Ska ESB in a freakin' can

For the longest time I had the unsubstantiated notion that canned craft brew was inferior to its glass bearing siblings.  I didn’t have any facts to back up my opinion but I secretly held my ground against canned craft brew.  It took a long time, and a boat, to break my canned craft brew cherry.  Now I’m a canned craft brew freak.  One of my favorite IPAs is none other than Ska’s Modus Hoperandi, so I decided to give Ska’s ESB a shot.  ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter and is synonymous with the label British Pale Ale.  An ESB is generally less bitter with a subdued hop character when compared to American pale ales.  British ales rely more on yeast character and malt balance to create appeal in the finished product.

The Ska ESB poured with a small creamy head.  There was dull hop aroma followed by a bit of malt sweetness in the nose.  The mouthfeel was awesomely creamy and smooth.  The creaminess was followed by a very balanced malt character reminiscent of biscuits or toast.  The maltiness was balanced nicely with dull earth and pine notes from the hops.  Neither the malt nor the bitterness dominated the brew.  The real star in my opinion was the creaminess of the mouthfeel.  It’s one of those rare treats when a brew achieves that ideal smooth consistency to make the mouthfeel absolutely perfect.  Usually you have to turn to a German Bock or Oktoberfest to get that perfect smoothness, but this ESB nails it.  Did I mention the creaminess?

I’m sold!  I’m officially a canned craft brew fan.  This ESB is masterful and I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone.  I will update this brew to FatCat’s Epic Brews List so check it out at the top of the page.  Keep in mind this is not comparable to an American pale ale and will not have that significant citrus hop character.  So don’t cuss me when you try this brew and it is not the predecessor to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale or some other big American Pale ale.  Enjoy!

Cheers!