Collaboration Nation

Collaboration beers started making their appearance a few years ago - the first one I recall seeing was Collaboration, not Litigation by Avery and Russian River. (Still one of the best collaboration beer names yet.) If you don't know the story, here's how Avery tells it on their website:

The name of two intricate Belgian-style ales, created by us, Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing and Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. After becoming friends a few years ago, we realized we both had a Salvation in our lineups. Was it going to be a problem? Should one of us relinquish the name rights? “Hell, no!” we said. In fact, it was quickly decided that we should blend the brews to catch the best qualities of each and create an even more complex and rich libation. In April 2004, in a top secret meeting at Russian River Brewing (well, actually it was packed in the pub and many were looking over our shoulders wondering what the hell was going on), we came up with the perfect blend of the two Salvations. Natalie, Vinnie’s much more significant other, exclaimed, “We should call this Collaboration, not Litigation Ale!” “Perfect,” we shouted! We celebrated deep into the night (or is that morning?). Fast forward to November 14, 2006. After talking about it for over two years, we finally decided to pull the trigger and Vinnie made the journey to Avery Brewing to brew his Salvation exactly as he does in his brewery.

But they're far from the only ones. Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head put together a brew they called "Life and Limb". De Proef and Bell's got together to make their delicious dark Belgian ale with cherry juice. And we all know about Boulevard's latest collaboration between Stephen Pauwels and Jean-Marie Rock.

And another collaboration beer enters the fray. The brewers at Schlafly, O'Fallon, and New Albanian got together last fall to brew their own collaborative beer - a dry-hopped, oak-aged, smoked rye pale ale. Yeah, you read that right. Mike over at STLhops.com put up some pictures of the brew day a while back, as well as some information about the beer.

So what does a dry-hopped, oak-aged, smoked rye pale ale taste like? You can read about it on Hoosier Beer Geek. Or, you can go to Flying Saucer on Thursday and taste it for yourself. See you there.

DeProef is in the beer

In 2007, brewers from Port Brewing in Southern California took a field trip to Belgium and developed a beer with De Proef Brouerij. They took concepts from two fantastic beer styles - West Coast American IPA and Belgian Strong Ale - to come up with a Reserve Signature Ale.

We picked up a bottle of this magical beverage this evening at Royal. I have seen it before and passed it by, selecting other beers before it. Why, I can't tell you. This is a fantastic beer.

The aroma is immediately hoppy, bordering on pungent. The citrus really comes through, reminding me of the bitter pith of an orange. Initial taste is bitter hops, followed by a sweet caramel maltiness, followed by warmness. It's not too sweet, and is definitely predominantly hoppy. Now this is what I miss about west coast beer. The Brett is definitely present, but well-balanced and not too overwhelming.

Overall, this is a fantastic Belgian IPA. It has the hoppiness of a west coast IPA, the maltiness of a Belgian strong ale, and the funky tartness of the Brettanomyoces. Highly recommended for anyone who has a love of hops, a love of Belgian ale, and - best of all - a love of funk.