This will be an ongoing feature where certain beers, and brewers, that will be offered at the Audacious Beer Celebration will be profiled.  The next in our “Getting to Know” series will profile one of the first Micro breweries to offer a true craft product……….in a can. 

“Craft beer in a can!?!?”  Is usually the first response I hear when people hear that a craft product is offered in such a “macro” fashion.  “No, seriously – it’s actually better for the beer and taste’s damn good as well!”, is the reply.  With one eyebrow raised and an almost apprehensive first sip of the brew, a sense of wonderment befalls the now enlightened with a new sense of understanding.

Oskar Blues started during the late 90’s with a small pub located in Lyons, Colorado.  Last April, a significantly larger brewery opened in Longmont, Colorado making use of a fully automated canning line.   The idea started six years ago, “People said it was sacrilegious to put a really good, premium beer in a can, ” mentioned Marty Jones, one of the driving forces behind Oskar Blues Brewery.  “It was more a joke, probably more harebrained than anything else, but the consumer bought on, “said the founder of the brewery, Dale Katechis who is also the name sake of the brewery’s most popular beer, Dale’s Pale Ale.

This flagship beer is more IPA than Pale Ale.  Wrote one beer afficianado, “Medium amber pour with a fantastically large, rocky white head. Nose was quite wonderful, with citrus, pine resin, and grapefruit… along with a well-balanced array of sweet caramel and other malts. Flavor followed suit, with ample doses of bitter pine and citrus backed by smooth caramel malt. Malty middle and a refreshing & bitter citrus finish. Very good brew for any occasion.”

With the new expansion, the brewery was able to increase production 25 fold, which amounted to 19,500 barrels last year.  Despite the horrific downturn in the economy, Oskar Blues still managed to experience a 64 percent increase in overall sales.  “When times get tough, a really good beer provides a great escape”, mentions Jones.  With the constant growth ever since its inception, another pub is slated to open in nearby Longmont within the next year or two.

What’s been the key to their success?  It all starts with a lineup of solid offerings: Dale’s Pale Ale, Gordon (described as somewhere between a Double IPA and an Imperial Amber), Old Chub (a malty Scottish Style Ale with a dash of beechwood-smoked malt), and Ten FIDY (a immensely viscous and creamy imperial stout).  It also doesn’t hurt that they were one of the first to offer a great craft lineup in a unique package that’s quite progressive for the micro brewing world.  ”It’s a myth”, said Jones who went on to explain that these new type of aluminum cans are coated with a special coating that prevents the beer from ever coming in contact with the metal.  “It’s a good thing for beer”, he said.

In addition, cans are the most effective way to shield beer from the negative effects of light and oxygen.  Aluminum is easier to package, easier and more convenient for the consumer to transport, and better for the environment.  The brewery also claims a 35% reduction in their carbon footprint when conducting beer deliveries due to the light weight of cans as compared to glass bottles.  Other micro breweries have also taken notice starting to realize the benefits that canning craft beer can bring, “Can is no longer a dirty word for craft beer lovers thanks to us.  Can-ventional wisdom, that’s our thing”, says Jones.  

Fortunately for us consumers, it can be our thing as well.