After lying dormant for nearly a decade, Philly’s most infamous barleywine festival is back with a vengeance!
Split Thy Skull — known for its heavy metal vibes, strong brews and tasty bites — returns this Sunday for the first time since 2017. The festival, which began at Sugar Mom’s in 1995 and then moved to Tattooed Mom, is an annual bacchanal for hardcore fans who want to expand their palates and taste some powerful beverages.
“It was a lot of fun,” recalled Meredith Rebar, who attended the festival in its Tattooed Mom’s era. “You get to see a lot of people that you never get to see. Philly beer events haven’t been quite the same since the pandemic, you know? It’s been hard to get people to come out to things.”
Rebar is the owner of Home Brewed Events, a local company that specializes in hosting craft beer, cider and spirits events. Not only is she coordinating the festival, but it was her idea to resurrect Split Thy Skull.
“When they discontinued it in 2017, I made a mental note, ‘Well, I wonder if it’s going to come back. And if not, then maybe it’d be something that I would like to do.’”
Then Doom Bar, a metal bar with hard rock dungeon vibes, opened at the end of last year. Rebar recognized the opportunity the first time she stepped foot inside, calling it “the best possible spot to continue the tradition.”
“I just really loved the atmosphere, and I loved their drink menu,” Rebar recalled. “And their drink menu always seemed to be very big and bold … They have a very small, specific beer list, and they always have a very curated spirits list, as well as cocktails. Everything just was really thought out, but they always kind of tended towards the more extreme stuff.”
When Doom Bar’s owner, Justin Holden, agreed to revive the barleywine celebration — it was game time.
“We reached out to Tattooed Mom just to get their approval,” Rebar said. “They gave us their blessing to keep going on with it. And here we are.”
For those not in the know, barleywine, the alcohol of choice at Split Thy Skull, is in fact beer and not at all wine.
“It’s called barleywine because it’s the closest to wine that you can get with malted barley and beer yeast,” Rebar said. “It’s got a big ABV [alcohol by volume], so it’s going to be on the higher end — 8 to 12%. It’s going to be malt forward. It’s going to drink a little bit like an old fashioned — a little sweet, a little boozy, a lot of fun.“
Behold as chaos awaits
Rebar said that this year will differ from past years in that there will be different types of alcohol served in addition to the barleywine. The new edition will also have a mix-and-match of ciders, beers, mezcals, vermouths, rums and other spirits on the menu.
“In this day and age, including other beverages is really key, because maybe somebody’s not a beer fan, or they’re gluten-free, and they don’t drink beer at all,” Rebar said. “We have a nice variety of stuff for everybody.”
Rebar said attendees can expect:
- Craft beverage makers, including 3 Floyds, ANXO CIDER, Art in the Age, BOTLD, Doom, Human Robot, Imprint Beer Co., New Trail brewing, Philadelphia Distilling, Skurnik Wines & Spirits, The Vermouthery, Vine Street and Widowmaker.
- A heavy metal, charged soundtrack, with DJ Double Hockey Sticks spinning vinyl all day.
- Local artisans selling their wares, such as SunshineMaille, Mohrdoesart, Vamvaki and Venus Invictus.
Guests can test out different cocktails and, of course, different barleywines.
“I really do like the Human Robot barleywine,” Rebar said. “I’m excited about that, and Philly Distilling is bringing their Vigo Amaro, which I also really enjoy. And then there’s a lot of stuff that I haven’t tried before that I’m personally really excited to try.”
And while the festival will have a chaotic, subversive, skull-splitting intensity to it, that doesn’t mean all the carnage can’t also do some good. Doom Bar and Home Brewed Events have partnered up with Circular Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization that advocates for more recycling and sustainable practices in the city.
If you would like your noggin to get cracked open, Rebar said that all curious minds are welcome, including “former attendees of previous years,” as well as “people who might be new or interested or maybe haven’t gone and just want to try something fun and different.”
Split Thy Skull will rise from the grave on Sunday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. (ticketed) and then again from 5 to 8 p.m. (pay as you go).
“It’s definitely trying to pick up the nostalgia of the previous Split Thy Skull,” Rebar said.
“We have [vendors] coming that are local, but then we have people coming from all over. We have Widowmaker coming down from the Boston area, 3 Floyds coming from the Midwest [Indiana, to be specific]. So it’s nice! They’re great stuff that you wouldn’t normally get to try in the Philly market, as well as fun things being shown off by all the spirits brands. So find your new fun, big, bold beverage.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
