In Longmont, the Oskar Blues Brewery is getting ready to debut its second restaurant, Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids & Solids, in the former Silo Restaurant on the southwest side of town. When it opens, probably in August, the place will feature live music and thirty taps of beer, but its most distinctive physical characteristic will be the old silo (from 1941) out front, which Oskar Blues plans to paint to look like a can of beer.
The request caused a bit of controversy in Longmont, but was settled when the city of Longmont approved a compromise to better reflect its sign ordinance: the 25-foot silo will resemble a can of Dale's Pale Ale, but will say "Oskar Blues" instead.
And in Denver, where Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey is ramping up operations in its new building at 200 South Kalamath Street (the former Heavenly Daze Brewery and future home of Rackhouse Pub), plans call for both small silos out front to be painted.
"We've been talking about it, we're just not sure what it will be yet," says head distiller Jake Norris. As a kid, Norris remembers seeing six grain towers in Milwaukee painted like giants cans of either Schlitz or Pabst. His idea for the Denver silos is a glass full of whiskey: "Why wouldn't you have fun with it?"
