Loaded for Bear with Dale's Pale Ale

Not sure how it happened, when exactly it happened and who was responsible, but someone introduced me to Dale’s Pale Ale. This has become a mainstay in the garage fridge for years, but it wasn’t always this way. Before fate got us together, I spent many years drinking CBLs and tequila shots. Between my honeymoon and my kids getting to be a little older, I didn’t drink all that much. Of course there was over indulgence at crazy parties, celebrations, holidays, etc... but that was pretty much limited to Jose’, CBLs and even Clos du Bois. Only on “special” occasions did I drink “fancy” offerings such as Patron, Michelob Ultra and Yuengling. No offense to America’s oldest brewery but I didn’t know what the “f” I was talking about. I had no clue. Previously, beer had been a rite of passage for me. From grabbing chugs of my dad’s Budweiser and Milwaukee’s Best, as a kid, when we would fish for mullet at Wakulla Beach to keg stands and stanky red solo cups in college, I WOULD drink me some beer.  But I’ll have to admit I never quite liked it. It was kind of a nut-up type of a thing. You know… we going out... bottoms up. 

Freshly poured Dale's Pale Ale in a Dirt Rag Magazine Pint Glass

So there I was occasionally drinking, not knowing it was crappy beer, and making fun of DBs and their fancy beers. All of sudden I’m introduced to this cool beer company. They’re from ColoRADo . Their cans are cool. They like bikes. They are Oscar Blues Brewery and different than most – they CAN their fancy beer. Then…I taste this Huge Voluminously Hopped Mutha of a Pale Ale and realize I’M the Delta Bravo. This beer has TASTE! It bites you up front but the afterhop has you thirsting for more. It’s not over-the-top hopped. Just enough bite (tangy bitterness) to keep you coming back for more. This is NOT a starter craft beer for most folks. You’ll want to work up to it. Maybe have one or two of your usuals as a mood setter (more on this in my next post) then try one of these on for size. While I’m working on refining my palate to become an expert, I can assure you the sissy-boy beer you drink has no taste compared to this one. 

Dale’s has become my everyday (night) beer. I can’t drink regular beer now because of Dale’s. This is the lowest on taste I will go. This is the beer that makes it OK to spend $10 or more on a six pack. That’s OK when you consider the beermath - with an ABV of 6.5, you’re drinking at more than time and a half (e.g. two Dale’s > 3 MickLites). Now that the Brevard, North Carolina plant is up and running, we southerners can bow-up about this beer with an All-American look and a taste that’s loaded for bear. If you get this far, comment on the Hops and Grinds blog, the beer or if you’re now motivated to get some Dale’s

bikechain

Black and Tan = Soft Opening

Black and Tan - actually Black and White is how we're choosing to kick off this blog. We have some ideas of what it will be and what it will look like, but choose to "design" the mechanics in black and white. This is something folks, like web designers, do to make sure all the pieces parts work before they dress it up. If you worry about it looking pretty (form), you lose sight of function.

So, this combination of blog, social media and (soon to be) website strives to celebrate brewed concoctions - beer and coffee, with a little extreme sports and pop culture blended in.  We'll tweak the recipe but envision a place to celebrate the flavors we like, without hating too much on things we don't. Expect product reviews, taste tastes, industry news, DIY projects and more.

I've had this idea "brewing" in my head for more than a few years, but my own personal renaissance and urging from (not so) Big Jim provided just enough gumption to crack this thing open. We plan to have fun with this blog and you're invited to join us.

CKW