Oskar Blues 40% Increase in Sales & 2011 Recap & Deviant Dales Mid-March

It’s exciting to hear that Oskar Blues increased their national sales 40% and I’m excited to see the CANdimonium continue….For the full details and a 2011 recap…

Cows, pigs, goats, music, food, bikes & craft beer-in-a-can: it all added up to a 40% increase in our national sales. So, some might say 2011 was the YEAR OF THE CAN! Here’s a re-cap of our year, and a little looking-forward.

A lot happened around here in 2011- we announced the opening of our sustainable Hops & Heifers Farm, began building our own bikes with REEB Cycles (www.REEBcycles.com), rolled out our Bonewagon Food Truck, and posted a 40% increase in national beer sales.

We grew from 42,000 barrels in 2010 to 59,000 barrels in 2011 — the 17,000 barrel increase is nearly equal to what we produced in 2008- thanks to you guys!

Why do we have so much going on, and what does all of this have to do with craft beer in a CAN? Dale commented that “the farm, the bikes, the music are all an extension of what this is all about; doing what you love. It’s important to stay hands-on and passionate. We just hope everyone has as much fun with it as we do.”

In addition to all of the CANdimonium listed above, we just doubled-down our commitment to providing you with more beer with a $4 million brewery-improvement project. What’re we adding to the brewery? Fourteen 200-barrel fermenters, two 400-barrel bright beer tanks, and a new canning line that will allow us to double our canning speed (300 cans per minute!) and send some 16oz cans your way (Deviant Dale’s IPA in 16oz cans is coming out mid-March!).

For those who haven’t had the chance to try Deviant yet, it’s been a restaurant favorite for the past few years, and took silver at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival in the American-Style IPA category, the most competitive category in the history of the event, with 176 entries. Mama’s Little Yella Pils also won a silver and “Best in Class” in the Bohemian Pilsener category, and Old Chub Scotch Ale was awarded a bronze metal in the Scotch Ale category.

We’re excited about this last year, and want all of you to know that we couldn’t have done it without you, our loyal fans who make our dream possible! Thanks for all of the Oskar Blues love you share with the world. HAPPY NEW YEAR!