The February Winner of www.bcBEERnGEAR.com

The winner of the February www.bcBEERnGEAR.com gear giveaway is Jim Hanley from Glen Falls, NY.

Don't forget to get signed up to win it for March, www.bcBEERnGEAR.com

GO PRO CAMERA - Wapiti Trail at Heil Ranch

Thanks to the Mandery clan for the footage & a hellofa pump track. Cheers!

On top of the monthly gear giveaways on www.bcBEERnGEAR.com we’re locked & loaded to giveaway a GO PRO CAMERA if you can make it happen. THE DEAL: “Share with us a photo of you holding a can of Dales Pale Ale with the bcBEERnGEAR URL on it and enter to win a GO PRO helmet camera”.



Click HERE to submit your photo

Don’t forget to sign up to win the Burton[AK], Backcountry Magazine & Oskar Blues gear giveaway each month at www.bcBEERnGEAR.com

Oskar Blues G'Knight Party Get Down at the Tasty Weasel

Double Down Up Top

Another great night up at Peaceful Valley on the Tuesday night ride, conditions were great and we added another spur to the evening with a bit-o-sourdough-coney flats before heading back out to the Buchanan Pass Trail as an out and back. great conditions, i had to remind myself often that we weren't riding on dirt....then i would lose a front wheel and fly over the bars laughing.
MT & Bob made it out for the great conditions.

Sean gathers his marbles after one trip over the bars.

Chris in a better spot than last week....can you still see the divet he left last week?Double D.
Yep.

Oskar Blues Open Bluegrass pick was OUT-OF-CONTROL PACKED, but we managed to sneak in beers & dinner, thanks for saving us a table.

win a GO PRO CAMERA wtih Dale's Pale Ale and Backcountry Magazine

On top of the monthly gear giveaways on www.bcBEERnGEAR.com we’re locked & loaded to giveaway a GO PRO CAMERA if you can make it happen. THE DEAL: “Share with us a photo of you holding a can of Dales Pale Ale with the bcBEERnGEAR URL on it and enter to win a GO PRO helmet camera”.

Click HERE to submit your photo.

Don’t forget to sign up each month to win the Burton[AK], Backcountry Magazine & Oskar Blues gear giveaway each month at www.bcBEERnGEAR.com

You Stole The Wrong Bike.

A bike thief cut a cable lock and stole Dale’s custom Titanium Spot Brand Carbon Drive System bike off of the Old Chub jeep on Friday in Denver. We wanna find this bike & have some fun with it. Dale is offering a $300 gift certificate to Oskar Blues locations and a day of Oskar Blues led riding, beer & food with the crew for the karma fed soul that can return this baby back to daddy.

Below is the initial blogpost from when Dale received the bike and since then he added a white Rock Shock fork to the set up in the blogpost. (Yep, he’s getting soft)

http://oskarbluesbrewsbikes.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-spot-ti-for-belt-bustas.html

It’s a pretty unique set up:
1. Titanium Spot Brand Frame 29er with Oskar Blues/Spot Brand sticker (Mama's Little Yella PILS inspired)
2. Carbon Drive System (Belt Drive)
3. White Rock Shox fork
4. Gold Chris King Hubs & Headset
5. Red Raceface Cranks
6. Formula “The One” brakes
7. Ritchey Bar & Stem(White) Combo
8. Stans No-tubes Wheel Set
9. Thompson Seatpost & white WTB seat

Happy Birthday - G'Knight Launch Party

As craft brewers have come of age, little did the world know that their full flavored craft beers would generate such passion and excitement. Today is a great time to be a beer lover, and as a nation, we now have more beer styles and beer brands to choose from than any other market in the world. This was not always the case if you look at the History of Beer in the US prior to 1980. Remember, when you support your local brewery, you are supporting the community and culture of craft brewing wherever you are.

What is most exciting is that today's craft brewers are often viewed as local personalities who practice their art with authentic intentions, and their beers are the expression of their individual passion and drive to make the best beer in the world. The best brewers in America are more accomplished than they are famous. Gordon Knight was one of those.

Knight, 52, died on July 30th, 2002 after his helicopter crashed while he was fighting the Big Elk Meadows forest fire just outside of Oskar Blues Brewery’s hometown of Lyons, Colorado. Knight, flying a 32-year-old French helicopter, was dropping water on hot spots in the 4,400-acre blaze for the Boulder Country fire department.

Unless you drank beer along Colorado's Front Range in the 1990s you probably never tasted one of Knight's beers. If you did, then you likely remember them well.
Knight won Great American Beer Festival gold medals at three breweries: High Country Brewery in 1993, Twisted Pine Brewing Co. in 1996 and Wolf Tongue Brewery in 1998.

Each of the champion beers was very different than the others, but they shared one thing in common -- all were made on the same 5-hecoliter (about 4 1/2 barrels) system that followed Knight from brewery to brewery. He first acquired it used from Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan, who used it themselves to found New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins.

Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis met Gordon Knight for the first time riding his bike down the alley outside of High Country brewery from his day job at Madden Bike Panniers before heading to work at the Old Chicago. Dale remembers his thoughts of an “interesting & modest human”. It was an introduction and inspiration that would later create a tribute beer to Gordon in the dry-hopped G’Knight Imperial Red.

Knight bought the system in 1993 to start High Country in Boulder, Colo. In 1994, High Country moved to Estes Park and became a brewpub called Estes Park Brewery, when Knight went into business with a local restaurateur. When Estes Park expanded, the brew house was sold to Peak to Peak Brewing.

Knight left Estes Park in 1995 to start Twisted Pine, back in Boulder. "Estes Park got too big; he didn't want that," said Jim Parker, who was Knight's partner at Wolf Tongue (since closed). "Gordon likes to make beer; the rest of the stuff he doesn't really care about. The startup is what really turns him on."

In 1997, Twisted Pine merged with Peak to Peak, reuniting Knight with his first brew house. He left Twisted Pine to move up Boulder Canyon to Nederland and open Wolf Tongue in June 1997. Wolf Tongue captured gold in the GABF's Brown Porter category for Coffee Porter in 1998, Twisted Pine first in American Amber for Twisted Amber in 1996, and High Country grabbed gold for Renegade Red, India pale ale, in 1993.

Knight was a Nebraska native who earned a Purple Heart as an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He moved to Boulder in 1988, and soon turned from home brewing to professional brewing. He also worked as a professional helicopter pilot, most often in firefighting. He was a hands on individual, a modest perfectionist.

Just a few days before his Wolf Tongue beer won the gold medal in 1998 a visitor to the brewery asked him if he'd be at GABF that weekend. "I don't think so -- I'll be flying," he said. His voice was matter-of-fact, but that was the norm.

We’re toasting craft beer pioneers like Gordon Knight each & every day as we hoist a can of G’Knight Imperial Red. “Gordon Knight inspired all of us with the passion he brought to life, G’Knight is a fitting tribute to that spirit.” Says Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis. As the can says: “If you knew the man behind this liquid tribute, this beer needs no explanation. If you didn’t we’re sorry.”


A toast to www.realbeer.com

Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series #2 - Tomorrow Night

Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series sets off the Tennessee Pass Night Jam with a great course, a near full moon and plenty of after race food, fire, music & Oskar Blues Brews. Check out the trail system. Last year we lined up with 68 racers for a full field, see you out there.

good to the bench....then to brew.

We hit the trail while it was warm & sunny to check out trail conditions and sneak out of the office. Dale turning a HUGE gear...ouch.



The Rog man rallies.
Just past the bench is a no-go, but you gotta say it ain't bad for February.
The bike rack at Oskar Blues is open, and the beer ain't bad either. Cheers!

February Tuesday Night at 9,000 ft.

It reached 60+ degrees in the front range on Tuesday, but for the Redstoners that met later & colder & high elevation the payoff was event hotter.The warm temps & boot pack made a sweet trail deep into Peaceful Valley/Camp Dick Smiles before we even got started....the Dale's maybe? Tree is a gear rep....yes, those are Safeway bags in his shoes. Run what you brung, or smoke em if you got em i guess. Matt goes balls deep. If you got off the 16 inch wide trail it was.......balls deep. TAKE 1 - Looking, um good. TAKE 2 - Lookin....well, look man no hands. TAKE 3 - I got it TAKE 4 - Get off me, who needs this bike anyway. I can get up. TAKE 5 - Aw babe i didn't mean itTAKE 6 - aw come on....came crawling back, I didn't mean it.TAKE 7 - Time to clean the snow out of my drawers. umm, balls deep group photo. guess what happens next.