COMDB have had mixed results with the Collingwood Freestyle Series. Oktoberfiest is an excellent amber, Charm and Wit was neither charming nor witty. Their Double Chocolate Milkshake Porter was rated highly by RA, who no one would describe as sweet, but he definitely has the sweet tooth in the group.
I struggle a bit with high ABV boozy brews that are focused on being high ABV boozy brews, Red Bull comes to mind. I like flavour, and too much booze or too little booze often tend to come up short in the flavour department. So all of that set the stage for this tasting.
Skadi is the Norse Goddess of winter, skiing, bow hunting, and snowshoeing. The art work on the can is impressive with the goddess shredding the slopes with her pet polar bear in tow. No helmet on, I guess her reindeer horns may be an issue in that regard. Collingwood says that “An unholy amount of hops makes this IPA fit for the gods.” I am no theologian* but that statement seems contrary to me.
A nice golden hazy pour with a snow drift head. No bubbles, as in none. It has a nice hops and fruit aroma. First swig was a nice fruit hoppy combo, you can tell there is some booze in the mix too but initially there is a good balance. A strong IPA but not bitter, with a more substantial mouth feel than a typical IPA. On the second swig the booze came out to play. Boozy hoppy, where did the fruit go? As I got further into the brew it was less balanced, more hoppy and boozy, but still OK. The fruit is minimal now, it comes and goes like the North Sea tides.
A strong ABV IPA that fluctuates between balanced and boozy, a good brew but I wouldn’t advise hitting the slopes after one of two, it is definitely an après-ski beverage.
0 Comments