Split Thy Skull

I'm not sure how long this event has been running, but I believe it has been around 16 years which is crazy. Split Thy Skull is an annual barleywine fest that used to be at Sugar Mom's, but has since moved to Tattooed Mom's since it's bigger (or at least I think that's the reason). Now, thinking about it, I'm amazed they were able to have a barleywine festival  that long ago. I mean, I guess that was near the late 90s so maybe there were plenty of barleywines available actually. Also crazy that 16 years ago was the late 90s. What the heck.

When I arrived, the place wasn't too busy. Took me a few minutes to figure out how things worked with 5 barleywines on the first floor and 5 on the second and no overlap. Since there wasn't any room on the first, I moved upstairs and grabbed a seat at that bar instead. They were already preparing for the rush, which was really smart, and filling a large number of flights with delicious barleywines so I started with one of them.

The one on the right is Troegs Flying Mouflan which was delicious. Couldn't tell you much about the others other than man do I like barleywines. Even the least in this group was still tasty to me. I sat around for a bit chatting with the bartender and finished up with a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. The room was so big it never felt crowded at all which was nice. These guys weren't even overwhelmed ever because of pre-pours which I'm sure was nice.

You can actually see what I'm talking about as far as the pre-pours (sort of) as they are in the bottom of this picture.

After talking to Chris LaPierre (Iron Hill Mapleshade brewer) for a while, I moved downstairs to chat with some friends and try the Allagash Odyssey. The event had only been running for like an hour and a half maybe and they had already kicked one of the kegs. Impressive considering pours were only 6oz. I decided not to get another flight since Jo was coming to pick me up plus, well, I didn't need more alcohol in the middle of the day. Can't forget they're strong! But, in doing so, look how lonely the Odyssey was sitting on the bar.

All by its lonesome, so sad.

I didn't get a good picture of the space but suffice to say, at least when I was there, it was plenty large for an event like this. Both rooms were long and decently wide allowing for people to stand and not feel overcrowded. Amazing that this event has been running for 16 years and hopefully they can keep it up for another 16. I imagine its easier than ever to get barleywines, too, which is really cool. I'll definitely attempt to make it next year but I don't have a great track record since this was my first. Only missed the first 15! Of course I wasn't over 21 for the first few, but still.