Review: Beers of Oskar Blues (Updated 2025)

We’re consolidating all of our Oskar Blues Brewery discussion into one post, so you can get all our reviews of this Colorado-based producer in one place.

Oskar Blues G’Knight Imperial Red IPA – This beer was brewed in tribute to another Colorado craft beer pioneer and Vietnam vet who died fighting a 2002 wild fire. It pours a dark honey color with a generous, caramel head. The aroma is pretty unique with plenty of malt but a healthy dose of cinnamon, too, along with graham cracker, some lemon zest, and a subtle peach note. The palate is refreshing but rich and syrupy at the same time with just enough hops to keep things juicy. There’s a great roasted quality to this one, balanced with vanilla, caramel, lemon peel, and golden raisin. A slight bitterness winds through everything, but it dissolves almost completely into the medium-long finish with notes of cream soda and stone fruit. Exceedingly drinkable stuff. 8.7% abv. A

Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale cuts a traditional pale ale style, intensely hopped and dark gold in color, with a thick head on top. It’s hard to argue with the praise this beer has received — the New York Times named it the country’s best pale ale — but its thick, viscous body and rich finish make it more of a complex sipper than the big thirst-quencher you might hope for from your average canned beer. 6.5% alcohol by volume. A-

Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale is a beer I like, and not just because it has quotes from So I Married an Axe Murderer… printed on the can. Smoky and deep, this dark brown ale offers a wealth of foam atop a sweetly woody core, rich with coffee notes and, again, all that smoke, courtesy of the smoked grain used in the recipe. The company suggests it’s “the beer equivalent of a lightly smoked single malt scotch,” and that may be pushing things. Either way, though, it is a big, burly, and incredibly unique brew. 8% abv. B+

Oskar Blues Gubna Imperial IPA – This seasonal IPA from Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery comes only in cans, the product of three malts and one type of hops. The boldly golden beer is full of citrus aroma and bitter hops are instantly hefty on the tongue. But there’s a curious Eastern spice character to the finish — bitter anise, cumin, and dried orange peel, all giving this beer a bit of a “Midnight at the Oasis” feeling. Refreshing but challenging. Be warned: It’s a hefty 10% alcohol by volume. Check the bottom of your can for a fun little something. B+

Oskar Blues Dale’s American Light Lager – An unassuming lager with seemingly no real ambitions, this brew has a hefty maltiness to it, adding a slightly ruddy, earthy quality to its core of saltine crackers and dried hay. Vaguely mushroomy on the finish but not in a bad way, as the added savory note adds just a hint of complexity to an otherwise laser-straight experience. 4.2% abv. B+

Oskar Blues Gordon Ale is named after Gordon Knight, a Colorado hero who perhaps was a fan of the Imperial Red/Double IPA style of beermaking. A monstrous IPA, you can sense the alcohol before you even drink it — 8.7% abv, by the way. Thick and oily, it’s a big brew, not as hoppy as you might think but strong and perhaps a little unbalanced in its over-earnestness. B

Oskar Blues  Fugli Fruit IPA – This hilariously named brew was inspired by a yuzu brewer the owners made with friends in Japan. It pours a slightly cloudy honey color. The aroma is big on the fruit, which is noticeable at a decent distance from the glass with bright citrus notes of overripe grapefruit, lemon peel, and tangerine — but the Mosaic hops aren’t too far behind with their slightly chalky bitterness reigning in some of the sweetness. On the palate, things are much more subdued. The body is initially creamy but thins out considerably into a short finish with a bit of sour orange and lemon rind balanced against a slightly tangy bitterness from the hops. It’s pretty tame and not nearly as exotic as the nose led me to believe. 5.8% abv. B

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils (get it?) is a traditional pilsner, low-alcohol at 5.3% abv by Oskar Blues standards. A Czech-style pilsner, it’s a bright yellow color as the name implies, but the taste doesn’t really show. Dusty and corny, it is neither overly intriguing nor all that refreshing. It’s plenty drinkable, but I feel like the beer needs more sweetness and a racier body to merit serious attention. B-

each about $10 to $12 per six-pack

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