Dale's Pale Ale by Oskar Blues Brewery

There always seems to be those beers that I regret not trying earlier. Recently, it was Ugly Pug by Rahr and Sons Brewery, a beer that was becoming available just as I was leaving the Dallas/Forth Worth Metroplex, as I began my trip East to Atlanta, ultimately a move that would turn my focus from imports to American craft brews, and fostered a new love of “local” flavor.

Another neglected beer is Oskar Blues’ Dale’s Pale Ale. Now I will admit that one reason I stayed away from this brewery’s fare for quite a while was my snobbery towards drinking beer from a can. I am not opposed to it, but at a certain price point, I wanted to have a glass bottle. Once I got over that prejudice I still had the tyranny of choice to overcome before selecting this particular ale.

A few weeks ago though, after a shopping trip with my brother in which we divvied up several six packs of this and that, I ended up with this beer.

Emptying the can’s contents into a pint glass exposed the slightly cloudy, orange hued beverage. A decent off-white head formed about a finger and a half thick, and swiftly dissipated to about just half of its initial size.

The aroma of the freshly poured beer was forward with the scent of grapefruit wafting over a slight grain sugariness.

A bright, dry, grapefruit flavor is the first recognized taste, the bitterness is medium bodied, and nicely tempered by malts that draw out some interesting spice and perhaps clove notes on the backend.

With such a nice depth and balance of flavors, I am regretting every outdoor function where I settled for less of a canned beer when I could have been enjoying Dale’s Pale Ale or another canned craft beer.

Prost!