Brewery: Oskar Blues Grill and Brew, Lyons, Colorado, USA

Brewery Description: “Old Chub is a Scottish strong ale brewed with hearty amounts of seven different malts, including crystal and chocolate malts, and a smidge of US and UK hops. Old Chub also gets a dash of beechwood-smoked grains imported from Bamburg, Germany, home of the world’s greatest smoked beers”

Brew Style: Scottish Ale, 8.0% ABV

Recommended Glassware: Thistle, or straight from the can baby!!

The Ugly Truth: Oh boy, here we go. First, god only knows why I grabbed a beer named Old Chub which is quite possibly one of the worst names I’ve ever heard for a beer. Second, it was beer in a can. Yes, I know there are a number of very good beers that come from a can but I still get nervous whenever someone hands me a can of beer. My wife actually was shocked and somewhat disdainful of me that I bought a canned beer. In this instance, the results were mixed. It is one of the better beers I’ve ever had from a can. However, it is definitely not one of the best Scottish Ales I’ve ever had, and anyone who reads this space knows that is one of my favorite types of beer. The beer poured an almost black color and had a nice strong tan head to it, both good signs. I personally found the taste a bit off. There was a strong taste of chocolate and caramel in the beer that was good, but I found the feel of it a bit strange. It seemed to change greatly based on the amount you had drank and how long you let it linger in your mouth. I know a lot of beers do that, but this change occurred really fast, so much that I found it a distraction to the taste. I was constantly making sure I was swallowing it before it got to that point, so that made it tough to enjoy. The taste itself wasn’t bad, but it almost seemed that they were over-compensating or something because some of the flavors were so strong. I didn’t think the chocolate and caramel tastes in this beer melded very well, so that took some enjoyment out of it. All in all it’s not a bad Scottish Ale and very good for a canned beer but it is far, far away from being the best Scottish Ale on the market.

Verdict: Crude jokes making use of the word “chub” come to mind, but I’m not going to lower myself to them. Old Chub gets a 5 out of 10 bottlecaps.