For three decades now, Ska Brewing’s True Blonde Ale has been more than a flagship, it has been a defining marker of what it means to create a beer that can last.
Launched in 1995 as Ska’s very first beer, True Blonde quickly established itself as a mainstay in Durango and well beyond, poured first at the Telluride Brewer’s Festival and soon after finding fans across the Colorado craft beer community. Now, in 2025, the honey ale marked another milestone, earning a Good Food Award from the Good Food Foundation for the second time. It’s a recognition that cements its place among enduring craft beer classics.
Brewed with honey from local producer Honeyville, True Blonde is a crisp, medium-bodied beer that has always reflected Ska’s sense of place and personality. The honey connection gave the brand more than just an ingredient for a beer recipe, instead it gave the brand a story to create connection.
That’s something Marketing Director Kristen Muraro says continues to resonate.
“Being able to have locally sourced ingredients and partners like that go a long way when we are selling our products,” she said. That authenticity has long been a part of Ska’s strategy to not only sell beer, but connect with the community.
The branding has been equally important. They chose a bright yellow can with a black-and-white checkerboard trim and comic book-inspired imagery to make it hard to miss on a crowded shelf.
“The comic book style elements and playful imagery create a fun energetic vibe that captures attention and conveys personality,” Muraro said.
From its earliest days, the beer’s design tied directly to Ska’s roots, with the name based on Lana, a character from the brewery’s in-house comic book, The Legion of Ska.
But while the look and the honey tie-in are memorable, the beer itself has earned its reputation the hard way. True Blonde is a five-time Great American Beer Festival winner, a two-time World Beer Cup honoree, and a repeat award-winner at competitions ranging from the Colorado State Fair to the L.A. International Beer Competition. The Good Food Foundation has now recognized it twice, first in 2019 and again this year, not only for flavor but for its standards of ethical production.
Internally, Ska doesn’t just count the medals to account for success. True Blonde has remained a sales anchor, one of the brewery’s top five beers every year, accounting for about 8% of overall production. Muraro said that consistency makes it a reliable pillar in a wide-ranging portfolio.
“True Blonde has consistently been one of our top selling beers over time,” she said. “A mainstay for sure and a beer we can always count on.”
The brand has also been a springboard into line extensions. True Blonde laid the foundation for spin-offs such as Raspberry Blonde, its fruit-infused sister brand, and it demonstrated the value of canning early in the craft beer industry. Ska leaned into cans before most breweries, making True Blonde not just approachable in flavor but accessible in format — an easy sell to take skiing, rafting, hiking or to any of the Colorado festivals — that helped it gain early traction.
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It’s proof a single brand in a portfolio can stay relevant for decades. It may not hit the top sales rung, but being a top five seller can become a cornerstone of identity when it strikes the right balance between approachability, branding, and authenticity.
True Blonde Ale has lasted not because Ska kept it frozen in time from its beginning, but because the brewery nurtured the brand while letting it grow into new contexts, from competitions to collaborations.
It’s still a beer that started it all and remains an anchor of its business. For any veteran brewery, the longevity of the beer shows that when a flagship is built on story, quality, and connection, it can endure.
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