Used to be that every craft brewer in the land seemed to be interested in trying a hand at a root beer or other kind of high-end CSD, but that’s subsided as the craft beer business has leaped into the stratosphere (and the soda business simultaneously ran out of fuel). With a few exceptions, well-known operations like Harpoon, Goose Island, and Magic Hat have either divested themselves from the soda business, downplayed their investment, or shut it down entirely.
So it’s been a while since we’ve seen one of these, but Oskar Blues Brewery, which has always been unconventional (they’re the ones who started the whole canned craft beer thing, for those of you who’ve slept through most of the past two years), is again going against the grain, rolling out an RTD version of a root beer that’s available on tap at their brewpub/restaurants.
The company has been experimenting with Ball’s Alumi-Tek recently as well for one of its beer SKUs — Chaka, a Belgian-style Ale — and apparently liked the package enough to use for the root beer. And it’s for a good cause, as well, as you can read in the press release that follows the next punctuation mark:
BROOMFIELD, CO – For premier craft brewer Oskar Blues Brewery of Lyons, Colo., combining their home-brewed root beer with the convenient, quick chilling, resealable Alumi-Tek bottles by Ball Corporation benefited not only Oskar Blues and its customers but also the family of Brian Stiff.
Brian Stiff was a part of the local Lyons, Colo. bike scene and father of two, who recently and unexpectedly passed away. When Lyons locals looked for ways to help his widow, it seemed only natural for Dale Katechis to name Oskar Blues’ root beer B.Stiff & Sons as a tribute to their friend.
“With every sale, a portion of the proceeds of B.Stiff & Sons Old Fashioned Root Beer goes to Brian’s family,” said Chad Melis, marketing director of Oskar Blues Brewery. “After years of serving our popular, home-brewed root beer from our restaurants, we decided to share it with friends and family in a portable, recyclable package suitable for outdoor activities – Ball’s 16-oz. Alumi-Tek bottles.”
Ball’s resalable bottle lets consumers enjoy B.Stiff & Sons root beer on the move wherever they go. The 100-percent recyclable bottle is lightweight, unbreakable and impervious to light and oxygen – providing unparalleled flavor protection and long shelf life for the beverage inside.
About Oskar Blues Brewery
Founded by Dale Katechis in 1997 as a brew pub and grill in 1997, Oskar Blues Brewery launched its craft-brewed beer canning operations in 2002 in Lyons, CO. Oskar Blues was the first American Craft Brewery to brew and can its beer. Visit www.oskarblues.com/ for more information. B.Stiff & Sons Old Fashioned Root Beer is available in 16-oz. resealable, aluminum bottles at Oskar Blues restaurant locations, the Bonewagon Food truck, the West End Tavern and online.
About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.6 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com.