Friday, October 9, 2009

Oskar Blues Brings 43 Taps Of Beer Soaked Southern Culture To Longmont, CO

Oskar Blues’ new down-home beer joint celebrates beer culture with 43 craft taps, Southern-inspired BBQ & soul-saving live music. “This is an authentic craft beer bar right down to the keg based fountains” says owner Dale Katechis. An in-house smoker, named “the Midnight Toker,” stoked with local apple wood turns out slow smoked North Carolina style BBQ pork, spare ribs, beer-can chicken, salmon and turkey. Home Made Liquids & Solids is scheduled to open Monday, October 12th.

Oskar Blues has worked with Eco Cycle (www.ecocycle.org), a local environmental company, to create a zero-waste kitchen that will feature gluten free & vegetarian inspired dishes served next to Oskar Blues favorites such as the “Silo Burger.”

Jason Rogers, a veteran of the Colorado culinary scene, will oversee all kitchen efforts at Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids. Rogers most recently was executive chef at the JW Marriott at Cherry Creek hotel in Denver, and before that was culinary director at Jill’s Restaurant in the St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder. He also has worked in Aspen and onLink the East Coast and was twice invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s Beard House in New York City. “I’m fired up to work with Oskar Blues to create a menu that’s on par with our craft beer, which has challenged the public perception of what to expect out of a canned beer.” adds Rogers.

In April of 1997 Dale Katechis opened Oskar Blues Cajun Grill in the small Rocky Mountain foothills town of Lyons, CO. Known for its southern hospitality & blues music, the funky restaurant quickly added quality craft beer to the equation in 1999. In 2002, Dale looked to regionally distributing his craft beer as a way to keep the Oskar Blues name in the public eye during the slower winter months of the now fully functioning brew-pub. He was approached by Cask Brewing Systems (www.cask.com) about an affordable canning line for craft brewers. “We thought the idea of our bold, hoppy pale ale squeezed into a little can was hilarious. It made us laugh for weeks.” adds Katechis. Seven years later a genre bending regional craft brewery has come to life and now supplies boundary busting canned beer to 25 states. Bringing the marketing strategy full circle, Oskar Blues is now opening a beer bar to offer their community and fans of the Longmont brewery’s 3-dimensional canned beers a place to hang their hats & celebrate beer culture, right in the heart of Colorado beer country.

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