Oskar Blues Gordon

Beer: Oskar Blues Gordon
Brewery Location: Lyons, CO
Beer Style: DIPA
ABV: 8.7%



My friend from Colorado came into town a few weeks ago, and he was so very gracious and brought me a four pack of Gordon. Thanks Chris! I've had most of the main stream line-up of beers from OB, and this is one that had eluded me for a bit. I did try the Gordon in a bottle that had a few years of age on it, but this is obviously the fresh version out of the can.

Gordon pours a very deep ruddy amber color with a small sized, but well lasting, head that left plenty of sticky lacing on the walls of my pint glass. A big DIPA nose greets me that is very heavy on the pine with a touch of citrus fruit (mostly tangerine) and sweet sugary malt coming in as well. The flavor profile is again dominated by the resinous pine flavor that was in the nose with other hop additions like grapefruit rind and earthy hops. The biscuty malt is big here, but doesn't quite stand up to the hops, but that doesn't bother me here. The mouthfeel is very smooth with medium carbonation that left only a touch of alcohol in the mouth. The drinkability is very nice for what I would consider a bigger beer, and I would drink several of these in one sitting.

Overall I really liked this offering from OB. I would certainly have this beer on hand most times if OB was available in Indiana. OB is expanding to many states to the east of us, and hopefully we will see OB here in Indiana soon.

Cheers!
Matt

Oskar Blues Gordon DIPA

Beer: Oskar Blues Gordon DIPA
Brewery Location: Lyons, CO
Beer Style: Double IPA
ABV: 9.2%



Ever since I had the pleasure of trying Ten-Fidy from Oskar Blues I've been trying to get my hands on more beer from this brewery. A very kind soul sent me a bottle of this beer. Oskar Blues normally puts all of their beer in cans, but back in 2003 and 2004 they made this beer in 750ml bottles. I split this with my friend and the person that helped push me back into craft beer Joe. I took the cap of this beer and found a cork sitting inside of the bottle as well to keep it fresh.


This pours a very murky and deep brown with amber highlight on the edges. A huge three fingered head sat atop of this dark brew. The amount of head and lacing is very impressive for a beer with this high an ABV. I can smell this beer as I was pouring two glasses of it. I get good scents of caramel and sweet brown sugar. The hop presence takes a back seat to the malt, but it does provide good scents of woody pine and grapefruit rind. I served this beer a little too cold, but once it warmed up I got some really nice flavors. The malt was the main player in the flavor profile with loads of caramel and candied fruit. The hop profile is indicative of classic American hops. Tastes of tropical fruit and earthy wooded pine dominate the hop profile. The hops do not quite balance out the malt, but they still pair very nicely together. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, but still somehow is a little chewy as well. There is also a slight alcohol finish on the tongue. Drinkability is very good and I would have polished off another one of these bottles quite easily.

They call this a double IPA, but I think it had more qualities of an English barleywine/IPA. The years of age left the hop profile a little more subtle. I won't be able to get another one of these bottles, but I am happy to have had the opportunity. I would love to try this out of the can now.

Cheers!
Matt