A summer cream stout will be toasted on Sunday, the day the northern hemisphere marks the summer solstice.
What?
“There is no seasonal stout category,” confirmed Colorado Brewers Guild spokesperson Steve Kurowski.
It’s widely known that craft beer aficionados aren’t shy when it comes to tantalizing their taste buds, but a summer cream stout? That’s mindboggling.
But it’s also true.
Ska Brewing Co. in Durango offers a palate adventure like no other when they re-release their Estival Cream Stout on Sunday, June 21.
“They’re the only ones doing that,” said Kurowski of the summer cream stout category.
A third-year offering, Ska officials describe their pioneering summer cream stout – with hints of citrus orange peel and honey – as refreshing and satisfying.
“Some people don’t think a summer stout makes sense, but we haven’t gotten to where we are by just doing what makes sense,” said Ska co-founder Bill Graham. “Sometimes you have to be under the curve to be ahead of it.”
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Ska co-founder and president Dave Thibodeau added the company was always looking for market expansion.
“Where is there more room for growth than in the summer seasonal stout category?” he posed. “Nowhere.”
Packaged in black, 12-oz. cans with Ska’s Pinstripe character emerging from a fiery sun, the Estival Cream Stout weighs in at 5.8 percent alcohol by volume.
The 2015 version is tapped at Ska’s world headquarters in Durango on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. The event features Father’s Day specials, live music from Afrobeatniks, lawn games and food pairings.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
