Oskar Blues Brewing

Oskar Blues Releasing 15th Anniversary Ale

Oskar Blues Brewery (Lyon, CO) celebrates 15 years this Saturday, April 28th.  The brewery will debut a new beer for the occasion – 15th Anniversary Abbey Ale.  The ale will be available on draft and in 16 oz cans.

Oskar Blues New Can Line & Deviant Canning [Video]

A cool video of Oskar Blue’s new canning line, and the initial canning of Deviant Dales.  280-300 cans a minute (12 oz) and 210 (16 oz) a minute.  The new line makes things much easier.  [CraftBeer.com via @HopMonkey]

Posted in Brewery Expansions, Oskar Blues Brewing

Oskar Blues In North Carolina. Full Press Release

From Colorado to North Carolina, the next stop for Oskar Blues.   Check out the full press release. 

Longmont, CO (May 2012) – Funky little Oskar Blues Grill & Brew started 15 years ago when Dale Katechis and his high school sweet-heart stumbled across the small town of Lyons, Colorado while on a road trip north from their home in Alabama. That Rocky Mountain trip continues east as Dale finds the same downhome feeling in the rolling hills of Pisgah National Forrest of Brevard, North Carolina.

Oskar Blues, named “The hottest place to be on a Saturday night in Colorado” by Rolling Stone Magazine, has announced plans for a restaurant/music venue and brewery location just off the bike path to Bracken Mountain in the small downtown of Brevard, N.C. The brewery plans to have the soul-savin’ live music venue and brewery up and running by December 2012.

“I’ve left a bike in Brevard for years as we’ve been coming here to ride mountain bikes and check out our buddies Mountain Song Music Festival. This place rings true with the same eclectic mountain charm that inspired Oskar Blues to put Dale’s Pale Ale in a can back in the day in Lyons, CO.” says soul-founder Dale Katechis. “Brevard and Lyons share a small town main street tone mingled with live music and an energy emerging from the surrounding hills.”

Oskar Blues, one of the fastest growing breweries in the country, sells over 35 percent of their beer east of the big muddy river, making for a great opportunity to look into a local location in that area. They have secured a contract on a 30,000 square foot brewery space along with a 6,000 square foot restaurant/music venue location in downtown Brevard. “We’ve looked at the options of growing our Colorado based brewing to the next level and the thought the idea of opening another small, intimate restaurant and brewery on a grassroots level sounds like a lot more fun.” says Dale. “With that much beer traveling east of the Mississippi it allows us to invest in another small town that shares our passions and recoup the investment as we contribute to the community and streamline our shipping costs amongst other things.”

Oskar Blues has worked hard to keep that hands-on feel with small Colorado projects like their Hops & Heifers Farm, that provides homegrown beef, pork and vegetables to their restaurants, and handmade mountain bikes with REEB Cycles as the brewery & restaurants have been blessed with growth. “It’s important to us to keep that trailside comradery amongst each other and the community.” said Katechis.

Click HERE to read the Mountain Flyer Magazine article around Oskar Blues Brewery’s recent trip to “The Assault on the Carolinas” cycling event in Brevard, NC. You can also view images from the Oskar Blues built REEB Cycles HERE via Facebook.

ABOUT OSKAR BLUES
Three-dimensional brewing since 1999, Oskar Blues began the “Canned Beer Apocalypse” in 2002 when Dale’s Pale Ale became America’s 1st CANNED craft beer. For additional info, interviews, images or samples please contact Chad Melis at [email protected], # 720.273.8888 or visit www.oskarblues.com

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Brewery Expansions, Oskar Blues Brewing

Another Brewery Heads To North Carolina: Oskar Blues

Oskar Blues Brewing is opening a restaurant/music venue AND brewery in Brevard, N.C.

Dale Katechis, founder of the brewery and mountain biking enthusiast, has been travelling to Pisgah National Forest to bike for years.  He even has is own line of beer inspired mountain bikes dubbed “Reeb.” (That’s beer spelled backwards.)

Oskar Blues has signed a contract on a 30,000-square-foot brewery space.  Nearby, there is a  6,000-square-foot restaurant in the city of Brevard.  Katechis is cites “shipping costs” as one of his decisions to build there.  The new build should be ready by December, 2012. [TimesCall]

Yesterday, the brewery made headlines with the announcement of the use of Alumi-tek bottles for the upcoming Sun King collaboration release.   Oskar Blues joins Sierra Nevada & New Belgium in new North Carolina brewery expansions.

Read More: Oskar Blues

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Oskar Blues Brewing, Press Releases, Sun King Brewing

Sun King Brewery and Oskar Blues Release Chaka (PR)

Indianapolis, Ind. (May 1, 2012) — Indiana-based Sun King Brewery and Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery have been working together for months and are excited to bring you Chaka, a limited-release Belgian-style ale — the first craft beer to be packaged in the Alumi-Tek® re-sealable pint bottle from Ball Corporation. Chaka will be released in limited quantities at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego on May 2, 2012 and then in each brewery’s home markets the following week.

“Until we undertook this project, only large breweries and beverage companies had access to this type of packaging,” said Clay Robinson, Sun King co-founder. “Sun King and Oskar Blues worked closely with Ball Corporation and Cask Brewing Systems to design and build a simple, functional small scale system that will allow craft brewers to take advantage of this unique packaging option.”

Oskar Blues is a pioneer in the craft canning movement as the first American craft brewery to can their beer with the release of Dale’s Pale Ale in 2002. They have grown to become the largest American craft brewery to package beer exclusively in cans, producing 59,000 barrels of beer in 2011.

Sun King began crafting beer in the summer of 2009 and has grown to become one of Indiana’s largest breweries, producing nearly 10,000 barrels of beer in 2011. Sun King was the first Indiana craft brewery to can their beer and the first brewery ever to create a customizable can for their seasonal and specialty beer releases.

The connection between these two breweries is deeper than the fact that they both can their beer. Oskar Blues head brewer, Dave Chichura, began his professional brewing career in Indianapolis fifteen years ago where he became friends with Dave Colt and Clay Robinson, the two brewers who created Sun King. The three friends have been talking for years about working together on a collaborative beer, so when the opportunity came to assist in the introduction of a new packaging option for craft beer, it was an easy yes.

The end result is a delicious Belgian-style ale crafted with a blend of ingredients from each brewery’s home state: Shagbark Hickory syrup from Hickoryworks in Trafalgar, Ind.; grain from Colorado Malting Company; and a special yeast blend from Brewing Science Institute, also in Colorado. Brewers from both breweries worked together to formulate the recipe and traveled between Colorado and Indiana to brew at both locations.

“Unique packaging like the Alumi-Tek bottle provides both Oskar Blues and Sun King the differentiation we need to make our limited-release beers distinct from our core lines. Plus, the sleek, bottle shape is appealing to our customers,” said Chad Melis, marketing director of Oskar Blues Brewery. “Craft beer in aluminum bottles is another step forward in the evolution of beer.”

About Sun King Brewing Company
Sun King Brewing Company is the brainchild of Dave Colt and Clay Robinson. With the help of family and friends — Omar Robinson, Andy Fagg and Steve Koers — the first keg of Sun King beer rolled out the door for delivery in July 2009. Sun King is the first full-scale production brewery in Indianapolis since Indianapolis Brewing Company closed its doors in 1948. Now available on tap and in cans at hundreds of locations around central Indiana, Sun King has grown into the third-largest beer brewer in the state of Indiana. The company’s commitment to handcrafted seasonal and specialty beers has been rewarded with multiple medals at the Indiana Brewers Cup, Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup competitions. Visit www.sunkingbrewing.com for more information.

About Oskar Blues Brewery
Founded by Dale Katechis in 1997 as a brewpub and grill, Oskar Blues Brewery launched their craft-brewed beer canning operations in 2002 in Lyons, Colo. They were the first American craft brewery to can their beer. Today more than 173 craft breweries are canning their beers. The original crew used a hand-canning line on a tabletop machine that sealed one can at a time. Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont packaged 41,000 barrels in 2010 and grew to 59,000 in 2011. Visit www.oskarblues.com/ for more information.

About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.6 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com

About Cask Brewing Systems
Cask Brewing Systems launched the canned craft beer revolution when it introduced affordable, small footprint, high-performance canning systems. Cask Brewing puts cans in the hands of craft brewers and their customers worldwide. Visit www.cask.com for more information.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, New Releases, Oskar Blues Brewing

Sun King’s Collab Is First Resealable Craft Beer

Move over Coors Light, you aren’t the only beer with a resealable cap.   This month, Sun King and Oskar Blues release a collaboration – Chaka, a limited release Belgian-style ale.  Chaka will be the first small brewery to release beers in the Alumi-Tek® re-sealable pint bottle from Ball Corporation.

“Until we undertook this project, only large breweries and beverage companies had access to this type of packaging,” said Clay Robinson, Sun King co-founder. “Sun King and Oskar Blues worked closely with Ball Corporation and Cask Brewing Systems to design and build a simple, functional small scale system that will allow craft brewers to take advantage of this unique packaging option.”

Chaka is a Belgian-style ale with ingredients from each brewery’s home state.  Shagbark hickory syrup is Sun King’s addition, which comes from Hickoryworks in Trafalgar, Indiana.  From Colorado, grain from the Colorado Malting Company and a special year from the Brewing Science Institute.  The beer is a collaboration that will be brewed at both breweries.

The use of the Alumi-Tek® re-sealable pint bottle from Ball Corporation is the first time a small brewery in the United States has used it.  Sun King is the first brewery in Indiana to can, the first to use a customizable can for the seasonal and special releases.  Oskar Blues is the first small/craft brewery in the United States to can their beer, on top of being one of the largest craft breweries to can their beer lineup.  [PressRelease]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Oskar Blues Brewing

Oskar Blues Releasing 15th Anniversary Ale

Oskar Blues BreweryOskar Blues Brewery (Lyon, CO) celebrates 15 years this Saturday, April 28th.  The brewery will debut a new beer for the occasion – 15th Anniversary Abbey Ale.  The ale will be available on draft and in 16 oz cans.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Cool Stuff, Oskar Blues Brewing, Videos

Oskar Blues New Can Line & Deviant Canning [Video]

A cool video of Oskar Blue’s new canning line, and the initial canning of Deviant Dales.  280-300 cans a minute (12 oz) and 210 (16 oz) a minute.  The new line makes things much easier.  [CraftBeer.com via @HopMonkey]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Oskar Blues Brewing, Sun King Brewing

Oskar Blues/Sun King Chaka Hits May 8th

Sun King OB Chaka CansOskar Blues & Sun King Brewing are currently collaborating on Chaka, a Belgian ale.  The beer will be distributed in each of the breweries home states – Indiana and Colorado.   Two sets of artwork were created for the release aas you can see above.   Chaka is brewed with Shagbark hickory syrup (from Indiana) and Belgian pale malt (from Colorado).

Sun King announced this week that the collaboration will arrive on May 8th, 2012.

by Reid Ramsay