Chaka brewed by Sun King Brewing and Oskar Blues Brewery
Craft beer breweries Oskar Blues Brewery of Lyons, Colo., and Sun King
Brewing Co. of Indianapolis, Ind., are bringing a sleek new packaging
silhouette to craft beer retail shelves. In collaboration, the breweries are
introducing Chaka, a limited-release, handcrafted Belgian-style ale brewed
by both companies and packaged in distinctive 16-oz. resealable Alumi-Tek®
bottles by Ball.
"Unique packaging like the Alumi-Tek bottle provides both Oskar Blues and Sun
King the differentiation we needed to make our limited-release beers distinct
from our core lines. Plus, the sleek bottle shape is appealing to our
customers," said Chad Melis, marketing director of Oskar Blues Brewery. "Craft
beer in aluminum bottles is another step forward in the evolution of beer."
The Ball aluminum bottle delivers portability with a resealable twist off cap
and a wide mouth opening for a smooth pour. The 100-percent recyclable bottle is
lightweight, unbreakable, efficient to ship and store, an excellent brand
billboard and is impervious to light and oxygen - providing unparalleled flavor
protection and long shelf life for the beer inside.
"Alumi-Tek drinks like a bottle and cools like a can to deliver a clean, crisp
taste experience for the craft beer drinker," said Robert M. Miles, senior vice
president, sales for Ball's metal beverage packaging division, Americas. "With
the can's many advantages, including resealability, portability, high recycling
rates, brand building graphics and beneficial economics to name just a few,
craft brewers and consumers alike are reaching for aluminum containers."
Beer Review by Beer Advocate
Appearance: The body is a ruby red with an amber overtone, shining gleefully in
the light. The head is quick to form and even quicker to dissipate, leaving only
a trace of foam around the glass. The retention is nothing but an island of
white film over the nucleation site, as if someone dropped a bit of wax paper
into my glass. Lacing is nice and stringy, though.
Aroma: HUGE malt aromas in this one, much more than anything else: lots of corn
and leafy grain, so crisp you can almost taste them. Still, it’s a
more-than-prominent Belgian character, rich in banana and a dry background of
estery Band-Aid, chamomile, coriander, and lemon-lavender. The brightness is not
lost, but subdued as a strawberry and mango profile – gentle but juicy. An
appetizing first impression.
Taste: This is one big, bold Belgian ale. Upon first sip, it wanders all over
the tongue, coating the entire palate with a vanilla syrupiness. Brown sugar,
molasses, roasted dates, crisp corn husk, coriander, blueberry, dried banana,
and whipped cream come out in this malt-fest of a brew. It’s a complex
sweetness, but syrupy all the same. The yeast is not necessarily funky, but
herbal with a bit of dry white bread. It finishes with some dark vinous fruit
and a taste of pure, unfiltered yeast.
Mouthfeel: Mouth-coating and syrupy; wow, what a presence. The thickest
out-of-can beer I’ve had yet.
Overall: This beer caught me completely off-guard. This is one of the best
collaborations I’ve tasted – bar none. These two breweries have put out an
admirable, if not enviable Belgian strong pale ale; what a beer.
About Sun King Brewing Company
Sun King Brewing Company is the brainchild of Dave Colt and Clay Robinson and
with the help of co-owners - Omar Robinson, Andy Fagg and Steve Koers - the
first keg of Sun King beer rolled out the door for delivery in July 2009. Sun
King is the first full scale production brewery in Indianapolis since 1948 and
today is the third-largest beer brewer in the state of Indiana. Visit
www.sunkingbrewing.com for more information. A limited-release, Belgian-style
ale, Chaka was created in collaboration with Oskar Blues Brewery of Lyons, Colo.
The beer will be distributed in central Indiana in four packs of 16-oz.
resealable, aluminum bottles.
About Oskar Blues Brewery
Founded by Dale Katechis in 1997 as a brew pub and grill in 1997, Oskar Blues
Brewery launched its craft-brewed beer canning operations in 2002 in Lyons, CO.
Oskar Blues was the first American Craft Brewery to brew and can its beer. Visit
www.oskarblues.com/ for more information. A limited-release, Belgian-style ale,
Chaka was created in collaboration with Sun King Brewing Co of Indianapolis,
Ind. The beer is available in select locations during the Craft Beer Conference
in San Diego, May 1-5 and in 16-oz. resealable, aluminum bottles at the Oskar
Blues Tasty Weasel Tap Room, Longmont, Colorado for a limited time.
