Beer Review: Ten Fidy by Oskar Blues

Ten Fidy is a solid heavy Imperial Stout with a mind blowing 98 IBUs.  Like all Oskar Blues products, it is canned which I truly feel is better for your beer.  This beer recently won a Gold Medal at the 2010 World Beer Championships.

I have no clue where the name came from.  However, I did Google 10-50 and found out it means "under the influence of drugs" in police radio jargon.  I find that hilarious, because with all these hops and 10.5% ABV you feel the punch.

Tasting Notes:
Poured pitch black from a can into a snifter glass with a couple fingers of deep brown head.  It was full of smoke and ester with fresh dark fruits.  The aroma was not overpowering.  A bitter beer but not sour with plenty of roast, smoke and chocolate along with additional fruit notes.  A very smooth and creamy mouthfeel warms you up and yes, it even makes you feel safe.  Be careful with this one-you do not even know the alcohol is there.

Beer History: My Dad Turns 60

The last few weeks on this blog have been focused on Beer History.  Continuing on that trend I would like to discuss my father's old age, 60.  He used to be a Busch guy and then he went onto Bud Light.  From Bud Light he went to American Ale by AB and now loves Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale.  My brother and I have been working to change his taste his horizons are rapidly expanding .

I think Dad owes me $101.93 for this.

What does an obnoxious son do for his father's birthday?  First, I had to drive to Wisconsin to get him a beer he asked for  back in October.  A six pack of Dale's Pale Ale for his office fridge, delivered cold of course.  Secondly, since I just drove about 7 hours to get there, we need food.  I will take him out to lunch at the same bar he has been going to for the last 40 years.  Finally, he gets one heck of a sampler pack including beer from Oskar Blues, Goose Island, New Glarus,  Bell's and others.  To pull this off I have travelled through four states, flattened a tire, and lied to my family all in the name of surprise.  Happy Birthday Old Man.

Old Chub by Oskar Blues

Welcome to my first blog post reviewing beers as part of Open It!.  Open It! is about opening beers that have been sitting on a shelf waiting for a special occasion.  This weekend is that special occasion.

Old Chub is a Scotch Ale by Oskar Blues of Lyons, CO.  I was saving it for that first cold, snowy night in Chicago.  Coincidentally, the first night of Open It! occurred on the first cold, snowy night in Chicago.  Like all Oskar Blues brews this beer comes in a can making it more shelf stable than its' buddies in bottles.  You can read more about the benefits of cans here.  I am glad this was the first beer for Open It! because it really hit the spot.


Tasting Notes:
Old Chub poured from the can into a shaker pint glass with a tan head and a dark brown color.  The nose has some alcohol with lots of malt aroma.  The creamy mouthfeel brings light smoke mingled with flavors of chocolate and coffee.  At 8% ABV its is not a session beer, but definitely drinkable.

#8 of 1001 Dale's Pale Ale

Another in the Series based off of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die (1001 (Universe))

Oskar Blues Makes Canned Goodness

Dale's Pale Ale by Oskar Blues is quite possibly one of my most favorite beers.  When Beer Bitch took me to Colorado, she had me guess where we were going.  My answer- "Let's go see Dale and drink his Pale Ale."  Oskar Blues is a true pioneer in craft brewing.  Why? They CAN, stupid, and they were the first to can craft beer.  Oskar Blues was the pioneer in the can movement and backs that up with a superb line of beer.  Dale's Pale Ale won the World Beer Cup 2010 Gold along with a host of other awards.  I only regret they do not distribute here in Illinois.  (Hey Mr. Katechis Chicago is a big juicy sales market.)  However, a six pack made it back in my suitcase. I now only open a can with the greatest reverence as I do not want to let one go.




Tasting Notes:  Copper in color with a foam head, and very decent lacing.  You can definitely smell the citrus and bready notes.  The beer tastes like nectar of the gods.  Ok, Ok, maybe I have a man crush on this beer.  Seriously it is almost fruit juice in quality, with a bitterness you feel in your cheeks.  A dryer finish that leaves you craving more.


If this beer is available in your market go buy it.

Denver The Initial Report

So I went to Denver over the weekend.  Here are my initial thoughts: SWEET.  Yeah that sums it up.  We started at a place called Cooper Smith's, New Belgium, and Odell's on day one.  And yes all were awesome.  Day two we took it easy apparently, I am one of those people prone to altitude sickness.  Although sick I still made it out to Tommyknocker on day two.  Day three I rallied and we visited Breckenridge's Ballpark location for lunch, followed by some of the best canned beer ever at Oskar Blues, and finished up with Great Divide before heading to the airport.  Oh and the airport led to more drinking.  Once there we stopped into Boulder Brewing for a drink and the Chophouse for supper and a sampler.

I hinted that I thought Denver made some genuine mistakes in beer.  One is the prevalence of taprooms versus brewpubs.  It caught me off guard that places like Odell's, Great Divide and some others don't feel the need to have a restaurant style environment.  I really think this hurts the business.  There is a movement to show beer belongs on the table just like wine.  A brewpub is the place to show that.  Secondly, the crowd was very young at these places.  Occasionally you would see a couple with kids, but not often.  The inability to create an environment that is truly kid friendly limits the people who will come and sit and sample your beers.  Finally, out of towners (like myself) need a place to sit and relax.  I felt without food I had to drink less.  Now I do understand adding a restaurant takes things like space and management and capital and blah blah blah.  Regardless, I think if some of these establishments truly want to achieve long term bliss it is a critical way to reach your market.  At least to me I felt many of these places where way out in the middle of nowhere.

The other problem?  GABF.  Yes I think GABF being in Denver is a problem.  Not really for Denverites (is that what they are called?), but for the rest of the country.  This obviously requires a much longer and dedicated post.

I plan on writing reviews of each brewery I visited along with tasting notes on a number of beers.  So stay tuned and of course my thoughts on GABF will come before this years event.