We teamed up with our buddies from Indiana-based Sun King Brewery  for a CANlaboration project to unite the brewer’s friendship and passion for pushing the boundaries of craft beer in a can.   Brewers from Oskar Blues and Sun King made the trek to each others breweries 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 May 3^rd 2012 at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego in each attendee’s hotel room and at special events throughout the weekend (see below!).   The following week the brewers will make limited quantities available at the Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel Taproom and in Sun King’s home market.

The connection between these two breweries is deeper than the fact that they both can their beer. Our 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 fuh-CAN-yea!

The end result is an 8 percent A.B.V. 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.

Clay from Sun King weighed in on the brew: “Until we undertook this project, only large breweries and beverage companies had access to this type of packaging. Sun King and Oskar Blues worked closely with the 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.”

And our marketing dude, Chad Melis, threw in his 2-cents: “Unique packaging like the Alumi-Tek bottle provides both Oskar Blues and Sun King the differentiation we need to make our limited-release beers and B.Stiff & Sons Old Fashioned Root Beer (Oskar Blues Brewery) distinct from our core lines. Craft beer in aluminum bottles is another step forward in the evolution of craft beer.”

Available for purchase at the Tasty Weasel Taproom, for $17.50 a 4-pack.  You can also get your hands on CHAKA and meet the brewers from both breweries at a few events taking place during this weeks Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego:

Oskar Blues Events at Craft Brewers Conference 2012 – San Diego

Wednesday May 2^nd 9pm – CAN Diego CBC Opening Night After Party – Featuring Canned Craft Beer from 6 Industry leading Breweries at the BLIND LADY ALE HOUSE

Thursday May 3^rd 7pm – CHAKA After Party – CHAKA plus Barrel Aged offerings from Oskar Blues Brewery at the TIPSY CROW

More pics on our Facebook page here!

- round trip airfare for 2 to ColoRADo

- stylin’ transportation in the Dale’s Pale Ale RV

- 2 nights of hotel accommodations

- a slew of Kelty Basecamp gear, complete with a Kelty Hula Shadehouse, two Lowdown Chairs, Folding Cooler, LumaCamp lantern, and Soft-Top Table (RAD!)

- full access to the “Oskar Blues Ordeal,” a combination of everything OB including a brewery tour, dinner & beers, and a big ol’ load of OB swag

- PLUS a VIP Red Rocks concert experience including a live show and backstage passes & a Kelty/Oskar Blues parking lot tailgate

Kelty and Oskar Blues, two very outdoor-minded businesses, share a passion for good times under the great big blue.  The Red Rocks Basecamp Giveaway is a way for us to come together and share the ride with our people, the fans who support us.

The Red Rocks Basecamp Giveaway kicked off in early April and runs through the end of July. On August 1, 2012, five finalists will be determined by random drawing from all eligible entries.  To win the Big Kahuna, the five finalists will be asked to answer a few questions and write a blurb about why they dig the combo of craft beer in a can, music, and the great outdoors. Oskar Blues and Kelty will put their heads together (likely over a few beers…) and pick the entrant with the most entertaining and compelling response.

Some of you may be weary of this so called “blurb”, but what we’re really trying to get at is sharing this SWEET extravaganza of Colorado, craft beer, music, and the outdoors with someone that digs this stuff as much as we do.

For more information on how to enter & giveaway details visit www.Kelty.com/DalesPaleAle.

Hours:

Monday – Saturday 10am-8pm

Sunday 12pm-8pm

Tours:

Monday through Wednesday: We’re offering tours every hour from 11am-6pm

Friday and Saturday: 11am-7pm

Normal Business hours Sunday

Live music:

Thursday 29^th:  Bonnie and Taylor Sims 4:30-6:30

Friday 30th: Alexis and Stephen Duo 5:30-7:30

Saturday 1st: Jeff Finlin 4:30-6:30

We’ll have a merchandise tent set up up, featuring a ton of Oskar Blues apparel, posters, pint glasses, and other random goodies.

We’ll be tapping special firkins all week, including the following:

Fresh Hopped Gubna and DPA blend

Dry Hopped Schmidty-Second running of Fidy brewed into a 5%poter style ale and dry hopped with Centennial hops.

Cask Conditioned English Mild

Pins: (even smaller than a firkin)

Dry hopped DPA

Double Dry hopped G’Knight with centennial hops

Cask Conditioned Fidy

Both Fidy firkins are being saved for Firkin Friday, September 30^th,  when we will have 6 tap lines of 10/50:

Ten Fidy 2009

Ten Fidy 2009 unfiltered

Ten Fidy 2010

Ten Fidy 2011

Sour Fidy

Oaked Sour Cherry Ten Fidy

We’re also offering food from Home Made Liquids & Solids at the Tasty Weasel Thursday-Saturday from 1pm-5pm. $8.00 gets ya this fancy feast:

BBQ pork sliders

Red Beans

Dirty Rice

Jambalaya

Slaw

Git at it!

Check out the schedule below, and pick a day or an event (or all of them!) that you’d like to attend. Tickets are $25 per event– if you choose to go on the bus tour, the main event of that day is included in the ticket price. If you can’t make a full day bus tour, you can buy a ticket for an individual event. No matter what, it’s $25! On Wednesday, you can “double down” for $45 — attend the bus tour during the day, and the hoedown that night.

Purchase tickets here. Note– the Friday bus tour & lunch are sold out.

Wednesday, September 28
Oskar Blues Bus Tour– $25

- 8:30am: Pick up in Downtown Denver

- 10-11am: Breakfast burritos from Oskar Blues Old Chubway & a tour of the original brewery & Restaurant in Lyons, CO.

- 11:30am-12pm: Tour of the Oskar Blues Hops & Heifers 50 Acre Farm

- 12:30-1:30pm: Brewery tour and beer tasting at the Tasty Weasel Taproom.

- 1:45-2:45pm: Lunch & specialty beer at Homemade Liquids & Solids

- 4pm: Arrive back in downtown Denver or….

Hump Day Hops & Heifers Hoedown with Live Music from Holden Wofford & the Hi Beams- $25

Join us at Oskar Blues Grill & Brew in Lyons, from 5-10pm.  Grab a couple of beers, including fresh-hopped specialties made with hops from our farm, live music, Mechanical Bull, our farm-to-table Hops & Heifers buffet, Specialty Beers and, if you’re coming from Denver, a bus ride from downtown to the party and back.

“Double Down” – $45 — Stick around after the morning tour and catch a bus to the Lyons event and we’ll give you a late night ride to Denver.

Evening Bus Schedule

- 4pm: Pick up in Downtown Denver

- 5pm: Arrive in Lyons, coloRADo.

- 10pm: Depart Lyons for Denver

Thursday, September 29- SOLD OUT

Hops & Heifers Gospel Brunch — $25

The ultimate beer garden built within our Hops & Heifers farm offers a beer inspired brunch & live Gospel music. We’ll provide food made with locally farmed ingredients, fresh-hopped beer made with hops from the vines and live gospel music. For those of you unable to attend the full tour, feel free to sign up just for the brunch.

Oskar Blues Bus Tour & Gospel Brunch — $25

- 8:30am: Pick up in Downtown Denver

- 10am-12pm: Hops & Heifers Farm for the Farm to Table Gospel Brunch

- 12:30-1:45pm: Tasty Weasel for BrewSkee ball, brewery tour & specialty tasting

- 2pm-2:45pm: Homemade Liquids & Solids for apps and OB beer

- 4pm: Arrive back in Denver

Friday, September 30- SOLD OUT

Home Made Liquids & Solids Beer Inspired Lunch — $25

Join us for “A Taste of Oskar Blues,” with a beer-and-Hops & Heifers Farm-inspired buffet, as well as an Oskar Blues Sampler Tray (seven 4oz. beers), including a fresh-hopped beer made with hops from the farm. And, same as above—if you’re not able to join us for the whole day, get there for lunch. Note: If you want to go to the brunch, but choose not to go on the day tour, you’ll meet us at the brewery at 9:30am and we’ll bus you to the farm.

Oskar Blues Bus Tour & Home Made Liquids & Solids Beer Inspired Lunch — $25

- 8:30am: Pick up in Downtown Denver

- 10-11am: Oskar Blues Grill & Brew in Lyons- Breakfast burritos from Old Chubway & a tour of the original brewery

- 11:30am-12pm: Tour of the Oskar Blues Hops & Heifers Farm

- 12:30-2pm: “A Taste of Oskar Blues” Beer Lunch at Homemade Liquids & Solids

- 2:15-3pm: Brewery tour and beer tasting at the Tasty Weasel

- 4pm: Arrive back in downtown Denver

Saturday, October 1

Cruiser Ride

Catch our bus up to The Tasty Weasel for a cruiser bike ride out to Hops & Heifers farm. After a brewery tour and a fuel-up in the tasting room, we’ll head out on bikes. The ride to the farm is 8 miles. We’ll re-fuel with water, ice cold beer & snacks while touring the farm. Farmer Geoff will give the nitty-gritty about the benefits and importance of farm-to-table sustainable practices.

We’ll have an option for those who want to take a van back to Homemade Liquids & Solids after the first leg of the ride. Once back in Longmont, we’ll have lunch at Homemade Liquids & Solids before heading back to Denver. We’ve partnered up with Bicycle Longmont to help out with bike rentals for the day.

Bus Schedule

- 8:30am: Pick up in Downtown Denver

- 10am-11am: Tasty Weasel brewery tour and beer stop. Get geared up with bikes from a local shop.

- 11am-1:30pm:  Bike to Hops & Heifers farm Cruiser Bike Ride (8miles one-way, 16 mile round trip.  Half way option available)

- 1:30-2:30mp: Homemade Liquids & Solids for lunch

- 4pm: Arrive back in Denver

Staff from some local beer stores will be there to tell you where you can buy some firestone Walker beer to take home.

Thursday, July 28th:
Oskar Blues Liquids and Solids, 1555 S Hover Street, Longmont, CO 6-8pm
We’ll be closing the kick off week by hosting all beer geeks and then some! Firestone Walker DBA, Pale 31, Union Jack, Double Jack, Summer Solace, and 14th Anniversary will be on draft with food pairings to top it all off!

Last weekend, Oskar Blues Brewery and the OB Hops and Heifers Farm hosted the first annual Colorado Hop Growers Association meeting. The inaugural event hosted 70 participants spanning five states. This group represented hop farmers managing ½ acre to over 1700 acres of production. The Association was designed to educate regional hop growers regarding specific cultural practices to improve plant health and yields through sustainable production techniques. The Association also aims to bridge the gap between local craft breweries and the local hop grower.

Presenters included some of the most experienced minds in hop production.

Dr. Ron Godin (Agronomist) from Colorado State University Extension discussed, “Hops 202: Hop Yard Work from Spring Thaw to Fall Bedtime.”

Ali Hamm (Hop Specialist) from Summit Plant labs, Fort Collins, Colorado presented, “Hops Quality, Good Enough for Brewers.”

Dr. Fran Stonaker (Specialty Crops Coordinator), Assistant Professor Colorado State University, lectured on “Integrative Pest Management for Hops.”

The key note speaker and special guest was Mr. Bruce Wolf (Owner/Grower), Willamette Valley Hops, St. Paul Oregon. He led a discussion regarding “Hop Farming in the Willamette Valley for a combined 7 generations.”

The Tasty Weasel Tap Room at Oskar Blues Brewery was the lecture venue. The group later enjoyed brewery tours and a catered lunch from Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids and Solids Restaurant. For the afternoon session, the group traveled 6 miles to the new Oskar Blues Sustainable Hops and Heifers Farm. Here, the Association enjoyed craft beers from across Colorado while engaging in a question and answer session with Geoffrey Hess (OB farmer) within the OB Hops and Heifers hopyard and cattle barn.

To end a successful meeting, Chef Jason Rogers and his crew at Oskar Blues Home Made Liquid and Solids catered a dinner spread under the hop vines on the back patio of the restaurant. Colorado brews were served by participating breweries: Oskar Blues, Odell, New Belgium, Tommy Knocker, Palisade Brewing, Asher & Funkwerks.

The Colorado Hop Growers Association is grateful to all who attended and helped make this inaugural event such a success. Hop farming in Colorado is alive and well. Ali Hamm of Summit Plant Labs was quoted “It was a beautiful site to see the Colorado hop growers all under the Oskar Blues roof!” Learn more at www.coloradohopgrowers.com

The brew is a deviant double of the iconic Dale’s Pale Ale. This devilish India Pale Ale is a sensory assault for hop lovers. At 7.5 percent ABV, four hop additions during the brewing process, and a final wallop of excessive Columbus dry-hopping, this beer is meant to say one thing: MORE HOPS. This beer will be released to the public on Wednesday, January 26th at the “I Love Beer” Mini Tour kick off party at all Colorado Old Chicago locations. Below is a list of OB Pint Night & Meet the Brewery nights that are set up to support the collaboration.

This is the FIRST time that Oskar Blues has brewed a small batch for a restaurant (outside of the small batch brews that fuel its own venue’s, the Lyons, CO Grill & Brew and Longmont, CO Home Made Liquids & Solids). During the “I Love Beer” mini tour, Deviant Dales will be available on draught exclusively at all Colorado Old Chicago restaurants January 26th, through February 14th (or until the tap has dried up). For a complete list of Old Chicago locations, check out www.oldchicago.com

Although this is the first collaboration between Oskar Blues & Old Chicago, the companies share much in the way of history. Dale Katechis, the heart & soul owner of Oskar Blues gained experience within the Old Chicago group of restaurants & was the General Manager at the Longmont Old Chicago location which is now only a few blocks away from Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids. Dave Chichura, Oskar Blues head brewer, has four years of history with Rock Bottom Brewery, a sister concept to Old Chicago under parent company Craftworks Restaurants and Breweries, Inc.

Colorado Force is the oldest sports franchise in Northern Colorado and celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the team in 2011. Post-college players that were looking for a way to continue to play competitive soccer after college founded the team in 1996. Colorado Force plays in the Western Conference of the USL W-League and plays teams in Colorado, Vancouver, British Columbia, Seattle and California during the regular season. They also host teams in the Women’s Professional Soccer league, such as the NY, NJ, Sky Blue and Washington Freedom teams for exhibition events.

As for the excitement of working with Oskar Blues, “It is always great to find people who see a value in what our team brings to the community. Oskar Blues has stepped forward and is lending a hand to assist us with our goals and dreams for the Colorado Force. As a small organization, we’re very encouraged to have the support and promotion that Oskar Blues is lending to lead us into a new era with our team,” said Amy Snider, managing partner and co-founder of the Colorado Force.

Oskar Blues is very excited about this partnership and what the Colorado Force does for the local community. The Colorado Force does a lot of youth outreach, from running 3v3 (small sided) soccer leagues and tournaments, to producing college showcase tournaments, which attract college coaches from all over the nation to the local community. The goal is to provide a place for the young girls of the area that love the game of soccer a place to play the game after their college careers have finished. Colorado Force also has a wonderful mascot, Lucky, who visits preschools and elementary schools alongside the Colorado Force players.

COLORADO FORCE – Sponsor a Player Program – The money that will be donated is helping the Colorado Force bring in and take care of players who are coming from out of town to play for the Force and have the mentality to bring a national championship to Fort Collins’s.  These players will be doing a great deal to help support the community and the youth players in and around the area while they are in town.  However, to come here – many will have to give up jobs and careers to come to a new place.  Obviously, every player wants to do it because of the opporunity to become a professional player in the future.  So, this is why we are asking for help.  We need to raise money for these players to be able to stay here, eat, and be 100% focused on winning. 
 
The part that is extremely exciting for the young players in the area is that they will get to watch these athletes, spend time with them and be a large part of this upcoming season.  The Force players will be doing special events and special interactions with the sponsor a player girls and show them the right mentality of how to be, act, and play like a professional. 
 
The Colorado Force started the recruiting process last month, and we need to be able to book flights in for these players, get them housing, and transportation immediately. 
 
We are asking for your support as we have a goal of reaching $30,000.  We are asking for the help by November 1st.  If you are sponsoring the full $1,000 – we are offering a payment plan of November 1st, December 1st, February 1st, and March 1st.  Four payment of $250.00. 

If you are interested in supporting the Colorado Force please contact Amy Snider at 970-484-4653  www.forcesoccer.com  We are working together to raise funds to continue to EVOLVE the local Northern Colorado FORCE franchise.

Here is a taste of the chef inspired, beer infused menu:

Shake Down

grapefruit and king crab

brown sugar bacon bites

kumo moto oysters with sweet jalapeno relish

tuscan style pate

smoked trout hand roll

Pills

1

spicy green curry and coconut broth with seared diver scallop, prince edward island mussels and fresh pink shrimp, crunchy toasted peanuts and radishes

Monkey IPA

2

slow cooked veal breast, sautéed morel mushrooms

fresh english peas, baby artichokes and spring onion cream

Chainsaw

3

smoked ancho and cherry rubbed elk loin, brown butter and sage spatzle

Fade To Black

Dessert

+strawberry short cake

+rusty’s bubbly peanut brittle

+key lime cheese cake gelato

JU JU ginger

Oskar Blues is werkin’ with Eco Cycle (www.ecocycle.org), a local environmental company to create a zero waste kitchen including composting & single stream recycling limiting our impact on mothu earth by 75% with an eye on 100%.  100% of our spent cooking oil is converted into Bio Diesel.

Cans are the most easily and frequently recycled beverage package in the world.  A recycled aluminum can generates 95% less pollution than one made from scratch and requires 96% less energy. One recycled can saves the energy equivalent of 6 ounces of gas or the electricity to power a guitar amplifier for two hours.