Review: Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale

Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale
8.0% ABV

Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO

12 oz can
Served in Duvel tulip glass
Date on bottle: Canned on 11/27/12
Reviewed on 4/4/13 

This Scotch ale pours a dark, opaque amber color with a thick beige head that has decent retention.  Nice lacing.

Smell consists of hops, malt, caramel, alcohol, brown sugar, muted candy, spices.

Taste consists of hops, malt, chocolate (on the thin side), alcohol, caramel, brown sugar, raisin, cherry, mild citrus.

Mouthfeel is smooth yet earthy, with good bitterness at the back of the mouth.  Some dryness.  A bit thick on the tongue.

Overall, a solid tasting Scotch ale that has some good caramel and dark fruit tastes and some alcohol warmth.  Chocolate and brown sugar comes across as well, and there's decent bitterness and dryness mixed in.  Not overly familiar with the style, but this is a good beer.  Another solid offering from Oskar Blues.


My score: 91

Summer Beers: Do We Have To?

The approaching summer season should be viewed as a great opportunity to enjoy the warm weather and abundant sun, perhaps having a beer or two on a patio with friends and family as sunlight remains past the 8:00 hour.  But summer also means lighter tasting seasonal beers—pilsners, lagers, wheat beers, and fruit beers.  With a few exceptions, I’m mostly disappointed by such offerings.  For most pilsners, lagers, and wheat beers—even those produced by craft breweries—I have trouble finding what makes them more distinct than similar products produced by the macro breweries, which I don’t care for anyway.  Fruitier beers often sound interesting, and who doesn’t like some good fruit flavor, but what passes for fruit flavor in beer—and not accents to hops and malts—often to me tastes artificial and weak. I think, simply put, I just don’t care for the styles of summer beer.

So, even though it’s summer and my palate should be looking for crisp, light, refreshing beers, I still find myself wanting my usual favorites.  IPAs, stouts, Belgian ales.  Other than some seasonals, IPAs and the Belgians are pretty much made year round.  Generally speaking, there are probably more fall/winter seasonal stouts out there, and a dark beer such as a stout can be firmly associated with the cold winter months, but many fine stouts are made year round as well.  Basically, while I’m open to trying something new, I want the dry bitter hops that I find in IPAs and the chocolate and coffee malt flavors that I find in stouts.  I don’t care about what the calendar says.  For me, these are rich, exquisite flavors that should be enjoyed year round.  Don’t look at me funny when it’s 95 degrees, the sun is frying eggs on the asphalt, and I’m pouring a can of oil black Ten FIDY that I’ve been saving since the previous fall.

If you made me drink a beer that had to meet summer beer criteria, I’d probably go with Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, though it’s not a summer seasonal but a world class, year-round offering.  Sam Adams Double Agent IPL wouldn’t be a bad choice either, as it’s a good mix of a maltier lager and hoppier IPA.  The classics--Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sam Adams Boston Lager, and Anchor Steam Beer--hold up well also, as they are relatively light on the palate yet still tasty and reasonably sessionable.

Review: Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout

Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout

10.5% ABV

Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO

12 oz can

Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass

Date on can: Canned on 9/28/12

Reviewed on 10/19/12 

This stout pours a thick inky black with a toasty brown head that keeps consistency.  Great lacing.  Good carbonation.

Smell has chocolate, coffee, malt, hops, licorice, caramel, slight oak, oatmeal, alcohol.

Taste has bold flavors of chocolate, malt, licorice, coffee, some raisin, some vanilla, some oats, alcohol.

Mouthfeel is dry with good, smooth creaminess on the palate.  Good balance of flavors.  A touch harsh on the back of the mouth.

Overall, this is a bold, flavorful stout with good persistent dryness and a bit of a hot kick.  Great tasting now, and probably quite interesting with some age.  It has a nice fresh appearance to boot.  Don't let the can fool you--this is powerhouse craft.

[Postscript: After working through a four-pack the last few months, Ten FIDY has become one of my favorite stouts.  It's even one of my favorite overall beers, as it's now #8 on my top ten list.] 

My score: 96

Cleansing the Palate: Odds and Ends

Just cleaning out my notebook, brain, and perhaps even my palate of some miscellaneous items.

--Have you checked out Food Loves Beer magazine? Nice articles, great pictures, and free!

--Green Flash Palate Wrecker is back.  Very exciting!  My latest review of this exquisite beer is here.

--Troegs Nugget Nectar is back as well.  In my area, it runs about $12.99 a six pack (+9% tax, making it $14.16 total).  Two weeks ago, I was in Delaware and picked up a 6-pack for $10.99 + $0.24 total container tax, making it $11.23 total.

--Founders is in negotiations to begin distribution to Maryland (as well as Texas and Florida).  If this comes through, it'll be very exciting to not have to go out of state to purchase some excellent Founders beers.  As I understand it, Founders has been in discussions in previous years to distribute to Maryland and things haven't materialized.  Maybe '13 will be the lucky year. 

--A few quick scores on some previously sampled beers:

Oskar Blues G'Knight Imperial Red
Pint draft at the Frisco Tap House and Brewery, Columbia, MD, 9/1/12
Score: 91

Brewer's Alley Oatmeal Stout
Pint draft at the Brewer's Alley Restaurant and Brewery, Frederick, MD, 8/4/12
Score: 88

Rivertown Hop Bomber
Pint draft at the Brazenhead Irish Pub, Mason, OH, 6/21/12
Score: 88

--A note about scoring.  As you will see, Mike and I have different scoring.  Mike is using the BJCP scoring guidelines for his scores, which allows for a maximum raw score of 50.  So, for instance, his recent review of Crispin Prepare to Die scored a 40, which is 40 out of a possible 50.

As for me, I've always operated on a 1 to 100 scoring system, though it's only recently that I've adapted the BJCP scoring guidelines.  So, I'm adding up to the same raw score of 50, but I'm then multiplying by two.

Did I mention I'm a generous scorer?  I blame it on my love for beer.

--According to the journal I keep, I tried 206 different beers in 2012.

Changes to My Current Top Ten

I've made some changes to My Current Top Ten, which lives on the right sidebar of this blog.  There are two new entrants to the list:

--Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout, which is at #8.

--Firestone Walker Wookey Jack, which is at #10.

Falling off the list are Stone Russian Imperial Stout, which was at #8, and Boulevard The Sixth Glass Quadrupel, which was at #10.  I do still love both of these beers.

The two Firestone Walker beers sitting at the bottom appear poised to make some hay and climb, don't they?

The list is still dominated by IPAs, but I see stouts one day breaking that.