The Pour: This lovely beer was a deep reddish-brown.  It was clean looking and wonderful in the glass.  One thing that bugged me a bit is that Old Chub couldn’t keep it up…the head, that is.  However, that it not an insurmountable downfall, so I decided to keep giving it a whirl.

The Nose: Typical of most Scottish Ales, Old Chub had very little to tell on the hops.  I rejoice over this fact, as it is not quite appropriate for the style.  Tons of sweet malt, to the point of being syrupy, graced the nose of this beer.  I noted a tinge of metallic aromas on the very front.  Hints of alcohol came through, along with touches of caramel.  There was also an aroma that I can only describe as fruity cake batter on the nose (call me crazy).

The Taste: Terrific.  I’m still surprised how good this beer is.  I think it’s my favorite thing by Oskar Blues so far.  The fruits, batter, and sweetness all came through on the taste.  The caramel notes from the nose made their way onto the palate.  Actually, I thought the beer had a touch of sharpness/acidity that I found pleasant.  Vinous (wine) alcohol notes were also noticeable.  The beer finished with a smoked peat (Scotch?) glimpse.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprise when I pour a beer from a can and love it.  It goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover.  This is a must try.  If you want to see the beer and the pour, check this out.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other canned beers: ★★★★★ 

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Part of our “Yes, You can Can” series, Oskar Blues’s Ten Fidy, is a big beer. Ten Fidy is nine-fifty (9.5% ABV), which makes it a higher octane ale. It has to be one the best canned beers that I’ve ever had; hopefully, I’ll have a lot more data to add to that later on. On to the review.

The Pour: TF was pretty black in color with a tall and stable, dark brown head. It looked thick, dark, and foreboding in the glass.

The Nose: Sweetness, alcohol, and roast were my first impressions of the beer. The second sniff let me catch some molasses qualities as well as raisiny fruit aromas. Coffee and chocolate could also be noted.

The Taste: TF had a nice mouth-feel. This beer was sticky and somewhat sweet in approach. Of course the alcohol and roast could also be tasted. The glass had some nice lacing on it as the beer inevitably receded down the side. Bitter coffee and chocolate left a lasting impression as the beer faded.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good beer and a nice price. I paid $10.99 for a four pack of what amounts to eight beers worth. If you are normally against a canned beer, this might change your mind.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other canned beers: ★★★★¾ 

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Ever love to have a nice, easy drinking, un-complicated beer during the summer? Many of us default to Heineken, Budweiser, or some other big name lager over the summer months. I, for one, don’t mind drinking a heavy stout on the hottest summer day. I know that I’m a weirdo, so I don’t expect the same out of everyone else.  Many of you are weirdos, too…I can feel it. However, there are some normal people among us, so I want to talk about a beer in the vein of the first line of this post.

I mentioned before that I wanted to review a few canned beers for the next little bit, so I want to start with a good, clean, and simple summer beer from Oskar Blues. Mama’s Little Yella Pils is obviously a Pilsner style beer, which is in the lager family. (If you want to brush up on Pilsner or the meaning of these various terms, click here.) I also want to mention that this might be a good gateway beer to get your friends drinking more craft stuff. It’s still very much like what they are used to, just better.

The Pour: MLYP poured with a very clean, yellow hue, which was slightly more colorful than the typical American macro version of pilsner. Maybe that was prescient of it having flavor and character, unlike it’s macro counterpart. There was very little head retention, and the beer appeared surprisingly lethargic in the glass. One would normally expect the bubbly body of many a normal pilsner, but this was more subdued.

The Nose: There was not an abundance of aroma in MLYP, but I think that was the intention. Sweetish aromas and notes similar to American macros were abundant in the this particular beer. Yet, there was more aroma and character to the beer than macro versions.

The Taste: Again, I wouldn’t expect an over-abundance of complexity in this beer; that’s simply not what it is. And like macro pilsners, the colder this beer, the better. That being said, there was more depth, character, and hop edge to this pils than the average selection. It’s no Jever, but it beats the hell out of the big breweries. Its sweet touches and hops-edge made it much more enjoyable. I would recommend giving this a whirl if you can find it. I think I paid in the neighborhood of $6.99 for a six pack.

Overall, this beer is what it is. It’s not spectacular, but it would behoove you to pick this up over most other canned beers. I also want to note that I had a can of this with some curried lentils and found that to be a spectacular combination. I would suggest trying this with some other spicy dishes.  Look for some more reviews of this brewery’s line-up soon.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other canned beers: ★★★★☆ 

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Canned beers are the screw top wines of the beer world. People tend to look at a beer in a can with suspicion in the same way that they look distrustfully at a wine without a cork (or even with a rubber cork). Unlike the wine world, it is easier to be iconoclastic in the world of beer. So, I decided to try a few more beers in the can. Nate has already done a review of Genesee Bock, so he is a little ahead of me in this respect (and there’s Nate at his cheesiest). But I want to appeal to you that you try a beer or two in the can.

For some time, it has been normal to see some better European beers in a can. For instance, Wexford was one of our earlier beers. Yet, these beers have some appeal simply because they have a “widget” in them. This hardly seems like something that should exclude a beer from consideration, that is, whether or not there is a widget.

But otherwise, it seems that a beer being packaged in a can is enough to get some people disconcerted to avoid a beer that they would normally enjoy.  I have a great example.  I remember when Fat Tire from New Belgium first started coming to Indiana. It’s a decent enough beer in it’s own right, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Back to the point: Other than Bombers, the beer was coming in 12 ounce cans. I didn’t find it problematic, simply because I’ve had good beer in the can before. However, Johnnie Beer Drinker would come into the store to get some Fat Tire (only when bypassing Oberon or some other seasonal), and I would inform him that we had it in the can. Almost invariably, a look would come over Johnnie’s face to indicate disgust over the very notion of his high-end beer being in a can. Two facts must be noted. One, it is not a high-end beer; just because Johnnie made a leap from MGD 64 (which I am genuinely [not the subtle pun] happy about), that doesn’t make Fat Tire a terrific beer. As I said before, I think it’s okay. The second fact is that Johnnie simply has a prejudice about canned beer.

It would be tragic if any of use were to act like Johnnie. I know that I still have to watch myself. So, to free myself and others from the proclivity that we have against canned beers, I’ve decided to take on some different cans over the next little bit so as to dispel this virulent rumor. Won’t you join me in sharing some canned beer triumphs over the course of a few reviews?  I’m hoping to do 4 or more over the course of a few weeks.

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