Skull Splitter threatened?
The Orcadian ale Skull Splitter is facing a possible threat from the Uber Nannies who enjoy telling adults what they can enjoy doing. Alcohol watchdog the Portman Group created an unfavourable report saying that the high strenght of the beer (it is an 8.5% ale) could have an 'impact' on the drinker. Well yes, and so can strong coffee. They went on to say that the name Skull Splitter also implied violence, despite the fact the acclaimed Orkney brewery pointed out to them that the beer is named after a seventh century Viking earl of Orkney and not an encouragement to actually commit physical violence. And, as they point out, its not sold in supermarkets so its not like underage kids can stand around on street corners sipping bottles of it under their hoods and neither is the real ale drinker the normal profile of the binge drinker who gets tanked up on super-strength rotgut then go and start a fight.
Despite this the report appears to be rather negative and threatening to the twenty year old brew. Quite how threatening an acclaimed small local brewery of quality ales is meant to help alleviate Britain's binge drinking culture when 15 year olds can snag sweet tasting alcopops (which they'd rather drink, real ale, especially the heavy stuff, is an accquired taste for the mature palate) is beyond me... What next for the shagwits at the Portman Group? Will Bishop's Finger get the finger because it might encourage disrespectful gestures to members of the clergy (except in the church of Scotland where we don't have bishops)? No more Ramsbottom in case it encourages drunken bestiality? Old Peculiar banned because it might offend elderly eccentrics? Meantime on an almost daily basis I can pass chavs, neds and down and outs sitting not five minutes from the world famous Royal Mile in Edinburgh downing Buckfast and super-strength Carlsberg, but these eejits are fixated on Skull Splitter?!?!? (source: the BBC)
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Holy shite, Batman, who are these people? Where do they live? Can I picket their house? Did they try to ban White Lightning (that staple of the drunk-on-any-available-grass-verge-in-inner-cities sub-culture)? Or Diamond White? Or Carlsberg Special Brew? Actualy I wish they would try to ban Special Brew, then I'd get Lemmy from Motorhead to visit them.
In all seriousness though, objecting to a strong beer is like objecting to a hot curry, because where do you draw the line? Will Old Empire IPA be safe at 5.7% (from memory ... don't quote me on that)?
Some people should get out more.
This time next year we'll all be drinking Top Deck.
They may as well ban all Wine as well, after all that's where we get the term wino from. Incedently Asda was selling wine at £2 per bottle right by the entrance the other day, it was like a rugby scrum
Hear, hear on both counts there. I remember some wine critic on a Saturday morning cookery show bewailing the fact that so many New World wines are weighing in at 12% - 14% abv these days that it's become difficult to knock back a whole bottle in one sitting... and they want to knock a 'strong' beer on the head? Morons.