Oskar Blues Partners with World Cup Downhill Racer

oskar blues neko mulally

Longmont, CO, and Brevard, NCOskar Blues Brewery, creator of the first American craft beer in a CAN, is excited to team up with World Cup downhiller and racing phemon Neko Mulally, 21, who will wear the first ever Dale’s Pale Ale-branded Bell helmet this season.

“Having the chance to align myself with a company like Oskar Blues Brewery is something I’m really excited about,” says Mulally. “Our partnership will fit in really well with the gravity community and a lot of people will support what we are trying to do.”

Mulally moved to Brevard, North Carolina, about a year ago, and lives minutes from the North Carolina Oskar Blues Brewery at the foot of Pisgah National Forest-home of some of the gnarliest single track in America. Mulally trains on the nearby terrain including at the Oskar Blues REEB Ranch, a bike park and event venue that was host to the Red Bull Dreamline BMX Dirt Jumping Competition in October 2014.

“Oskar Blues is an All-American company with one of their breweries being here in Brevard, so it feels like a hometown relationship,” said Mulally in a recent interview with PinkBike.com. “Dale’s is the best beer in the world. It’s cool because, for anyone who doesn’t already know, the can is red, white and blue, so my helmet really reflects some patriotism. I just think that most of the people watching these races would much rather have a beer in their hand than an energy drink.”

Mulally’s Dale’s Pale Ale helmet is the first craft beer helmet in mountain bike racing. Mulally recently joined the Gstaad-Scott Factory Racing Team powered by Fox after five years with Trek World Racing.

“We’re stoked to continue Oskar Blues’ support of riders and events that we believe in and enjoy. This kid is so motivated–it inspires us, and we want to give him the tools to go full blast after his goals. Neko is the pinnacle of local and grassroots support taking to an international level.” said Chad Melis, bike nerd and spokesman for Oskar Blues Brewery.

For the second year in a row, Oskar Blues Brewery will be the official beer of Windham World Cup, the only World Cup race that takes place on U.S. soil. The UCI Mountain Bike World Festival takes place August 6-9, 2015, at Windham Mountain Resort in Windham, New York. At that race, Mulally will be competing for the opportunity to chug a 19.2-ounce Dale’s Pale Ale on the podium. Windham builds on Oskar Blues’ long standing cycling event support that ranges from Big Mountain Enduro, Pisgah Stage Race, Mountain States Cup, Rocky Mountain Endurance Series and Cross Vegas to regional and state wide series and local weekly XC Short Track races.

Oskar Blues Brewery also has a long history of rider support including sponsored State Champions, National Champions, World Championship Podiums , Olympians and BMX riders Zak Earley and Mike Murfitt Jr. Oskar Blues’ also launched REEB Cycles, their own hand-built bike company.  REEB Cycles are designed in-house using 100% American Made, custom drawn (REEB ABT) True Temper OX Platinum tubing and are hand-welded one at a time at the ColoRADo brewery by Chris Sulfrian.  Oskar Blues has also opened CyclHOPS Bike CANtina, a craft beer inspired taco and tequila eatery that houses REEB’s full service bike shop inside the restaurant.

As Oskar Blues’ flagship beer, Dale’s, an American Pale Ale, delivers balanced rich flavors of malts and hops (6.5% ABV, 65 IBUs). As the first craft beer in a can, Dale’s epitomizes Oskar Blues’ culture of “Pack it in, Pack it out” and “Ride bikes, Drink Beer, Repeat.”

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About Oskar Blues Brewery

Founded as a brewpub by Dale Katechis in 1997, Oskar Blues Brewery launched the craft beer-in-a-can apocalypse in 2002 using a tabletop machine that sealed one can at a time. In 2008, the makers of the top-selling pale ale in ColoRADo, Dale’s Pale Ale, moved into a 35,000-square-foot facility in Longmont, ColoRADo. The brewery has since experienced explosive growth-from packaging 59,000 barrels of beer in 2011 to 149,000 barrels in 2014. In December 2012, Oskar Blues opened the doors to an additional brewery in Brevard, North Carolina. Recently, Oskar Blues secured an additional 60,000 square feet at its Colorado location to allow additional production expansion. Oskar Blues now distributes trail-blazing craft brews to 41 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., as well as parts of Canada, Sweden, and the U.K. 

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About Oskar Blues REEB Ranch

From National Champions and World Championship Podiums  to REEB-riding Olympians, bikes and bloody elbows have always been at the heart of Oskar Blues Brewery’s culture. Rider-born REEB Cycles, from Oskar Blues’ own bike company, are designed in-house using 100% American Made, True Temper OX Platinum tubing and are hand-welded one at a time at the ColoRADo brewery.  The Oskar Blues REEB Ranch, located just down the road from the Oskar Blues Brevard, NC, Brewery, hosted the 2014 Red Bull Dreamline BMX event featuring Oskar Blues REEB Rider Zak Earley. The REEB Ranch houses the Dreamline course, along with on-location pumptrack and dirt jump progression lines while integrating All-Mountain/Free Ride features with Cross Country mountain bike trails up against DuPont State Forest. The Ranch also is home to The Bike Farm , an all-inclusive bike concierge service.  This one-stop shop features bike rentals and all-day guided rides right from the property, followed by post-ride cool downs in the swimming hole. Rental accommodations at the Ranch include a 1940’s cabin with waterfall views, the barn apartment with bike park and pasture views, and tent camping.  Click HERE for reservations.  The Oskar Blues REEB Ranch compliments Oskar Blues Colorado Hops & Heifers Farm, which houses a flow course and dirt jumps just down the road from Oskar Blues Cyclhops Bike CANtina restaurant, where REEB Cycles retail & full service bike shop are located. #obREEBranch  

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