New In Town - SKA Brewing, Durango California

One of the most popular pastimes in Southwest Missouri in the summer is floating.  Getting out in a canoe or raft on Missouri’s waterways used to mean drinking whichever American lager you could stand to drink all day, since only cans were allowed on the river.  Because of an age-old stigma against cans (they, at one time, were known to add a metallic taste to your beer), microbreweries and beer aficionados alike dreaded the idea of high quality beer being packaged in cans instead of bottles. 

That was, of course, until a few microbreweries stopped and took another look at cans as a packaging option.  Packaging Technology has come a very long way in the past decade or two, and the cans that used to expose your precious suds to aluminum are now “specially lined” to protect your brew from tasting like the bottom of a Hot Wheel. 

In addition, in the everlasting pursuit of preserving the freshness of beer when it is opened by a customer, the cans make a huge difference.  You see, the two greatest enemies of fresh beer are ultra-violet light and oxygen.  Clear and green glass bottles let in a lot of ultraviolet light, causing the infamous “skunky” flavor.  When a beer has that flavor (and it’s not supposed to), it is considered light-struck.  If you tasted a Corona straight from the brewery and one sold to your in the store, you probably wouldn’t recognize the beer from the brewery, as that “light-struck” flavor is part of what you know. 

Oxygen is also a major culprit in spoiling beer.  Oxidation can cause a variety of effects.  For instance, in light-colored beers, the aroma can become more honey-like, or the flavor can become papery.  In darker beers, malty flavors (those that remind you of bread or toast) can be replaced by sweet sherry-like flavors, which may not be particularly pleasant, and certainly aren’t what the brewer intended.  Over time, oxidation can almost eliminate the good malty flavors, leaving behind undesirable alcohol by-products.  Independent of beer color, beers can also gain a metallic flavor or lose the aroma and flavor of their hops.  Oxidation is the main reason for the expiration dates on beer. 

Te solution of packaging in cans solves the UV light problem add greatly reduces the oxidation problem associated with beer spoilage.  The beer is not exposed to any light while in the can, and the amount of oxygen with which the beer can react is nearly eliminated.

As a result, there is now a growing selection of river-ready beers available at your local beer store. 

New Belgium led the packaging pack in our market, making their flagship Fat Tire available in cans some time ago.  Others have now followed suit.  For instance, Schlafly’s Summer Lager, featured in last week’s column, is now available in cans, and is a very good river beer, to boot.  This week, I’m featuring a set of beers from a newcomer to our market, SKA Brewing out of Durango, Colorado.

SKA Brewing has a few new beers available in town.  So far, I’ve found them at the Brown Derby International Wine Center, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them start cropping up at some stores with large beer selections in the area.  You may even be able to find them on tap at some local restaurants before too long.  The three I located at the Wine Center were Modus Hoperandi IPA, Special ESB, and True Blonde Blonde Ale.

If you’re planning a float trip in the near future, pick up the sampler pack of these babies or just pick up a couple of sixers at the Wine Center.  You won’t regret it.

Modus Hoperandi IPA – SKA Brewing  - American IPA – 6.8% ABV – A very well-balanced IPA.  The hops in this coppery-colored ale are up-front without being abrasive.  The beer pours with a white head which dissipates quickly, and the aroma is great.  It has lots of citrus and floral aromas with just a little caramel around the edges.  The flavor is very clean, with very little yeast flavor, but a lot of great hop flavor without the punch-in-the-face bitterness a lot of IPAs pack.  The hop flavors in the beer are mostly citrus with a little pine and are supported nicely by caramel malts.  The finish is the taste of the hops just hanging out on your tongue.  As soon as you finish one taste, you want another.  4 out of 5 pints.

Special ESB – SKA Brewing – Extra Special Bitter – 5.7% ABV – Don’t be fooled by the name of this style. ESB isn’t really bitter in the way an IPA can be.  ESB’s are usually very well-balanced ales that are intended to be easy-to-drink and enjoyable.  This beer fits that bill very well.  Special ESB pours a nice amber color and has an easy aroma of toast and caramel. The flavor is really a balance of several flavors.  It’s easy to pick up the toast and caramel flavors, along with a slight and refreshing hops bitterness, but if you taste carefully, you may also pick up some toffee and a little bit of citrus, as well.  This is a very easy, non-offensive beer, and would be nice out on the river.  3.5 out of 5 pints.

True Blonde – SKA Brewing – Golden / Blonde Ale – 5.3% ABV – A decent example of an American Blonde Ale, this beer pours a light golden color with a white head.  The aroma has some cracker-like malt to it, but also some spices and some honey or honeysuckle. It has a very light body on the tongue.  The flavor is well balanced between bready malt, a little apricot, and some sugar and honey.  The flavor is not sweet exactly, but has the essence of honey throughout.  The finish is mostly the lingering spice and honey flavors.  Overall, a refreshing summer beer.  3 out of 5 pints.