Beer Run Blog

Oskar Blues' Best Beer. Period.

Oskar Blues has been a national canning pioneer since 2002, released arguably the first session IPA that actually tasted like an IPA and has reeled off delicious beers in its 22 years ranging from an imperial red to a coconut Irish porter.

And that history and variety makes the following statement all the more amazing, even as it is true: Its new Can-O-Bliss Tropical IPA is the best beer that the Longmont brewery ever has made.

Cloudy enough in its fireball orange color to pass for a hazy, the recently released effort has qualities similar to the hot style, from its Polynesian fruit overtones to its smooth finish with a backbite of bitterness to remind you this isn't some kind of fruit-infused IPA. But this takes all those notes several steps further, creating a brew that is nothing less than Hawaiian fruit salad with enough traditional hop kick to finish strong and create a truly unique flavor profile.

The tropical IPA — or "island vacation in a can," as one rightly could call it — is the first in a planned series of Can-O-Bliss IPAs (and, yes, the name is the worst part of this beer) that will include a hazy IPA and a Citrus IPA over the next six months. It's a nice addition from a brewery that has become one of the 10 largest craft brewers in America — a sign that it is attempting to keep things fresh without venturing too far from the hopped-to-heaven prototype that's defined its rise since the days it shocked the craft-brewing establishment by putting its Dale's Pale Ale in cans.

To be sure, Oskar Blues has produced some fantastic products in its time. Its Death By Coconut infuses that tropical fruit into a subtle but solid body in a way that allows the flavor to shine without being sticky. G'Knight, its imperial red, is a phenomenal big beer (8.7 percent ABV) specifically because it balances the malt and hop characteristics. And its also newly released Bamburana double-barrel-aged imperial stout made in collaboration with Cigar City Brewing with figs, dates and Amburana wood spirals is a dangerously easy-drinking product melding spices and the subtle hint of vanilla from its barrels.

But Can-O-Bliss Tropical IPA creates a new genre in itself — one that uses Mosaic, Azaca, Galaxy, Eldorado and Idaho 7 hops to simulate the flavors of mango, guava and non-tart pineapple without adding anything artificial to the beer. It's a master class in making a bold beer that retains its hop bitterness while pulling out more new flavors than almost any offering in recent memory and, at the same time, pushing into a new, undiscovered style.

Let's hope other brewers follow Oskar Blues' lead in venturing here. And let's hope that what now is scheduled as a seasonal brew becomes year-round very quickly. It deserves that attention.

Labels: Cigar City Brewing, IPA, Oskar Blues, tropical IPA