Oskar Blues cranks up canning capacity.On September 29, the Oskar Blues Brewery announced a new tool in the company's "gonzo gon·zoadj. Slang 1. Using an exaggerated, highly subjective style, especially in journalism: "a hyperkinetic, gonzo version of Graham Greene" New Yorker. 2. beer in a can" effort. The company debuted a new automatic filler/seamer machine that increases the brewery's canning rates by 400%. The machine will fill and seal 75 cases of Dale's Pale Ale and Old Chub Chub, in the Bible Chub (kŭb), in the Bible, an African people. This may be a textual error for Lub (i.e., Lubim). chub, in zoology chub: see minnow. cans per hour. The machine (made by Cask Brewing Systems, the Canadian manufacturer of Oskar Blues Brewery's original hand-canning gear) is the first of its kind in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . "We're boosting our efforts in leading the Canned Beer Apocalypse apocalypse (əpŏk`əlĭps) [Gr.,=uncovering], genre represented in early Jewish and in Christian literature in which the secrets of the heavenly world or of the world to come are revealed by angelic mediation within a narrative ," says Oskar Blues Brewery founder Dale Katechis. "We're on a mission and its time to pick up the pace." "Great beer in a can is a glorious thing," Katechis adds. "It stays fresher longer and it's easier to recycle. It's better for the consumer, better for the environment. Outdoors, cans let you have your fun and drink it, too." Katechis says the new machine will enable Oskar Blues to expand distribution and production. "Our faster gear means we can pursue new markets," he notes, "and hopefully squeeze in some time to drink our beer." The automatic canner has a conveyor belt conveyor belt One of various devices that provide mechanized movement of material, as in a factory. Conveyor belts are used in industrial applications and also on large farms, in warehousing and freight-handling, and in movement of raw materials. feeder, a carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. gas "pre-purge" feature (to flush oxygen from cans prior to filling) and a five-head can filler. It also has a second oxygen-purge feature (prior to can lids being placed), a heavy-duty seamer seam n. 1. a. A line of junction formed by sewing together two pieces of material along their margins. b. A similar line, ridge, or groove made by fitting, joining, or lapping together two sections along their edges. and a rinsing and drying station for filled and sealed cans. Katechis says the Cask machine is "small but very efficient." It takes up an area of just 12' by 3'. The machine cost approximately $45,000. The automatic canner, says Cask's Jamie Gordon, elevates Oskar Blues Brewery's role at the "forefront of canning micros." "Dale Katechis is the canning pioneer in the States," Gordon says. "He has opened the eyes of consumers and small brewers to the benefits of canned craft beer." "Two years ago," Gordon adds, "brewers would hang up on us when we called. Not anymore. Thanks to Oskar Blues, now they say, "I'm interested.'" Twenty American microbrewers now hand-can their beer on Cask equipment, Gordon says. "And our automatic machine will make canning more feasible for the nation's small and mid-sized craft brewers," he asserts. This month, Oskar Blues added two 60-barrel fermenters to its operation, increasing its fermenting capacity by 50%. |
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