Skully Barrel No. 7
Paradox Beer Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

plenty of negative hype surrounding this operation lately, but they keep on churning out brew after brew, got to respect that. this may be the greatest success of the skully series this far, a smoked sour, that is both subtly smoked, and subtly sour. the scotch barrel that houses it imparts some classic peaty earthiness and a touch of thick sweetness, which is mostly fermented out, but remains a bit. the same semi unappealing chunky yeast that defines so many of the paradox beers, but nice and heady and this one stays carbonated on point. woody for sure, mellow though too. i find myself wishing for more smoke, more of a rauchbier vibe, but the wheat malt is a cool platform for whats going on here. one of handful of the paradox beers where the execution matches the brilliance of the idea, i like this one a lot. amazingly well hidden alcohol strength that only shows its face at room temperature. if more of their beers were put together this well i have no doubt their reputation would still be in tact. call me crazy, but this may be enough to make me go out and find a skully number 8!