Beer of the Week . . . Chubna!

It has been quite a while since I did a "Beer of the Week" Post.  Fear not dear readers, for this does not mean I've forsaken fine beer (the extra 5 lbs. I'm carrying around this summer will attest to that).  I picked up a couple of cans of this special edition brew a few weeks back and last week, I finally had a chance to dive in and enjoy this beer.  Chubna is the love child of two beers from Oskar Blues, one of the preeminent craft breweries not only in Colorado, but across the nation.  They're often recognized as the first craft brewery to begin putting their beer into cans, which had previously been unheard of in the world of smaller breweries.  Oskar Blues' most well known beer is none other than Dale's Pale Ale which enjoys are large distribution throughout the country.  While I enjoy Dale's Pale as a quaffable summer drinker, you can find a lot of interesting tastes if you go deeper into the brewery's catalog.  For example, a unique and delicious offering is the oddly named Old Chub.  It's a Scottish Strong Ale and if you don't like a Wee Heavy, you probably won't like this one all that much.  However, those with a broader palate will appreciate this beer and its caramel and toffee overtones.  It might take a few cans to acquire this taste, but it's definitely worth the investment. Another Oskar Blues Beer that is worth trying is Gubna.  It's a continuously evolving imperial IPA that changes from year to year based on its hop profile.  In its current rendition, the Oskar Blues web site describes it as having "black currant notes and subtle citrus overtones."

So what if Old Chub and Gubna got together and had a baby?  Well, for one thing, it would be a damn big baby!  The kind of baby whose birth shows up in the local news headlines like . . . WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO A 12.6 LB BABY.  In the beer world, that baby is named Chubna:  An Imperial Scottish Strong IPA.  Chubna offers a unique drinking experience that is augmented by being aged in bourbon barrels.  The can comes in at just under 20 oz.  and for my drinking experience I honored its whiskey-like heritage and put it in a small snifter shaped taster glass sipping it over the course of an hour or two.  The combination of styles goes quite well together, with the strong malts in the Scottish Ale balancing out the hops from the IPA side.  The Bourbon aging is subtle, but the high alcohol content and the brown sugary flavors make this beer one worth drinking slowly.  Unfortunately, Chubna may already be gone by the time you read this. If you happen to find any out there, buy three cans.  Drink one, save one, and send one to me! Either way, keep an eye on Oskar Blues as they are constantly coming up with unique beers that push the limits of the beer experience.  A couple of their beers will probably meet up and bear some interesting offspring in the not too distant future.  Cheers!