July Beer Dinner - Oskar Blues

Dennis and Gayle hosted the July Beer dinner and we focused on the beers from Oskar Blues. Gayle made some family favorites and the food was excellent – sausage that has specially prepared from a family recipe, cheese grit casserole, corn on the cob, carrot salad and strawberry rhubarb pie. Lori made guacamole and her salsa that is just fantastic for appetizers. Nicole and Tibor brought over chocolate chip cookies and a cherry cheesecake. Everything was excellent and all of the beers were fantastic. Tibor brought over some of his home made wine – a Gewürztraminer that was very good. I had picked up beer earlier and Tibor picked up beer too – we had all that is currently canned by Oskar Blues. Oskar Blues is based in Lyons, CO and there are 7 different styles available in cans. Ten Fidy is brewed in the fall and luckily, I had some stashed away in the beer fridge. I wanted to age some and taste it as time passes.

We started off with Mama’s Little Yella Pils (5.2% ABV and 35 IBU) a Traditional Pilsner and Silver medal winner for Bohemian Style Pilsener at the 2011 GABF - Great American Beer Festival.

Next up was Dale’s Pale Ale (6.5% ABV and 65 IBU) an American Pale Ale.

Followed by Old Chub (8% ABV), a Scottish Ale and winner of the Bronze medal at the 2011 GABF - Great American Beer Festival.

G’Knight (8.7% ABV and 60 IBU) was formerly called Gordon Knight and is an Imperial Red / Double IPA.

Deviant Dale’s (8% ABV and 85 IBU), an IPA that took a sliver medal at the 2011 GABF – Great American Beer Festival.

Gubna (10% ABV and 100 IBU) an Imperial IPA

We ended the evening with Ten Fidy (10,5% ABV and 98 IBU), an Imperial Stout. I think the beer improved with aging and I was amazed with the balance and smoothness enhanced by a little aging.

The food and the beers were excellent. All of these beers are really good and I highly recommend anything made by Oskar Blues. We were split on the favorites for the evening. Gayle liked Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Dennis picked G’Knight, Tibor picked Deviant Dale’s, and I picked Ten Fidy. I always have something in my fridge that is brewed by Oskar Blues. We are planning to go tour the brewery in August and eat at the Tasty Weasel. Next beer dinner will be in September – just in time for Oktoberfest.

Oskar Blues - http://www.oskarblues.com/

Bristol – Red Rocket, Yellow Kite & Compass

The next beers I tried from Bristol over the past weekend were Red Rocket (5.1 ABV and 21 IBU) an Amber Ale, Yellow Kite (5.3 ABV & 25 IBU) a summer seasonal Pilsener, and Compass (6.5 ABV and 55 IBU) an IPA.  I did not capture photos of Yellow Kite or Compass, a photo of Red Rocket is below.  I really enjoyed Red Rocket and Compass and it just reinforces my favorite styles – American versions of the ales of the British Isles.  I like and enjoy the UK versions, I just like the hoppier U.S. versions a bit more.  Red Rocket is dark for a pale ale and has a nice balance.  Compass is a very good tasting IPA and I enjoyed it.  Yellow Kite was a fine pilsener too.  I am spoiled after Odell’s Double Pilsner that is one of my favorites for a pilsener.  Bristol makes some good beer and they are a small brewer is CO Springs.  I need to stop by the establishment sometime. 

Lagunitas - Pils and Alaskan - Summer

Lagunitas Pils is a Czech-style Pilsener (6.2% ABV and 38 IBU) that pours yellow / gold with a little head and great carbonation.  I do not think it stopped bubbling the entire time I enjoyed it.  This is a nice fizzy yellow beer and is definitely not a “macro” beer.  Pils has a crisp clean taste with a bready malt character and low bitterness.  Pilsener are one of the harder styles to brew because there is little that can be used to mask any mistakes.  Another nice one from Lagunitas.

Alaskan Brewing Co. is one of my favorite brewers and I had not tried Summer (5.3% ABV and 18 IBU) for a while and I was able to pick one up in a mixed six.  Summer is a Kolsch-style ale and is called Kolsch-style because only German brewers in Cologne can label their Kolsch beers Kolsch.  Summer pours golden straw with a nice head and is a drinkable beer.  Summer is a session beer with the low ABC and bitterness.  It could be described as a “lawnmower” beer and enjoyed during the summer.

New Belgium - Blue Paddle and Alaskan Barley WIne Ale

New Belgium is best known for Fat Tire, but they have a number of good beers.  I had the opportunity to purchase single bottles while I was in Phoenix at Total Wine and I purchased a wide variety.  One such purchase was Blue Paddle – Pilsener Lager with an ABV of 4.8% and an IBU of 33.  I poured this into a Pilsner glass and let the head come up that quickly receded.  Blue Paddle poured a nice gold with good carbonation as a Pilsner should.  New Belgium describes Blue Paddle as “Climb on in and grab a paddle. Our first foray into lagered beers, Blue Paddle Pilsener-Lager, is a Czech style pilsener with a refreshing crispness from noble hops and a rich, malty finish. ‘Blue Paddle’ refers to the implement our warehouse manager’s Grandma once used to lovingly paddle his a** when she caught him stealing sips of her beer. With more body than a traditional Belgian pils, Blue Paddle is reflective of Europe’s finest pilseners.”  I had this with dinner and it nicely paired with roast beef, loaded baked potato and a salad.  This is a nice one and another good beer from New Belgium.

Off to Alaska for Alaskan Brewing Company’s Barley Wine Ale with an ABV of 10.4% and an IBU of 60 that I picked up at Total Wine.  I love Alaskan Brewing Co. and I had the opportunity to tour the brewery when I went to Juneau.  This one pours a dark amber / mahogany with little head.  This is a complex beer and the malt has a great caramel / toffee sweetness and it is very smooth.  The website describes the flavor profile as “Alaskan Barley Wine is a full bodied ale, deep mahogany in color and brewed with an array of complementing malts to achieve its high original gravity. Multiple hop additions in the boil and dry hopping during fermentation provide contrast to the big malt character resulting in the smooth balance that distinguishes this specialty brew. Like many fine wines, Alaskan Barley Wine may be aged in the bottle and gains deeper malt complexity and smoothness over time.”  I have tried many beers from Alaskan Brewing Company and this may be my new favorite over Smoked Porter.