One of the best IPAs in Eugene is now available in cans. Oakshire has canned their Watershed IPA. Official release party is Saturday, but cans are currently available at 16 Tons and the Bier Stein.

With canned craft beer becoming more and more popular, I am not surprised to see another brewery jump in to the can line. Wild Goose Canning was brought in from Colorado to set up the canning line at Oakshire. Canned craft beer is still not my favorite. This will be the second Eugene made canned craft beer I have had. Hop Valley Double D Blond being the first. Such a light beer, I did not feel it lost much being canned. I have also really enjoyed the Caldera Brewing and Oskar Blues beers in cans.



My first impression of the new Oakshire can was the look. A full color Oakshire logo on a white background, with an all gold and white version on the reverse side. Looks really good.

The first taste was the familiar IPA with some subtle differences. That extra bite of the bottle version was a bit diminished. The 12 oz canned version is 6.7 ABV with 70 IBUs and the 22 oz bottle is 7.1 ABV with 75 IBUs. Not a huge difference, but noticeable. I was looking for the infamous “tinny” flavor that many craft beer lovers complain about with cans. It was subtle, but there. The “tinny” flavor disappeared altogether when poured into a glass, which really is how this beer should be enjoyed.

These subtle issues are minor and the canned version is very enjoyable overall. Well worth the portability that cans bring. I do believe my future camping trips just got a little brighter. I didn’t expect an exact replica of the 22 oz bottle version and I will admit I am not completely over the preconceptions canned craft beer gets. With this release Oakshire is helping me get over my small aversion to cans.