Marshall El Cucuy No Estrellarse y Arder.

Once again the El Cucuy is haunting the land, and while slowly sipping this monster, I'm realizing that it tastes better than ever.  The Cucuy's fusion of bitter and sweet is worthy of the Wallendas highly entertaining balancing act, but also walks the death-defying fine line between excess and perfection ala' Philippe Petit. 

Here's my 12-11-10 review:

A medium pour results in a prolific and serried tan head. The froth melts slowly, leaving a thick and rolling covering with an almost unbroken sheet of lace. Black in color and impervious to light.

Sharp oily and resinous hops immediately to the nose. Very distant caramel malts and subtle pine notes exist. Not a lot going on aroma wise. After my first sip I can tell this is a Black IPA (ABA) of a different color. Smooth and creamy with a sweet malty and dark chocolate core which is wrapped nicely with hops. A little dark fruitiness appears for a second. Medium to full bodied and has a bit of lingering alcohol heat which is in no way a distraction.

It's easy to tell a lot of care and attention to detail went into the creation of this beer. The near perfect mix between sweet and bitter makes this, without a doubt, the best beer of this style I have had, and one of the best beers overall I've tried in quite a while. Congratulations to Marshall for upping the ante on excellent Oklahoma brews with this one.

....Ok, I will admit that life doesn't hang in the balance with this brew, although a few too many might cause you to crash and burn .  Nevertheless, it's really damn good, and like Mr. Petit, it gives the finger to convention with the utmost style.  Try one, but don't try this.