The Nefarious Ten Pin is made by Ska Brewing it is 8% alcohol and is called a “Baltic porter”. Originally Baltic porters were made in the 1700′s and sent across the seas, hence the nickname. The company that brews this beer is from Colorado (Ska Brewing) and produces many different types of beer so check your local beer store for more varieties. This particular beer was sealed with wax. The reason companies seal the bottles using this method is to help ensure that no oxygen can enter the beer. The 2 things that will ruin your beer are oxygen and light so anything you can do to prevent those getting in is a great idea. Plus… I’m sure they do it for looks ;o)

The Nefarious Ten Pin is best paired with Beef, BBQ and cheese. If you have eaten and any finer restaurants lately, you have probably started to notice more beers being offered on the menus. Even at some of my favorite wine bars, I have started to see some of the more expensive and higher quality beers starting to appear. The reason I bring that up is most people have thought only wine is best paired with cheese but you would be surprised at how well beer stacks up to some delicious cheese. Hopefully soon we will have some more info about cheese and food pairing on the site soon.

If you are going to be tasting multiple beers in a night, I usually prefer to go from lowest alcohol to highest. It’s not always the best method but try and make sure you cleanse your palette between tastings so you can truly enjoy the next beer.

The stout pours jet black with no lacing and minimal head. It doesn’t appear to have much carbonation and looks like a flat cola. It has a mellow smell that is very sweet and malty with a slightly toasted smell. I get slight hints of yeast and that familiar alcohol smell that comes across slightly sour in these higher alcohol beers.

It has a very refreshing snap to it with a smoky slightly burnt wave. You get the warm smooth flavor enveloping your mouth but it has a very refreshing super drinkable beer. Normally stouts can be hard to drink on a hot day but this is a great summer beer. I really expected it to be just a dessert beer but it was very good. The higher alcohol will keep you from enjoying to many but you can try!

This is one of my personal favorites from Ska Brewing. Ska has made sure to pay attention to the finer details in this beer with an excellent bottle and an astounding flavor. If you are a die hard traditional stout kind of person this might not be your thing but I love when breweries keep it interesting and step out of the “normal”. Ska Brewing has truly stepped out of the box.

We just got done enjoying a delicious Turkey dinner and it’s time to enjoy something special! The smell is strong, kind of fruity, woody slightly chocolaty. It poured a very nice dark black with a dark brown burnt head. The head retention is spectacular and it looks like it will be amazing.

The first thing I taste is a warm  roasted caramel flavor. It has a great flavorful warmth.  It has a malty very sweet strong wave that is complimented by the dry burnt flavor. The alcohol made for a peppery spiciness in the back of my throat.  The wood really brings a new dimension to the beer and it wouldn’t have been as good without it.

I didn’t expect it to be so delicious. The smell set my expectations of a mediocre beer. The flavor reminded me how great a good craft brew can be. The perfect place for this is after a long day in the snow. The smell stepped up a level after tasting and revealed some of the milder scents I didn’t pick up originally.

You couldn’t drink bottle after bottle but I could sure use another one!