SKA Decadent Imperial IPA

Brewed by SKA Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Durango, Colorado USA

Paler orange-amber with a small off-white head. Typical USA hops, but quite discreet, fine, aromatic and not overpowering. Some orange marmalade. Very citrussy taste, lemony, orangey, with a fine hopflavour. Flowery, nearly. My drinking (& brewing) companion SERIOUSLY doubts its acclaimed 10%. Serious lipsmacking bitterness. No West Coast wallop, but a very well-behaved mountaneer. Actually, it makes up for a very nice, and especially, DRINKABLE beer. Thanks, David!

Fairly light hop dominated aroma,with just a touch of grain malt backing, taste is relatively soft with a grainey hop and malt background. alcohol well hidden . Thought this was too light bodied,and it was perhaps over dry hopped

650 ml bottle. Clear golden orange. Small white coarse head. Weak hoppy aroma. It is clearly a hoppy beer, but most of the aromas do not really come through in the nose. Alcoholic nose. Malt sweetness rounded with apricot. Lightly sourish malty bitter flavour. Peppery hops in the mouth. Medium-bodied, and not really sweet given its alcohol content. Finishes hoppy bitter with a drying sensation. Disappointing aroma, but well-doine flavour and finish. Surprisingly drinkable.

Smallish offwhite head. Deep copper body. Sweet fruity apricot malt aroma with resiny, peppery hop background. Taste is sweet slightly watery apricot hop malts with bitter, resiny, grapefruity, peppery hop aftertaste. Roasty malt taste lingering. An excellent IPA, but a bit too watery and lacking in aroma to deserve the name "imperial". (0.65l bottle.)

bottle. Pours a fairly dark shade of amber, more deep red than other examples of this style I’ve seen. The head lasts a short time and the lacing is spotty and thin. Grapefruit is strong in the aroma along with some thin caramel. Overall, it’s kind of one dimensional. The flavor reflects that. Sure, it’s bitter. Sure, there’s plenty of citrus. Yeah, I can detect some sweet malt. Y’know it even hints at a red ale with a touch of biscuity malts. But it all ends up a bit flat and the alcohol is more detectable here than in other big IIPAs. It just doesn’t mesh as flawlessly as it should. Don’t get me wrong, this is not bad. I actuallly like it well enough, but I will never go out of my way to aquire this again when so many other IIPA’s exist in our market. Just like the Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter of theirs, they talk shit on the label. They even include scary things like skeltons and high diction words, but in the end, they don’t back it up in the beer.

This is one of my favorite beers- best when consumed at Ska’s brewery during one of their Ska-b-ques

Crystal amber pour with a diminishing white head, little lacing. Everything about this brew reminds me more of a traditional IPA than an Imperial/IIPA. Don’t get me wrong, for an IPA, it’s very nice. It has a nice piney hop grapefruit nose. The hops and citrusy grapefruit flavors abound, but the pine resin finish speaks of a traditional IPA. The malts don’t seem heavy or beefy enough to carry the extra ABV, as the mouthfeel reveals more alcohol in the finish than a normal IPA. It does, however, finish with a crisp, light pine with trace resin and a oily character. The body is thinner than I would’ve expected for an Imperial. Thus, I don’t know if it’a a perfect example of pristine IIPA style, but I certainly won’t shove this from the table if it’s served! A good brew, nonetheless!

Pours a brilliant clear amber with a thick white head. Leaves a bit of lace. The aroma is pretty underwhelming. There is a blend of pine, tangerine, caramalts, and alcohol. But its not as in your face as I’d expect from an IIPA, let alone something with a lable with a skeleton and a mouth full of hops. The flavor is about the same. Malt and alcohol. Some resin character. Finishes boozey. Thin body. No real life to the beer. Thank to BeerandBlues2 for oppertunity to try this one.