Volume 2, Issue 15 July 6 - July 19, 2000

303 Main Street, Lyons, Colorado

Cruising on I-36 west out of Boulder with my window rolled down, my hand doing that wave thing in the wind, I mistakenly took in a deep whiff of the outside air and received a heavy dose of the day's freshly laid asphalt. The pungent fumes started me to thinking: the reason for the re-pave is that these days, many more Colorado transplants use this stretch of road to make the trek up to Rocky Mountain National Park. I mean, doling out $5 to Ranger Rick is a small price to pay for realizing that framed double-matted Ansel Adams vision of the perfect aspen grove in person, as opposed to the anticlimactic one-dimensional black and white version.

Though the thought of hanging around in a traffic jam of finger pointing shutterbugs sounded mighty appealing, I was motivated north not by nature, but by the weight of positive hearsay regarding Oskar Blues Grill and Brew in the historic town of Lyons--a community which recently, for lack of many stopover attractions, has been sniffing the reeking breeze of exhaust from sightseers passing through.

Lyons, the Double Gateway to the Rockies, is located at the junction of the north and south St. Vrain canyons. It once was the center of activity in the old days of stagecoaches and Stanley Steamers, but eventually it became a disregarded territory to many outsiders. However, since the founding of Oskar Blues in 1997, two distinguishing characteristics of local flavor have helped resuscitate the town's communal fiber. Now the folks of Lyons are laying claim to quality live blues music three nights a week and some of the tastiest beer around.

With one step through the front door you'll get a strong sense of the pub's theme, as pictures of bluesmen from W.C. Handy to Stevie Ray Vaughn, concert playbills, and Chicago Bluesfest banners pepper the walls at every turn. From the entryway, stairs lead up to a pleasantly bright smoke-free "family oriented" restaurant, or down to what can only be affectionately called the local saloon."

In contrast to the restaurant, a place the urban tourists and suburban transplants can feel more at home, the downstairs bar is its complete antithesis. Descending the dark stairwell, passing prints of Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James, I knew right away I wasn't going to find any of your yuppie trappings down here, only an intimacy that comes from an appreciation for a certain unfussy blue-collar minimalism. It's a room barren of any corporate shareholder investment. A place you can feel the strong wonderful shift of mountain transition, where the new money patronage steps aside and gives way to the thirsty long-time local rednecks, bikers and others that fall somewhere in between. There is a familiarity between regulars who feel the freedom to cradle a cold craft beer and cuss, if cussing is needed to get the point across.

I sat under the subtle glow of recessed lights at one of the few vacant tables and started in on a pint of Dale's Pale Ale. After taking curious notice of the load-bearing beam next to me, entirely covered from the low black ceiling to the floor in silver bottle caps, I turned my attention to a most impressive brew. Through the chill haze on my glass, the ale appears golden with a hint of roasty redness. It held healthy sud lines and tasted, well, perfect in every way. This is a terrific beefy American Pale for all you fans of Sierra Nevada.

For the lighter beer drinker, Dale Katechis, owner and brewer, creates two nice ales. The One Nut Brown is a deep reddish brown brew with a subdued hop flavor, which brings out a fresh light caramel taste, much like something you might get in England. And for those intimidated by any semblance of dark color in the glass, there is Craig's Wiser Pilsner, a beer with a clean crisp taste and a slight but noticeable sea-soning of hop.

Reverend Sandi's Sinful Stout is a nitro-poured Irish Dry and a bronze medal winner at the 1999 Great American Beer Festival. It comes black as night and carries an equally formidable rich flavor with undertones of coffee and a well-suited bitterness.

Two brews not pouring on this visit were Dubbel Trouble, a Belgian ale, and Lucky's Lager, named after the late Boulder sax legend Lucky Hudson, who used to play the Oskar on Friday nights. I also sampled some Hefeweizen, the guest brew of the night, and it was a good, refreshing, perfectly traditional, no-frills example of the style.

I couldn't deny Dale's assertion that bands have enjoyed playing for the Oskar crowd. In looking out over the room, the majority of patrons remain refreshingly attentive to the stage, even to the extent of applauding a couple with a few nice dance steps. The owner's ambition is for Oskar Blues to be the premier stop for national acts passing through, much like Anton's of Austin, Texas, has done. He's off to a good start, booking such names as Pinetop Perkins and the Homewreckers, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Sam Myers, Wild Child Butler, and Long John Hunter.

Dale and his mother, Shirley "Ya-Ya" Katechis, who came to Lyons by way of Alabama, can be proud of what they have accomplished in an area that needed to add a little ‘Oomph!' to a night on the town. And in talking with the regulars, I get the feeling Oskar Blues has become the equivalent of church, where not a week goes by without stopping in to support their hamlet's most recent religion. Can I get an Amen!

Pros -- The layout of this pub caters to everyone from the surly barfly to the Bennigan's regular without having to mix such oil and water sects of humanity.

Cons -- Dale's Pale Ale is so good, you may wake up the next day in the parking lot with bits of gravel stuck to your forehead.