(THE PICKET) – Last Thursday Grapes & Grains got their first shipment of Oskar Blues beer.
The brewery holds the distinction of being among the first craft breweries to store their product in cans. Many cite them as being the very first American Craft brewery; debatable though that may be, they deserve to be recognized for their part in allaying the stigma around craft beers.
When Oskar Blues first began canning their beer in 2002, canned beer was largely associated with the mainstream breweries like Anheiser-Busch, Miller-Cores, and PBR. Fast-forward to 2015 and canned beer, while still stigmatized, has been embraced by a number of microbreweries (Troegs, Founders, 21st ammendment, & Caldera) as a cost-effective way to ensure the freshness and quality of their beer for long-term storage and transportation.
While Germany and Belgium may rely on tradition for their image, microbreweries in America are known for their creativity and ability to break with tradition. Breweries in America aren’t bound to a 400+ year heritage, as the ease of finding Sriracha beers, Mango IPAs, or even an occasional Chocolate-Peanut Butter stout can attest to.
Oskar Blues was among the first breweries to ask: if our beer doesn’t have to follow the rules, why do the containers have to? What makes Oskar Blues significant is not simply that they were one of, if not the first, brewery to can their beer: they were the best to do so and among the first on the scene.
Now the canned beer behemoth has come to Shepherdstown and by all indications available, beer geeks in the area are quite pleased.
According to Jeremy Horner, a senior employee at Grapes and Grains, the entire stock of Oskar Blues beer flew off the shelves within three days of arrival. Horner was excited for the new arrival, their distributor only recently began carrying Oskar Blues; bottle shops, bars, and liquor stores have been quick to make room on the shelf for the new inventory.
Grapes and Grains will be carrying Oskar Blues’s seasonal offerings, including Ten Fiddy – their popular Russian Imperial Stout that will be carried from next week well into winter. Other notable brews from the brewery include: Gubna, Old Chub, Mama’s Little Yellow Pils, and Dale’s Pale Ale. Dale’s Pale Ale has long been the flagship beer for Oskar Blues with the distinction of being their first canned offering to set off what the brewers whimsically refer to as the “Canned Beer Apocalypse.”
Grapes and Grains opened their doors in March 2006. When asked what they hope for in the future, Horner said they would like to continue providing a diverse selection of inexpensive to high-end beer and wine within Shepherdstown. As for other breweries he’d personally like to see come to the area: Dogfish Head, Mikkeller, The Bruery, and Perennial. Grapes and Grains is open Monday-Thursday 11-9, Friday from 11-10, Saturday 10:30-10, and Sunday 1-8. They hold wine-tastings every Sunday from 1 to 7:00 p.m.
John Gladstone is a staff writer for The Picket. He can be reached at jglads01@rams.shepherd.edu.
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