SKA Vernal Minthe Stout

Brewed By: SKA Brewing in Durango, Colorado

Purchased: 12oz can from a 6-pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 5.8%
Reported IBUs: 15

I haven't had a SKA beer in a while, and I have been meaning to try this one since it was announced. About SKA:

SKA Brewing are all about the ska, from the design of their website to the Toasters' songs playing in the background on the homepage. They even released a special beer, the Toasters 30th Anniversary IPA, to celebrate the band. The website is pretty bitchin'...and while I usually get annoyed by websites that have music playing in the background, the site is playing music by the Toasters. The freaking Toasters, yo. It's such a feel-good nostalgia trip it is hard to hate. Flipping through the cool comic animations on SKA Brewing's website will give you a lot of cool brewery information. The brewery was founded in 1995 by Bill Graham and Dave Thibodeau in Durango, Colorado. In the 2008, the brewery moved to its current location at Bodo Industrial Park. The brewery has become famous for their use of cans, most notably for their Modus Hoperandi and Euphoria Pale Ale. For more information, check out their website!

The Vernal Minthe Stout is a sweet stout brewed with real peppermint, spearmint, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. 

SKA Vernal Minthe Stout

This one pours into a relatively black body, minus the viscosity of a thicker beer, and kicks up two fingers of impressively dark head. The head is flirting with mocha, and definitely sits in the realm of coffee and ice cream. This looks more cola-esque in bright light, with some red and brown tones escaping the edges of the glass.

The aroma here is dusty cocoa, Brown Ale nuttiness, caramel malts and big vanilla bean sweetness, and lots of mint. I'm getting spearmint, peppermint, and mint chocolate candies. It's an impressive and inviting aroma fo sho.

There is little to nothing in terms of body here, and you'd probably expect that with a beer punching in at 5.8%. This is somewhat watery and acidic up front, but then the beer drops into deep mint character, with big spearmint and peppermint colliding with big cocoa notes. It tastes like a mint chocolate candy. There's a little sweetness character, but it's nondescript and not really a straight vanilla note.

[edit: I fell asleep writing this review, so it's a new day and I have a newly refreshed palate.]

On my first sip today, I'm getting big mint chocolate. There's huge Andes Thin Mints in this beer...it's very minty. I actually think this tastes sweeter than the Pipeworks Mint Abduction. I'm getting some hints of mint chocolate chip Ice Cream, and lots of watery spearmint and spent chewing gum. It's pretty enjoyable, especially at the lower ABV.

For whatever reason (maybe a spent palate), I'm enjoying this much more now than I did a day ago. This is still a lighter Stout, in the realm of Firestone Walker's Reserve Porter or Dogfish Head's Chicory Stout. Still...this is medium-light bodied with good cling and a full-ride as far as palate depth goes. The mint and chocolate give this beer duration, while the mint and carbonation cut through the mouthfeel. The 5.8% isn't even close to being excessive and you get no alcohol here. This is moderately complex, all things considered. Up front: sweet spearmint, mint, chocolate, light vanilla, thin mints; the mids roll into big spearmint, watery mint and spent mint gum; the back end grows into big cocoa mint, with Andes Thin Mints and a great mint finish. This is sweet, like mint chocolate chip and Thin Mints.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average...this is on par with the Mint Truffle Abduction -- but better -- but also different. It's better in that it is sweeter and it hits home that Andes Thin Mints/mint chocolate chip ice cream note. It also is different in that this is a lighter, subtle beer. This is a beer that you can easily miss, like many of SKA's beers. It's subtle and well-made but it's not assaulting your face with over-the-top flavors and sugary booze. That said, I still think you can pair this beer with ice cream, chocolate desserts, chocolate cake, or something savory and salty like white truffle french fries. Good stuff. 

Random Thought: Congrats to the Spurs for dominating the Heat three games in a row, and playing some of the best looking team basketball I have ever seen.