Scotty Karate: Scotch Ale

I first became aware of the New York based (via Detroit) wild man by his appearances at the Good Folk Festival in Louisville (the Smacks! have routinely performed at these, as well as us schleppin' merch & yours unruly schleppin' fine, and not so fine, art by-products).

Not only is Scotty Karate (pictured above, above the other guy in the pic) a man of impeccable taste (like all great sages he understands the hat makes the man...often changing up his hats several times in a span of just a few hours), last year I bought a couple of his own brand of scotch ales from him, and that ale, as well as his tunes, remained in my memory. This year, Scotty was back and again brought the seasonal brew made in his honor by the Marshall, Michigain brewery, Dark Horse.

This time around, I was lucky and bought a four pack to take back to my lair with me. The alcohol content went from 9.75 percent up to an even 10. Scotty told me it was a particulary good batch this year (Dark Horse just does 'em up for the Fall/Winter season). I let 'em set in my fridge for a few days, but I got into 'em this past Wednesday, and the drink did not disappoint.

It's a helluva scotch ale, goes down nice, slow & easy (and goes particualry well, like a scotch itself, with a cigar). The kind of ale that's perfectly suited to sip and conversate with a few good pallies. Or ya know, pour a glass and put on your favorite Scotty Karate record and dig the landscapes of your own interior places. Sneaks up on you, too. Four of these, and you're already on your way to over-indulgence. And I dig that special.

Unfortuantley Dark Horse Brewing Co.'s distribution is limited at the moment, so I may not be drinking this until I see Scotty Karate in person again. It's too bad, 'cause if it was easy to get my paws on these, I have a feeling this would become a staple of my winter-time drinking habits.

--JTD