The Bowsing Ken

(The) Orkney Brewery :
      Skull Splitter Orcadian Ale
 

  People who live in Orkney - a group of islands just off the north coast of Scotland - are known as Orcadians, so I guess one could refer to the beers produced on these islands as Orcadian beers, rather than simply Scots or Scottish beers.  Actually, I kind of like the sound of that, so next time I step up to the bar in my local pub I am going to ask, "Do you have any Orcadian beers, today?" Fun to see if anybody knows what the heck I'm talking about.

  In North America today (July 2016), if you sidle up to the bar and ask of an Orcadian beer you just may be in luck. There are a couple of fine breweries in the Orkney Islands, and fortunately for us, at least one of these breweries - the Orkney Brewery - is exporting its beers to this side of the Atlantic. The other brewery is Swannay Brewery, and I am not sure if they are exporting over here yet, but I will keep an eye out and keep you posted.
  The Orkney Brewery was founded back in 1988, by the husband and wife team of Roger and Irene White, partly with the goal of bringing the brewing of beer back to the Orkneys. Evidently, there was a decent number of breweries in the Islands, most of which had disappeared. Some archaeological evidence indicates the inhabitants of Orkney may have been brewing ale as far back as 3100 BC.

The Whites started out rather small, with a ten-barrel setup housed in a disused old schoolhouse - called the Quoyloo Academy - in the town of Quoyloo, on Mainland Island. As a matter of fact, their mailing address is simply: The Orkney Brewery, North School House, Quoyloo. Rob Hill was signed on as their first brewmaster, who later went on to found his own brewery, the aforementioned Swannay Brewery.
  The Orkney Brewery produces a number of styles of beers, all with the care and detail that all good craft brewers are known for, including their standard offerings, as well as seasonal and specialty beers. Pure Orcadian water, British malted barley and a secret yeast strain are used. Over the years they built up a loyal following, while garnering a decent number of awards, to the point that an expansion was in order, and as such, in 1995, a new brew house was built next to the original schoolhouse brewery. In 2006, a local Orcadian by the name of Norman Sinclair bought the Orkney Brewery, and rolled it into his organization called Sinclair Breweries. Sinclair had long been enjoying Orkney Brewery beers, so he knew he was buying a known, high quality firm.  Fortunately for us, Mr. Sinclair is also quite passionate about good beer. 

A bit of trivia: It seems that when the Orkney Brewery first introduced their Skull Splitter Orcadian Ale the folks  over at the Portman Group (a bunch of busy bodies who actually have some regulatory powers in the UK) proclaimed that the name, as well as the label artwork, of this beer was just too aggressive. They pontificated that those who chose to enjoy a Skull Splitter or two would more than likely turn into the beer's namesake - Thorfinn - and become a Viking, with all the connotations that involves. A Party Viking, perhaps, but an mace wielding Viking - not likely.
  Fortunately for the world, the Portman Group, faced with a backlash of public opinion and comment, eventually backed down from their rather outrageous proclamation. Whew! Now Skull Splitter is certainly a hearty ale, but common sense must prevail.