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)