Cloudy, orange (like orange blossom honey) with a quickly dissipating foam.
• Aroma: Sweet malt, citrus and pine.
• Taste: Sweet and a little syrupy with a very citrusy (apricot nectar) flavor and a slightly tart, soft hoppy finish.
• ABV: 7.5%

This was undeniably the best of the four that I sampled. I would probably rank them Alba, Fraoch, Ebulum and Kelpie. The Alba tasted like a traditional tripel and had all of the flavor that one would expect from a good Belgian beer. Once again, I must thank my better half for her unique purchase as it provided me with an opportunity to try four distinctive beers.

Beer Review – Williams Brothers Brewing Company Fraoch Heather Ale & Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale

My better half gave me a sampler of the historic ales from Scotland. This sampler pack is from Williams Brothers Brewing Company, a Scottish brewer that began “operations” in 1988 using a single recipe and space at a 5 barrel brewery. Today, Williams Brothers is the sole remaining brewer in Alloa, Scotland and has a line-up of 24 beers. A part of this line-up consists of the 4 bottles from the sampler. Made with such fine additives as elderberries, heather, kelp and pine, I wasn’t quite sure whether to thank her or quietly dispose of the sampler in the recycle bin. Not one to waste a beer, I chose the former and placed the bottles in the mini-fridge until such time as I had worked up enough nerve to give them a try. New Year’s Eve seemed like a good time as I was fairly certain that there would be other libations to speed any recovery from any off-putting taste. The first bottle that I selected was the Fraoch Heather Ale. This was the original recipe that was perfected by Williams Brothers. It had been brought to the brothers by a woman of Gaelic descent who offered to share the ancient family recipe in return for some instruction in brewing. The recipe was then reformulated by the brothers until they arrived at the Fraoch Heather Ale.

Here is what Williams Brothers has to say about the Fraoch Heather Ale:

Fraoch: – The Original Craft Beer; brewed in Scotland since 2000 B.C. The Brotherhood have been guardians of the ancient Gaelic recipe for “leann fraoich” (heather ale) since 1988 and are proud to be the only brewery still producing this unique style of beer and distributing it world wide.  A light amber ale with floral peaty aroma, full malt character, and a spicy herbal finish – This beer allows you to literally pour 4000 years of Scottish history into a glass.

I found the Fraoch to be:

• Appearance: Hazy, golden with a white foam and minimal lacing.
• Aroma: Malt, hops, grass and mint.
• Taste: Medium body with good carbonation; sweet with a hoppy tang and slightly grassy/minty finish.
• ABV: 5%

While not all that remarkable, I found this to be a pleasant, drinkable beer.

The second  bottle that I selected was the Ebulum - Elderberry black ale. I am a big fan of brown and black ales and have been known to enjoy a fruity beer as well. So, after the Fraoch, I had high hopes for the Ebulum.

Here is what Williams Brothers has to say about the Ebulum:

Elderberry ale has formed part of the Celtic tradition since it was introduced by Welsh druids in the 9th century, where the ale was passed around the people of the village during the Autumn festival. Our recipe was taken from a 16th century record of domestic drinking in the Scottish Highlands and is Brewed with roasted barley and chocolate malt, then infused with elderberries to deliver a dark, rich, fruity beer with a strong single hop aroma and satisfying bitter conclusion.

I found the Ebulum to be:

• Appearance: Black, ruby-tinged with a quickly dissipating foam.
• Aroma: Sweet malt, flowery, with a bit of a barley wine or grapey aroma.
• Taste: A little flat, a little sweet and a little bitter with that acrid roasted malt/coffee flavor. Not especially fruity
• ABV: 6.5%

Unlike the Fraoch, this one wasn’t as consistent. The flavors were a little unbalanced and hit one after the other and not in a real complementary way. After the Fraoch, I had expected a little bit more and had hoped to get a little more sweetness from the elderberries and a little less coffee flavor. While certainly not a bad beer, the Ebulum just wasn’t as drinkable or as refreshing as the Fraoch.

Whisky Review – The Balvenie DoubleWood 17

When the topic of “go-to” whiskies is discussed, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 is the whisky that shows up on many people’s lists. Well balanced and easy drinking, this is a whisky that I always consider giving as a gift, and it’s also one that I would be happy to accept as one. At $50, it’s an exceptional value. Limpd likes to call the DoubleWood 12 a “table whisky”, i.e. one to keep on hand that just about any whisky drinker will enjoy.

In October of this year, The Balvenie released a 17 year old version of the DoubleWood. It retails for around $130. At almost two and a half  times the price, I can’t helping asking myself the following question: Is the DoubleWood 17 really that much better than the DoubleWood 12?

Before we get on with the review, here is what The Balvenie has to say about their DoubleWood 17:

Whisky Review – Inchgower 29 Single Cask

Awhile ago, the folks at Master of Malt sent a few samples our way and I selected the Inchgower 29 Single Cask as we divided the spoils. I chose the Inchgower because I had not tried anything from that distillery. It also didn’t hurt that it was well-aged and a single cask. Inchgower is located on the outskirts of Buckie, Moray and is considered a Lower Speyside Malt. The distillery now part of the Diageo empire, had long been operated by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd and remains the major contributor to Bell’s blended whisky. Master of Malt obtained an Inchgower that was distilled in June, 1982 and then aged in a single refill hogshead until bottled by Master of Malt in November, 2011.

Here are the tasting notes for the Inchgower 29 from Master of Malt:

Whisky Review – Bruichladdich Vertical Tasting

Two weeks ago, G-LO purchased the Bruichladdich Ten, and I purchased the Bruichladdich Twenty as fitting drams for our tribute to the Whisky Dog. Several days after our tribute, I took a quick inventory of the whisky vault and uncovered a small sample of the Bruichladdich Pedro Ximénez 17, a long ago purchase from Master of Malt.  Since we now had three unique Bruichladdich expressions in our possession, I thought a vertical tasting was in order. The 17 and the Twenty were distilled prior to

Whisky Review – North British 20 Year Old

Photo courtesy of http://www.maltimposter.com/

A while ago, our friends at Master of Malt sent some samples for our reviewing. From among the pack, I chose a bottle from a distillery that I had never tried. North British is one of seven grain distilleries in Scotland. The distillery is jointly owned by Diageo and the Edrington Group. From the Master of Malt, the North British 20 is

Whisky Review – Dailuaine 27 Year Old 1983 – Single Cask (Master of Malt)

Every once in awhile, blogging has its perks…

On August 5th, I received the following email from our friends at Master of Malt:

Whisky Video – How a Professional Noses And Tastes Whisky

Our dear friends at The Balvenie recently launched a series of videos on You Tube called “The Balvenie Whisky Academy”. Below is a video featuring David Stewart, Malt

Whisky News Flash: The WhiskyCast Virtual Tastings Podcast Is Now Online!

As I mentioned in my review of the Nikka Whisky From The Barrel, I recently had the opportunity to help Mark Gillespie of WhiskyCast with a new project called WhiskyCast Virtual Tastings. In addition to his weekly WhiskyCast podcast, Mr. Gillespie plans to gather four listeners per month via Skype to taste and discuss