Dale's Pale Ale

Not sure why, but I've shied away from this brewery. Actually, I do know why. It's because I believe in stereotypes and the one that goes with beer in a can versus a bottle. Oskar Blues Brewery located in Lyons, Colorado has 3 beers on the shelf at my local Total Wine & More and they are all in a can. Probably apart from the grain (or more) of truth in the stereotype, beers like Keystone Light and their supposedly specially-lined cans marketing further sealed the aluminum can's fate. Those beers never tasted great or like bottled beer. But the marketing was so powerful, that we even did university-level IR Spectroscopy experiments on their cans to see if they were in fact different. Imagine a bunch of nerds in their Analytical Chemistry Lab cutting up beer cans they didn't even get to drink the beer from. Nice image? Yeah, I know. That's why I am in sales now. And you know what? I can't even remember the outcome of those experiments, but I am pretty sure the differences between normal cans were negligible. Whatever.

Anyway, it's not like I wont drink canned beer, because I certainly will, but the can doesn't equate quality to me. But, I am ready for the challenge here, and I think it would be totally awesome if this brewery can set the record straight for me and start a new trend of great canned beer.

So I bring you Dale's Pale Ale, which according to the can is "A Huge Voluminously Hopped Mutha of a Pale Ale." The first thing I noticed is almost zero pop when I opened the can, like the typical canned beer. Is it carbonated? There is a decent hoppy and citrus aroma to the beer. Flavors are pretty nice too. Hoppy, but not over the top and a lot of prominent caramel, honey and other malty sweetness come around after a second or so. There is also a little citrus flavor but it's way in the background. There is some kind of earthiness to this beer, and BTW, yes, it is carbonated nicely. Not sure how they pulled that Jedi trick when I opened it up. The aftertaste is good, but doesn't last very long. Overall, this is probably one of the best beers I've ever had from a can, so Oskar Blues takes that crown. I would have preferred a little less sweetness and a little more hoppy crispness, but for sure I'd try this again and suggest you do too.

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