Decadent Imperial I.P.A. - Ska Brewing, Durango

I have a number of issues with this Decadent Imperial I.P.A.... First of all, it comes from Ska Brewing in Durango, Colorado. I don't have anything against the good people of Colorado but I don't care much for the Ska movement, or lifestyle, or whatever you want to call it. Ska music is like punk and swing mixed together and repackaged for teens. Not exactly an authentic genre I can get behind. So if you're the kind of person that is so proud of Ska that you'd want to put that on your label, it might give the wrong impression about your beer. Unless, of course, you are actually taking two types of beer, mixing them together and trying to mass market them as the hip new thing... But enough about the brewery, how is the actual beer?

This Imperial I.P.A. is rich, very strong and full bodied. It tastes like an India pale that's been mixed with a barleywine... not something I'm going to enjoy on a summer day. But then, imperial beers aren't for summer consumption, so I guess that's my own fault. I bought this beer at the base of Pikes Peak, and even though it was early July it felt more like March or October in the mountains. Still, this beer didn't do much for me. The alcohol content was just too high and the flavor was just too rich. One thing I did like about this beer was the wax seal over the bottle cap. Yup, just like a bottle of Maker's Mark, the Decadent I.P.A. is dipped in wax... seems like a bit much for a Ska beer. In the end, it was all a bit much. I don't think I'll be looking for this one at the store again anytime soon.