Beer of the Week: Dale's Pale Ale still delivers, even if competitors have caught up
Dale's pioneered big, hoppy IPAs in a can. Can they keep up in a changing marketplace?
Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Dale’s wasn’t just a national craft beer back when those were few and far between. It was the beer that made cans viable for beer snobs.
Dale’s Pale Ale is the first prestige beer I remember that came in a standard 12 ounce can. I also sorta remember that being a big deal via a buddy bringing some stashed in his golf bag as a quasi-status symbol. Busch Light? Nah, bro. Try this, it’s mad good.
From there, it wasn’t just OK to put your dry-hopped, citrus-infused flagship beers into aluminum. It became the norm. We probably would have gotten to this point anyway, but Dale’s was a signpost on the journey toward $15 four-packs of tall boys.
Being able to find Fantasy Factory and Space Dust in cans cut into the shelf space Dale’s once occupied in my brain. And nostalgia is a hell of a drug, so it felt like time to see if this pioneer is still a big wave in an ever-expanding ocean or merely a bit of foam floating out of view.
Oskar Blues, the brewery behind Dale’s, is working to cement its place as the former. With that in mind, we’re not only gonna taste the traditional pale ale, but also the brand’s new lines; a double IPA and a light beer that clocks in at under 100 calories.
Double IPA: B
It pours a pretty amber with a dense, half-inch head that lingers long after it hits your glass. You get big hops right off the top with a touch of fruit. Not quite citrus. Maybe a little … raisin? Sort of like a barrel aged stout, in that regard.
The first sip doesn’t taste like anything barrel aged, but it’s unmistakably boozy. Some double IPAs taste lighter than their alcoholic gravity. Dale’s, at 9.0 ABV, tastes like it. It’s heavy and hoppy, making it a for-sure sipper from front to back.
Despite the big foamy head, there’s a minimal amount of carbonation here. It lends to that heaviness, which makes sense since it’s supposed to be the bigger, chunkier IIPA. But that leads to a rich texture and a beer that’s never bitter but instead well balanced between hops and citrus.
Dale’s Pale Ale: B
I know I’ve had this before. I remember lots of bitter hops. But the last time I had it was probably 12 years ago where I was still sorta getting into the pale ale landscape. And I definitely shotgunned one of these signature cans on a golf course which is, as far as I can tell, not the recommended method of consumption. It was … not great.
But drinking like a human adult with a cold mug produces a lovely, dense white head on an amber body. It smells malty and hoppy, promising a simple throwback to a time where just being an India pale ale was novel enough.
Yep, the bitterness is front and center on this one, smacking you in the face with IBUs that don’t relent until the aftertaste. Underneath that headline of hops is a soft current of malty beer. And then… that’s pretty much it.
Dale’s signature brew is a throwback, a simple beer for hopheads who like a steady dose of bitter pine and a clean finish. It works, because it’s a quality brew and there’s a real replay value there. But it risks being left behind by more adventurous beers — hence the light and double IPA options now on the market.
Light lager: B+
It pours incredibly pale with a lacy head that quickly dissolves down to an eighth of an inch, then sticks around. It smells like light malt, like someone trying to describe a helles they had years before.
The taste lands that crisp, bitter, malty flavor profile. It’s a light beer that tastes bigger than it is. While that minor hop profile may turn some people off, I’m digging it as an alternative to the sweeter light beers that have become synonymous with the style.
It’s refreshing and, at 95 calories, better than you expect. A little harsh, maybe, but it’s Dale’s. You knew what you were getting into when you saw that label.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Dale’s beers over a cold can of Hamm’s?
Yes. It’s valuable to have a national option you know is going to be solid in every can and every pour. Dale’s isn’t reinventing the wheel here; you get a pale ale that maximizes the flavor of its hops in a way that toes the line between bitter and smooth. Bringing a light beer into the mix adds a bit more replay value.