SKA Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter

Brewed by SKA Brewing
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Durango, Colorado USA

Bottle brought back from Durango. After having their putrid example of an imperial IPA in Decadent - I was expecting something just as bad for Ten Pin. This was a HUGE step up. While not being anywhere amazing, at least it exemplified a decent take on porter. Nice dry, roasty, bitter, choco coffee flavors blend reasonably well. Smaller then expected - and unlike Decadent, at least this thing was finishable. Average!

I was not very impressed with this beer. I think including the word "imperial" in a beer raises my expectations, and this beer didn’t really meet those. I didn’t find this beer to be particularly roasty, but it did offer a fair amount of cereal and malt-ball flavor (although not to the degree of some maibocks or doppel-bocks) which I don’t particularly care for nor do I think is especially appropriate for this style. Appearance was what you might expect for a porter, as it was black and had a significant amount of tan head. Aroma was a bit cerealy with moderate amounts of dark roasty smell. Flavor was not great - not roasty and flavor was dominated by cerealness and milk-ball flavors that I found unappealing and felt were inappropriate for a porter. Mouthfeel was a bit thinner than I expected, but this beer was by no means watery. Not really recommended. There are far better imperial stouts, baltic porters, and American strong ales out there to try. I bought this bottle at Liquor Mart in Boulder when visiting CO to attend the Great American Beer Fest. I brought it back to Milwaukee in my wooden leg and split this bottle with Surly Sober.

Not too shabby. Pretty creamy and alot of chocolate. Nice sweetness and bitterness in balance. A little on the thin side and could use more "robustness".

Wonderful dark brown color. chocolate and molasses aroma. Not much after taste and a little thin in the body.

Pours an almost impenetrable brown that a minimal amount of light gets through. The head is enormous. Nose is actually very interesting. Seems like it has a roasted coffee bean aroma to it. The flavor is actually pretty good too. When the first second or two of flavor wears off, what stays with you is a rich and full flavor that has hints of coffee. Overall this is the best brew I have had yet of Ska’s. I had low expectations, but I was surprised. This one is actually worth trying - especially after you let it warm up a bit. By that point, it becomes quite a bit more.

22 oz bottle. Pours a deep dark brown color with a small tan head. Has medium body with the aroma of coffee, roasted malt and molasses. Taste is of weak coffee, some chocolate notes and malt. Has a bit of a hop character as well. Has a bit of a one dimensional dry musty finish.

Name: Nefarious Ten Pin
Date: 12/03/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Strong Ale fest, 2005

brown with ruby edges, whispy tan head, big chocolate malt aroma, bland chocolate flavor, low bitter finish
-------- /> Name: Nefarious Ten Pin
Date: 08/26/2006
Source: tasting

ditto
-------- /> Name: Nefarious Ten Pin
Date: 11/24/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2005

chocolate and citrus aroma, rich chocolate flavor, big sweet winey character,
-------- /> Name: Nefarious Ten Pin
Date: 11/24/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2007

dark chocolate aroma, same light chocolate flavor, light balancing bitterness

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 9/20
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *+/4

22 oz bottle, 7/4/07: Chestnut brown body w/a short lived, thin, very light beige head. Chocolate & lightly burnt malt aromas up front, hints of nutty malt, and toasted malt shows up after it warms a bit. Add bready and cereal malt aroma, but they’re all light. Flavor wise it’s lightly roasted and burnt immediately, then lightly roasty, toasted, and nutty malt undertones. Finish is dry and lightly burnt w/ a touch of herbal hops. Aftertaste is much the same as the finish. Lighter medium body, dry m/f, well hidden alcohol, which is one of the saving graces of this beer.. Very well hidden alcohol, at least in my bottle. Overall the flavor profile seems a bit thin for an American strong ale! Not a bad beer, just a bit "aneamic" when it comes to flavor. Not very bold tasting... And an American strong ale has to be a little more bold, at least IMHO. I’m also not a big fan of the burnt flavors/aromas... Takes away too much from the other malt flavors.