I got an email from Oskar Blues yesterday letting me know they're coming to California at the end of April, or early May, good news for people who like good beer, better news for people who like their better beer in cans. For those scratching your heads, sure you know of the company, but not remembering their products, don't worry - I had to check too. They're the makers of Old Chub Scottish, Dale's Pale Ale, Gordon (some sort of strong ale), One Nut brown ale and the much discussed Ten Fidy imperial stout. I've never tried an Impy Stout from a can... that should be fun. I'm assuming it's a beer you chug and then immediately crush the can on the forehead for good measure - that is what cans are for, right?
Seriously, I'm excited with all the new and great beers we've got heading our way and I can only hope that our great California craft brewers are finding just as much success getting their product east. There is, after all, only a certain amount of shelf space in the state and as much as I'd love to believe the new Dogfish Head and Oskar Blues (and others) products will displace only the economy beers, I also know it's more likely that some regional brewers will be losing their space on shelves wanting to carry the newest/coolest product.
Additionally, it will be interesting to see how California deals with canned craft beer on the shelf. In Oregon the stores finally figured out to include the great beers from Caldera in the craft beer section, but that took a bit of time and education. Here, where I have so little faith in the store management overall, I can only imagine a knee-jerk reaction to want to place the canned products near the other canned beer - yep, right next to the Silver Bullet. That's something I suppose Oskar Blues' reps will be all over, I hope.
So, good times! It sounds as though PBN may throw some sort of release party for the good people there, although there are no details, commitments or anything more than a friendly email or two. If we do, we'll post the details and you that live nearby will know what to do then.
