Ska Euphoria

Pale ales have gotten a little boring for me. They're kind of like a beer geek's Amber. But, in pale ale's case, I have 3 that I really enjoy and are easy to get, Sierra Nevada, Boulevard and Lagunitas. I could really go the rest of my life and never have another pale ale other than those 3. I won't, but I could.

This is why I found it curious when my beery people starting filling up my Twitter feed with talk of Ska Euphoria and how wonderful it was. I really like Ska Modus Hoperandi, their IPA, but don't really care for their other beers. After reading for 2 days that Euphoria was really good I picked up a sixer when I saw it. After the kids went to bed, I popped one open, poured it into a glass and prepared myself for Euphoria. After all, with a name like Euphoria you have to be good. I was underwhelmed.

All the ingredients were there, a nice malty sweetness, some hop bitterness, a slight citrus flavor and a nice hoppy aftertaste. But, part of that aftertaste is a really bitter little pill to swallow bringing the whole experience down in a ball of flames. What's worse, that flavor is present in Modus Hoperandi it's just well hidden by the extra hops of the IPA. But, once you've had that taste in Euphoria, you can't go back to Modus Hoperandi. So, not only did I not really like Euphoria, it ruined Modus Hoperandi for me (for at least a couple of months).

Like I said, pale ale is a tough category with clearly superior beers. It's just not interesting enough to have a mediocre example like Euphoria. I don't understand why they would make a pale ale as a winter seasonal, but they can do what they want. I just wish it was better.

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