Talking with Oskar Blues, plus free tickets to firkin event at Mr. Beery's

The thing about Colorado craft brewery Oskar Blues that sticks out in my mind is cans. They were the first craft brewery to put their beer in cans, 10 years ago. More than 200 craft breweries are canning now.

Oskar Blues is the No. 2 brewery in Colorado after New Belgium, and -- like New Belgium and California's Sierra Nevada -- will be building another brewery in North Carolina so they can continue their expansion beyond the 27 states they currently serve.

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale was the first craft beer to be canned. (AP Photo)

I had the opportunity to sit down with Chris Katechis, western regional sales manager,  and Jay Robinson, Florida brand manager, at Mr. Beery's last week. Mr. Beery's owner Mark Tuchman, who set the meeting up, played host. Some highlights from that conversation:

Katechis said they started canning almost as a joke. The company started out as a restaurant in Lyons, Colo., in 1997; they began brewing in 1998. They bottled a few beers in 22-ounce bombers, Katechis said, but never on a large scale. When it came time to really start packaging their beer, they only considered cans.

Why?

The Oskar Blues crew are avid outdoors people, and they thought it would be cool to be able to take a craft beer on a hike or ride or other adventure where glass bottles would be inconvenient or prohibited, Katechis said. That move became the "shot heard round the world," Katechis said, though he attributed their success with cans more to dumb luck than to a master plan.

He gives credit to can manufacturer Ball Corp. for agreeing to do a smaller order back in 2002.

"Big kudos to Ball for allowing us to be who we are today," Katechis said. Back then, if you wanted to put your beer in cans you had to order 1 million of the suckers. Katechis said that wasn't feasible for them for two reasons: They couldn't afford it and they didn't have the space to store that many empty cans. So Ball agreed to do a smaller run of 30,000 cans, which Oskar Blues stored in a rental truck.

That move opened the canning door to craft brewers, Katechis said, and also had the added benefit of helping Ball Corp. gain many more clients.

Deviant Dale's, an India pale ale, is their first 16-ounce can. It's been so successful, Katechis said, that they are looking at moving other beers into the larger cans.

Katechis said Oskar Blues, unlike many craft breweries, doesn't want to overwhelm customers with variety. They make a handful of beers instead of 13 different ones, he said.

That being said, the brewery is considering creating seasonal, draft-only beers for all of their markets, Katechis said. I wonder what those will be?

The F-word

Like Oskar Blues beer? Enjoy cask-conditioned ales? If so (and even if you don't) you might want to check out Four F@%king Firkins at Mr. Beery's on Saturday at 3 p.m. The bar will be serving four special casks (firkins) of Oskar Blues beers:

• Mango Dale's Pale Ale

• Vanilla Bean Old Chub Scotch Ale

• Dry-Hopped Deviant Dale's IPA

• Oskar Blues IPA Blend, a combination of Dale's Pale Ale, G'Knight Imperial Red and Deviant Dale's

Cask-conditioned ale is naturally carbonated and unpasteurized, meaning the beer is still alive. Cask ales are usually smoother than their kegged counterparts. It's always a treat.

A ticket to the event ($25 in advance or $35 at the door)  gets you a pint from each of the firkins and an Oskar Blues glass to keep. The beers are also sold individually, but a ticket saves you money on all four. Firkins are a lot smaller than kegs, so these beers will sell out quickly.

The contest

Identify this person and win!

Even better than four cask-conditioned beers is the chance for you and a friend to drink four cask-conditioned beers for free. Mr. Beery's has given me two tickets to Saturday's Four F@%kin Firkins event, and I'm giving them away.

Here's how to win them.

Using the comment field below, be the first person to correctly identify the person in the photo at left.

Please note that you have to post the answer below; answers entered on other posts or via Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. will not be accepted.

The prize

The first person (as determined by the comment timestamp)  to supply the correct answer  will win two tickets to Four F@%kin Firkins.

The rules

Make sure you enter your answer below, and only below. Please include a valid email address. If I can't contact you, you won't get the prize.

Thanks to Mark Tuchman for suggesting the contest.