Welcome back to the Pint Sized Review featuring Dale’s Pale Ale by Oskar Blues Brewery.

This beer pours out a pale amber, more red than I was expecting. Not bad, not bad. Fun, frothy head that sticks around for a while.

I asked my wife Kate what it smells like. She said, “Beer.” She’s not wrong.

It smells like the kind of beer that makes you think, “See that wood over there? Imma chop it.”

Mmm.  Musky. 

“See that deer? Imma chop it too.”

Yes. The smallest are easiest to chop. 

It reminds me of deer camp but with better libations.

When I go in for a taste, it has this super strong pine flavor to it that only reinforces the camp iconography, but now makes me grow hair on my back, which coincidentally I just had lasered off. Thanks, Jenise!

I just had Kate try it. She instantly grew a Y chromosome. Then she refinished a canoe and whittled a wooden knife using a regular knife so she can whittle another knife with that knife what was once a tree. She’s going duck hunting in the morning.

As is common with pale ales, it has a bit of a citrus taste to it as well, which makes me think, “Deer camp, but with short shorts. Man, my Dad must be disappointed with me.”

The mouthfeel is something else. It simultaneously coats my tongue with something I can only incorrectly describe as “musk” and also leaves it with a dry finish at the same time.

For some reason I thought this beer was from Colorado, but that’s because I’m stupid and terrible at geography. It’s from Brevard, North Carolina! I don’t know why I’m so surprised by that. North Carolina makes me think of John Denver. And he didn’t sing about that, he sang about freaking West Virginia or another colony. I cannot explain.

Pick a damn direction.

Anyway, this hoppy beer is bitter, but pleasantly so. Hopped more than most, but not so much you feel like you’re licking an armpit. I highly recommend this beer. It’s not for beginners, but at 6.5% and incredibly well balanced you can have a few with your friends and still make it home remembering most of the night. Cheers!