Review – Oskar Blues and Wrestlemania 24

Every year, I make an event out of watching Wrestlemania. For those who don’t know, it is the pro wrestling equivalent of the Super Bowl. I order the pay per view, make up some good food, and of course, have some good beer.

This year, I decided I would barbeque a tri tip roast, chips, pretzels, and I had a wonderful care pack of Oskar Blues Brewing’s complete line up of delicious canned beer. As a fan of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Maui Brewing, I am not turned off by the can. With my friend Jon and Scotty over, we got to sample four brews.

There were a few main attractions to see on Wrestlemania, the first one being the Money In The Bank Ladder match. 7 guys jumping off ladders trying to get a brief case dangling from the rafters of the arena. The first beer we sampled from OB was Chub Scottish Style Ale. Very malty I must say. It didn’t pack as much of a punch as the aroma and initial taste did. Jon likes the maltier beers more than I, but all and all, this got a thumbs up.

While watching more wrestling, we went out of order in the lightest to darkest scale, and tried the world famous Ten Fidy. Ten Fidy is well described as motor oil or Texas Tea. Not a bubble could be found, but my goodness this brew had deep coffee and chocolate notes. Something you would sip on, like an after dinner cordial. This had us a bit buzzed as well, in time for Ric Flair’s retirement match. Ric Flair has been wrestling for 35 years, and decided to wind it down at Wrestlemania. As such, he lost, and was forced to retire, and it was a great showing from a 59 year old man in underwear.

Next in line was Gordon. Gordon doesn’t really claim to be a style on the can, but the words Big, Red, Sticky say it all. Somewhere in between a traditional amber ale, and an imperial red ale. We both enjoyed this tremendously. When Oskar Blues makes it to California next month or two, I will probably make Gordon my first case purchase.

One of the largest attractions of the show was to see Floyd Mayweather go up against the 7’4″ Big Show. I found it fitting to have the flagship brew to watch the flagship match. So we cracked open Dale’s Pale Ale. Arguably the best beer you’ll find in a can. I have had this a few other times, and I can say, this was the freshest I have had it. Something between an IPA, double IPA, and a pale ale. I’ve had it less fresh, and its been way malty. Yesterday, super hoppy. I like it a lot, but wonder if it’s supposed to be that hoppy. Either way, a super awesome beer.

Oskar Blues has been on my radar for about a year now, and I look forward to them making a great run here in California. Cans might not be the classiest way to package beer, but it is far more practical from a distribution and freshness standpoint.