SKA Special ESB Ale

Brewed by SKA Brewing
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Durango, Colorado USA

From a can. Hazy brown body with a faint head. Bitter hop nose with refreshing orange citrus tones. Bland malty body with caramel and citrus hops on the end palate with a bitter mouth feel at the end.

Can from FBC, Flagstaff. The appearance was amber, ok head, decent lacing. The aroma was caramel and toffee, sticky aroma. The flavor followed the aroma, a total sticky caramel and tofee mess, some bittering hops in the finish, slight touch of grass. Mouthfeel was malty, caramel-ly, oily, icky. Again, SKA doesn’t impress, too bad I nightcapped a run of Beaver Street’s Pilsner, Stone’s IPA,and Orval with this mess. If I wasn’t driving, I’d have gone back and done something else, yikes!

Got the beer at the craft brewers conference. 12 ounce can. Pours a clear light copper color with a white head, soapy lacing. Aroma has light malt quality to it with a slightly grassy note. The flavor is balanced and drinkable with nice hop and malt flavors. Well made and drinkable beer.

My favourite beer right now. Rich, full bodied. Good flavour and palette that are not too overpowering. Above average alchohol content. And easily recycled can!

on tap-pours a foamy off white head with yellow color. Aroma is medium/light malt. Taste is slightly sweet, medium malt, medium hops. OK carbonation.

From a can. I keep getting more and more surprised when I see beers in cans, and they actually do not taste like metal. This is actually a decent, very easy to drink session beer. Pours out a dark brown / yellow color from the can. Smell is malty and sweet with a little hops in the mix. Taste is smooth and refreshing, rich and flavorful. A pretty decent beer, and its following the trend of beers that arent half bad in the can. Could drink quantities of this beer.

Can: Pours to a mostly clear, though it is very slightly hazy speaking to course filtering, amber colored body with a large, frothy, thick and lasting eggshell colored head. The aroma is shows a fruity diacetyl, dms (yet another one from SKA), light biscuit, and hints of stale hops. The diacetyl and dms mess here is nowhere near as bad as their blonde ale - this one reminds me more of a poorly cared for english mild, stale & oxidized on cask. Taste is fruity butter, floral/grassy hops (though not very bitter), light biscuit, and sweet caramelized malt extract. Light-medium bodied, medium carbonation.

Out of a can, pours w/ a small white head. Lots of bubbles comming up to the top. Nose of faint malt and biscut aromas. plate of thin stale malt. High carbonation ending with a rather astrigent bitter hop finish. Not much hop aroma. ends with a slightly sour biscut flavor. Not impressed.