Did you Proofide it recently? I read here that black Brooks + Proofide can cause problems.

My black Brooks has slowly discolored a pair of khaki shorts that I wear frequently. A good soak overnight in Oxy-clean lightened things up considerably.

I agree that life is too short to be unhappy with this. Leather products in general require more maintenance than modern synthetics. If you're not into that sort of thing, then you should stick with what works for you.