Bumpier And Grindier
Ska Brewing Co.

had this one in the cellar a year or two now, i wished immediately i had opened it much sooner. it is sadly infected, a real shame, because it has more promise than anything i have had from ska in ages, and seems like something quite special when you catch it right. i knew the coffee might have faded some, my bad on that, but the bacterial infection is on them. its a bummer, as i like everything else about this beer but the beer itself. the packaging is dope, the pour is a gorgeous matte black with two inches of tan creamy thick lasting head, dark as night overall and really refined looking. the aroma and flavor is where it has turned, some vinegar in the nose, seems to bring out all the oak thats on it, but the astringency and sharpness is not what i wanted here. a little bitter coffee to it, an earthy, charred, sooty, ashen vibe to the grain, still smooth and with some body, but turned sour in an almost rotting sort of way, and i cant let this pass as still drinkable, its right to the drain. three pulls though to be sure. i love the texture, its creamy and full but also oddly effervescent for the style, i would have loved this in its proper form, im sure of it. i wont be too harsh since it shows so much potential and i probably should have drank it way sooner. feels like i missed an opportunity for a big, earthy, chocolate and coffee driven natural woody stout. i hope to encounter this one again under more ideal circumstances...