Oskar Blues reveals label for its 2012 Deviant Dale's tallboys

On Wednesday, I laid down my picks for the best new Colorado beers of 2011 -- a group that had to meet certain qualifications to make the cut. Then, on Thursday, I posted pictures of seventeen new Colorado beer labels we'll be seeing in 2012. Oskar Blues wasn't on either list, much to the dismay of a couple of readers. But today, the Longmont brewery revealed the label for Deviant Dale's IPA, which Oskar Blues will can for the first time in 2012 in sixteen-ounce tallboys.

And if you've tried the beer -- which is periodically on tap at the company's' restaurants in Lyons and Longmont and was served exclusively at Old Chicago restaurants in Colorado in January and February, you'll know why the beer should be an early favorite for the best new Colorado beers of 2012.

The beer is a twice-as-hoppy version of the brewery's flagship Dale's Pale Ale. Brewed with four kinds of hops, Deviant is then dry-hopped with Columbus hops, which is what brewery spokesman Chad Melis says gives the beer most of its flavor profile.

It won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011 in the American IPA category, which had the largest number of entries, 176, than any category in GABF history.

Deviant Dale's should be on liquor store shelves in March.

Oskar Blues took delivery on nearly $4 million worth of new equipment at its brewery this week, including a new canning line filler, a seamer and two new fermenters.