Arctic cans its On-On Ale

No one is going to mistake the tiny, semihidden Arctic Craft Brewery on East Platte Place for Coors - for reasons both good and bad - but it entered the same plane as the brewing giant on at least one level this month.

Arctic became the first Colorado Springs brewery to can its beer, joining a slow-growing trend of Colorado craft brewers that see an advantage to getting their product in easily portable containers where light can't spoil it.

More importantly for Arctic President John Dunfee, though, the move represents a huge leap forward for an operation that, until late last fall, was just a part-time gig for the former insulation-business owner.

By the time you read this, cans of his On-On Ale will be selling at restaurants, bars and liquor stores in the area; eventually, he hopes that you can pull into a major beer outlet in Florida or North Dakota and get them, too.

First, though, he has to overcome the "learning curve" of making even one batch of cans, which comes out to 4,000 12-ounce beers.

His "staff" for the canning line is volunteer bar patrons who get paid in beer for their efforts.

His method for determining whether the can is full enough?

Drop it in water. If it floats, it's too light and is rejected. If it sinks, you've got a full - and now washed - can of beer.

On-On, an American pale ale, may seem an odd choice for Dunfee's initial rollout, as it does not have the booming reputation of his Milk Stout or the accessibility factor of his Wheat or Lager.

This tame but solid offering does have a built-in demographic, however. The arrowed foot on the label is also the symbol of the Hash House Harriers, a worldwide group that combines members' loves of running and drinking and has 4,000 devotees in Colorado alone.

The Milk Stout is next to hit the cans, but because of time and cost constraints, that probably won't happen until August or September. When it does, it will be nitrogen-infused - an addition the brewer says makes the award-winning beer "amazing."

In the meantime, the Arctic bar will still be open just Thursdays through Saturdays, and Dunfee will keep rolling out experimental beers you won't find in cans here or anywhere.

If you want something that will wake your taste buds from a coma, try his Patientia sour ale, a challenging, complex creation that will introduce apple to the local beer scene.

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CONTACT THE WRITER: 1-303-837-0613 or ed.sealover@gazette.com