Oskar Blue Brewery - Mama's Little Yella Pils

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. can, poured into a fluted glass


This Pilsner-style brew from Colorado-based Oskar Blues pours a glowing-golden medium straw body, clear with a chilled-haze. The head is a large, soft, airy foam in off-white. The nose is feint overall with a slight sour graininess and mild apple juice notes. The aroma is semi-sweet with a dusting of hops.

A mild carbonation produces a muted crispness on the tongue. Apple juice comes through with a hint of under-ripened pear. The beer is very lagery with an emphasis on light malt body. A very light hopping provides a hint of drynesson top of a vague honey sweetness. No Noble hop influence in this lager steers it away from its Pilsner designation. A finish is semi-tight with carbonation, a sweet malt profile and understated hops.


Final Verdict: B-

"Blue Moon Brewing Company" a/k/a Coors Brewing Company - Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

Brewed In: Boulder, CO
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

Among a number of seasonals from Blue Moon Brewing Company (ahem) Coors comes the Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale. The beer, fashioned after a Beligan dubbel, pours a crystal-clear, medium-brown body with a ruby glow. The head is a large creamy yellowed tan with solid retention. It leaves layers of lace at the top of the glass (err, plastic cup). A big malty nose features minor grassiness on the back end. Mild toasted caramel notes are slightly soured by graininess. Overall it seems fairly dry with a slight sweet kick.

Carbonation is big and crisp up front, but yields to a light wateriness. The beer seems more like a brown ale than a Belgian dubbel or abbey ale. There's a light earthiness with mild wood notes and a faded hint of chocolate. Malts take the center stage, but remain underwhelming. They're thin with a lagery base malt undertone. The finish is mildly medicinal with a dry sweetness.

Final Verdict: C*

* - While I think this is a better beer, I gave a C to the regular Blue Moon Belgian White as well. I think that this Winter Seasonal is a bit better as beers go, but not quite enough to earn it a C+. It is a far cry from a Belgian Dubbel, but it is functional as a brown ale, and not what I'd call bad at that.

"Blue Moon Brewing Company" a/k/a Coors Brewing Company - Blue Moon Belgian White

Brewed In: Boulder, CO
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

Blue Moon is an entry by Coors Brewing into the "craft beer" market. It's got nothing to do with craft beer except for the fact that the idea behind it is to try to win customers over who might otherwise go for a craft beer. Either way, it is a welcomed departure from the other macro adjunct lagers produced by Coors and its counterparts.

The beer pours a hazy, almost milky, orange with yeast flakes that float freely in the unfiltered body. The off-white head is fairly small with a creamy consistency. The retention is moderate and leaves small rings of lace. The nose is mildly spicy with a huge orange component. A slightly medicinal sweetness tops the thinnish wheat malt.

The body of the beer is very light with a high carbonation that approaches lagery crispness. Malt flavor is mild with a moderate sweetness. The beer's graininess turns a bit sour on the mid-palate, but is tamped down by the impact of mighty orange flavoring. On the finish the beer is dry with a slight astringency.

Final Verdict: C

Oskar Blues Brewery - Old Chub Scotch Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. can, poured into a pint glass

Old Chub, a Colorado-brewed Scotch Ale or Wee Heavy, pours a deep rubied brown body with a medium-large light brown head. The beer's foam is moderately creamy in appearance with healthy bubbles of air. The head fades slowly and leaves light lacing on the glass. The nose is malty, but light. Toasted malts are sweet with caramel and a light sugary candied edge. Very mild earthy tones underscore the brew's malt base.

A sip reveals, not unexpectedly, a sweet malt body with almost no hops perceptible. Mild candied stone fruits lend additional sweetness to the toffee caramel and contrast light coffee-like flavors. The beer is straight forward and malt-centric, true to the style, but not an overbearing malt bomb. Highly drinkable with a light robustness, this is a classic session ale. The finish is drying with hints of hard water and a bit of lingering sweetness.

Final Verdict: B+

Boulder Beer Company - Kinda Blue

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Pilsner glass

Following yesterday's Double IPA from Boulder comes a blueberry infused wheat beer. Kinda Blue pours a moderate purply tinted pale amber body with a reddish glow. The large fluffy head is light tan, but also features minor red tint. The retention is solid and the lacing is light. The nose is dry and dusty with a mild astringency and very feint blueberry aromas. A slight sweetness lingers, but the nose does not seem candied or cloying.

What this beer does right, off the bat, is that it seems to start with a competent wheat beer. Mildly spicy wheat is apparent in this mixed-malt brew. Satiny carbonation mixed with a gristly malt body give the beer some additional texture. The blueberry flavor is semi-sweet and almost slightly tart. This "with blueberries added" beer does not seem candied, cloying or artificial. The fruit flavor is more of an accent, not overbearing. The aftertaste has a moderate sweetness and seems fresh, which contrasts some of the dry elements and the cracked malt texture.

Final Verdict: B-

Boulder Beer Company - Mojo Risin' Double IPA

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a tulip glass

Mojo Risin' from Boulder Beer Company pours a moderate orangy amber body with a slight chill haze. The head is large and fluffy with a lightly yellowed hue. The sticky foam manages solid retention and leaves thin clinging lace around the top of the tulip glass. The nose is defined by a pungent resinous pine hop aroma.

The beer is clearly strong and slightly boozy on the front. Quite hop forward, slick pine hops exude their essential oils. Light hints of grape fruit are apparent. There are very modest caramel notes in this hop-centric Double IPA. Caught at the end of the beer's prescribed life, the hops hold up quite well and have not succumbed to the big malts that give the beer its strength. The finish has a mild sweetness and a tinge of heat.

Final Verdict: B+

Boulder Beer Company - Sweaty Betty Blonde

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pilsner glass posing as a weizen glass

Sweaty Betty from Boulder Beer Company pours a light hazy blonde with silky streaks of floating yeast from a vigorous pour and swirl. The beer has a healthy head of fine carbonation speckled with dots of yeast. The solid retention subsides to large swathes of lacing. Spicy wheat malts define the nose with notes of coriander and light cinnamon. Banana phenols are plentiful, but don't overwhelm the nose.

The beer is sweet and crisp with a carbonation that keeps a constant texture throughout the length of the sip. The beer is very light and drinkable, owing partially to the blended wheat and barley malts. It seems quite sessionable and great for Summer drinking. Mild grassiness with plenty of ripe banana flavor give the brew a true hefeweizen taste that lasts right through the finish.

Final Verdict: B

Boulder Beer Company - Mojo India Pale Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Mark Twain pint glass

Boulder's Mojo IPA pours a bold straw body with yellow, almost chartreuse, glow. There's a slight haze to the otherwise clear liquid. The head is large with an airy foam consistency. It's got insane lasting power with a sticky quality that produces extensive lacing on the glass. The earthy and floral hop aroma is initial noticeable followed by a slight grapefruit perfume.

The mouthfeel is velvety, padded by mild malts. Soon, the strong hops battle back the tamed malt body. The hops are higher on bittering than aromatics, but they create a well-rounded presence. The hops almost reach a level of tartness as they can be felt on the inside of your cheeks. A bit of alcohol comes through on the finish, but it is understated and easily tolerable.

Final Verdict: B

Boulder Beer Company - Never Summer Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Never Summer Ale, the hinting, but slightly deceptive name packs a significant and tasty Winter Warmer. It pours a clear and glowing red-amber body with hints of glowing brown. The head is large and creamy with excellent retention and lacing. Caramel and hints of cinnamon come across up front on the nose, followed shortly by dry hops and biscuity malts.

Brown sugar sweetness is prominent off the bat with a creamy mouthfeel and a minor vanilla extract tinge. The body is slightly woody and earthy with a subtle spiciness combined with roasted chestnuts. The rich and deep character slowly fades to a dry finish with a condensed tightness that carries a slight bitterness.

Final Verdict: B+

Boulder Beer Company - Flashback India-style Brown Ale

Boulder Beer Company - Flashback India-style Brown Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Dubbed an India-style Brown Ale, this beer is somewhere in between a dark IPA and a Cascadian Dark Ale. Either way, the hops are prominent. The beer pours a crystal clear almost coppery, amber-brown. The thick craterous head of light foam begins lacing immediate and and is endowed with great staying power. The nose is hoppy, but not overly. Clearly bringing in the ‘India-style.’ Also on the nose are sweet hints of caramel and a sugary rum-like component.

Up front the toasted malts define the beer. They work with a mildly woody flavor, a bit like oak-aged beer or wine. There’s light biscuit flavor in the middle, but the hops come in a bit late to drown them out. Boulder Beer Company adds hops in five stages during the brewing process, but they seem a bit late to the game in this beer.

Final Verdict: B-