Oskar Blues Opening a Brewery in Brevard, NC

We’ve seen New Belgium & Sierra Nevada move east into North Carolina…so why not Oskar Blues.  Word this morning is that Oskar Blues will be opening brewery/restaurant/music venue in Brevard, NC.  Owner Dale Katechis has signed a contract on 30,000 sq. ft. brewery space and 6000 sq. ft. restaurant space to be open by late 2012.  Spurred by his love of mountain biking in he Pisgah National Forest,, Katechis chose Brevard, NC because of his frequent travels there.  This from the TimesCall:

The company has been looking at taking its Colorado operations "to the next level," Katechis said in the statement, but opening a smaller venue in a community he has an affinity for struck him as "a lot more fun," as well as allowing the company to save on shipping costs, as more than 35 percent of its beer is sold east of the Mississippi River.   Full details here.

Update from Oskar Blues:

Longmont, CO.  Funky little Oskar Blues Grill & Brew started 15 years ago when Dale Katechis and his high school sweet-heart stumbled across the small town of Lyons, Colorado while on a road trip north from their home in Alabama.  That Rocky Mountain trip continues east as Dale finds the same downhome feeling in the rolling hills of Pisgah National Forrest of Brevard, North Carolina.

Oskar Blues, named “The hottest place to be on a Saturday night in Colorado” by Rolling Stone Magazine, has announced plans for a restaurant/music venue and brewery location just off the bike path to Bracken Mountain in the small downtown of Brevard, N.C.  The brewery plans to have the soul-savin’ live music   venue and brewery up and running by December 2012.

“I’ve left a bike in Brevard for years as we’ve been coming here to ride mountain bikes and check out our buddies Mountain Song Music Festival.  This place rings true with the same eclectic mountain charm that inspired Oskar Blues to put Dale’s Pale Ale in a can back in the day in Lyons, CO.” says soul-founder Dale Katechis.  “Brevard and Lyons share a small town main street tone mingled with live music and an energy emerging from the surrounding hills.”

Oskar Blues, one of the fastest growing breweries in the country, sells over 35 percent of their beer east of the big muddy river, making for a great opportunity to look into a local location in that area.  They have secured a contract on a 30,000 square foot brewery space along with a 6,000 square foot restaurant/music venue location in downtown Brevard.  “We’ve looked at the options of growing our Colorado based brewing to the next level and the thought the idea of opening another small, intimate restaurant and brewery on a grassroots level sounds like a lot more fun.” says Dale.  “With that much beer traveling east of the Mississippi it allows us to invest in another small town that shares our passions and recoup the investment as we contribute to the community and streamline our shipping costs amongst other things.”

Oskar Blues has worked hard to keep that hands-on feel with small Colorado projects like their Hops & Heifers Farm, that provides homegrown beef, pork and vegetables to their restaurants, and handmade mountain bikes with REEB Cycles as the brewery & restaurants have been blessed with growth.  “It’s important to us to keep that trailside comradery amongst each other and the community.” said Katechis.

Further Update:

The Brevard location will generate 100,000bbl when it comes on line in Dec 2012.