Collaborative Brewing: A Growing Trend in the Craft Beer Industry, Part 3

Perhaps the most known in Seattle....New Belgium's & Elysian's Trip Series

Here, in the third installment of the collaborative brewing article, we present a bit of a list of some of the most notable collaboration projects of the past, present and future.

This write up would be remiss to not mention the prolific Danish brewer with no brewery, Mikkel Borg Bjergso of Mikkeller.  If brewing beer at someone else’s brewery were criteria enough to evoke the collaboration moniker, every Mikkeller beer to hit the shelves would be just that.  Even still, Mikkel has, over the years, joined forces with Stone, Brew Dog, Three Floyds, Struise, Alesmith, Nogne O, and others to make some really exciting beers.

A collaboration that us Seattleites are very familiar with is that of Elysian Brewing Co. and New Belgium Brewing Co. The ‘Trip’ series allows Elysian to brew with more volume on the New Belgium system and New Belgium to brew more experimental, small batches on the Elysian system.  Lucky for us, these beers are only available on draft in the Northwest.

The first brew was Trippel (not triple) IPA, a Belgian-inspired Indian Pale Ale.  Trip II was a unique hoppy Belgian Golden Ale spiced with lemongrass and grains of paradise.  Trip III was a sour brown ale and Trip IV, a Finnish style sahti brewed with juniper.  Beer Blotter will be on the edge of their seats in anticipation of each subsequent release.

The darlings of the Florida scene, Cigar City Brewing, just may be sending a bit of their art in Seattle’s direction when they collaborate with The Bruery in what will be the most anticipated collaboration release for yours truly.  Keep your eyes peeled in July or August of this year.

Terrapin Beer Co. of Athens, GA and Left Hand Brewing of Longmont, CO have actually decided to make a somewhat regular go at collaborating together with the ‘Midnight Project’ series.  Brew One in 2008 produced Terra-Rye’zd, a black rye lager.  Last year’s Brew Two saw Depth Charge, an espresso milk stout.  Sadly, WA is not amongst the 6 states that receive these beers, but if you are in TN, NC, SC, GA, FL or CO, we will gladly offer you our address and some packaging materials.

Left Hand Brewing and Terrapin Brewing are making their collab a regular item

Quite possibly the biggest (in terms of brewery size) collaboration yet sees Boston Beer Co. and Weihenstephan join forces.  The largest American craft brewery and the oldest brewery in the world, that’s pretty monumental!  The uncharacterized style will come at the intersection of brewing innovation and the old German purity law, the Reinheitsgebot.   According to Realbeer.com, “their yet-to-be-named beer will be released in both the United States and Germany next spring in cork-finished bottles. Effervescent and Champagne-like beer it will weigh in at more than 10 percent alcohol by volume.”

Another fairly sizeable collaborative effort came at the hands of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. These two have been quite active lately, in fact, on the collaborative front.  Life and Limb came when Sam Calagione and Ken Grossman, two monumental names in American craft brewing, decided to cook up a beer together after sharing a pint or two at the Craft Brewer’s Conference.  Their concoction ended up being a 10% strong ale brewed with maple syrup, fermented with a combination of both breweries house yeast strains and naturally carbonated with birch syrup.  Limb and Life was also created in this session, a small beer made from the second runnings of Life and Limb.

Boulevard Brewing Co. of Kansas City, MO just recently made its first mark on the collaboration scene with a very unlikely cohort, the Belgian Trappist brewery Orval.  Using an old recipe that Orval brewmaster Jean-Marie Rock had, an Imperial Pilsner was made using only one kind of malt, Saaz hops, water, and a lager yeast.  Beer Blotter has never wanted to try a pilsner so bad.  This beer is available in Seattle so look for it, we will be.

The final collaboration to be discussed in this round will be another America-meets-Belgium pairing that, well…I’m sure you can all imagine just how much that concept gets our blood pumping.  Green Flash Brewing Co. of San Diego County and Brasserie St. Feuillien of Le Roeulx, Belgium have teamed up to make Bière De L’Amitié, or “Beer of Friendship”.  Beernews.org reports that this 9.5% blonde Belgian strong ale will be released in June of 2010.  Rye and wheat malts were used, along with Amarillo hops, St. Feuillien’s yeast strain, “secret” spices, and the whole mess was dry hopped with Amarillo.  Sounds stupid good.

Any thoughts on collaborations? Know any good ones we missed? Join the conversation with a comment.

Seattle Beer Week Launches New Website

SBW is back! Look out for updates on the best event in Seattle

Our friend Ian Roberts is back at it with another offering of Seattle Beer Week!

Fresh off a trip to Belgium, Ian is back in town and recently launched a nice website laying out the schedule for Seattle’s best beer extravaganza.

With a massive bevy of sponsors, the Week looks to offer even more juicy beer magic than last year. You can check out the amazing lineup by navigating through the Events portion of their website.

This year Hales Brewery has been selected to put together the brew for the Week, a double IPA. We cannot wait!

BeerBlotter Returns: Belgium Beer Trip Comes to Wondrous Conclusion

cherry......really cherry. The Kriek mash at Cantillon.

We are still alive and kicking. We have been pre-occupied with endless beer consumption for the past 10 days. But with it all coming to a close, its time to re-inject ourselves into your daily news garb.

The trip has been magnanimous. We have met beers, geese, brewers, and nipping winds. Belgium treated us well.

Visits to Cantillon, Alvinne, Westvleteren, Moeder Lambic Pater’s Vaetje, Poatersgat, and de Gans – were top flight. But we have some negative marks for some Belgian staples as well.

We return on Sunday and promise to have full remarks by that time. Enjoy your weekend!

BB.com

Epic Ales: 6 of 52

The KR Trigger building on 1st S & Hanford in Sodo - Home to Epic Ales.

6 of 52

Epic Ales Brewing Co.

KR Trigger Building

3201 First Ave South, Suite 104

Seattle, WA 98134

Rank: #2 of 4

Type of Establishment: Nano-Brewery, Tasting Room

BEERS ON TAP (at time of visit) —>

Solar Trans-amplifier

OTTO-Optimizer

Simple Ale

FOOD OPTIONS: None

STAFF OPINION: The brewer, Cody Morris, was the only one there, serving beer and chatting with patrons. He was excited and passionate about brewing and was more than willing to explain the styles of beer and tell the “crowd” about his brewing tales.

Located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Epic Ales has that industrial, grass roots “feel.”  With several local breweries moving into this neighborhood, we think Epic Ales is on the right track. The tasting room officially opened its doors on January 22, 2010 and is open on Fridays from 3:30PM until 8PM and when we went, we could tell, word has gotten out about this brewery. There were two beers on tap, as the Solar Trans-Amplifier has just kicked. Described as a sour Belgium Witt, we were slightly saddened by our poor timing.   OTTO- Optimizer, a Turkish Coffee Porter was on the sweet side with berry qualities mixed with the coffee flavors.  The body was light compared to other Porters and the flavor was lingering.   The other beer on tap, the Simple Ale, was anything but.  It had a bit of aromatic funk but was bitter from the hop component and very malty. Delicious!

The space consists of a small tasting room, with the taps, a bar top, some boxes of bottles and brewing accessories along with a separate room of approximate same size which is where the magic happens.  This is a brewery with an ample amount of potential to be great. The brewer, Cody is innovative from the ingredients used to the labeling on the bottles (yet to be sold) and is generous. There will be six beers released during the summer and fall and each beer will be a flavored imperial kvass baring a child’s name. For every bottle sold a quarter goes to a saving bond for the college.  He also will make a kvass for his “kid,” Fuji, a 9 month terrier mix. In honor of his pup, a portion of the earning will be donated to an animal advocate group.

On March 5th the simple ale in 22’s will be available for you to take home and enjoy. When we asked Cody what breweries inspired him, he replied, “There are so many exciting beers being made.  I think American craft brewers are really pushing the limits. It’s a great time for beer lovers.”  We couldn’t agree more.

The Tap List: 8 Cities. Lots of Bars. Beer on tap.

Latona Pub in Seattle just posted their list. That Big Time brew is looking good!

So……Friday is the day where we will be introducing the Taplist – an adventure into America’s top tap lists. Beer Blotter did a survey (no we didnt), and we tallied the votes (certainly did not) and we decided in unanimity (eh…maybe) that there are 8 epic beer cities in the U.S. of A.

Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Denver won out. Thus, they will be routinely displayed here every Friday (morning from now on) so that you know where to go to get a beer in your city, your vacation spot, the place where work stuck you with that guy, the place you got stuck on a layover, the place your in-laws live and you tentatively visit,  and/or the place you bought that stuff from that dude that knew that chick.

We will try to get to all 8 cities each week…but this week we only get to 6.

And now for the list……

Chicago….

• The Map Room – Updated 12/11/09 – Founder’s Red Rye Ale is up and seriously lacking a response in the beer community. The reviews are spicy with a great caramel balance. Worth a look. Also, appearing are Cleveland’s Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald,  Montreal’s McAuslan St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (99 on RateBeer), Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Life & Limb (10.2% with maple syrup and birch) – best for last Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (beer of the month = $4)
• The Publican – Get the pig ears. order beer. Green’s Quest is brewed at Mikkeller’s De Proef Brouwerij (8.5% tripel); the list has Port Brewing’s Panzer Imperial Pilz and Older Viscosity (taste like hot pretzels – 2nd at Big Wood); you might want to save your cash and get a Matilda from Goose Island, a beer full of funky yet citrusy belgian flavor while adding a smooth but strong hoppy note.
• The Hopleaf – Updated 12/11/09 – they win for today’s list. The list includes localites Tyranena Rocky’s Revenge (Barrel Aged Brown), Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (quintessential IPA), Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA (wet hop!), Metropolitan Generator Dopplebock (who makes these? – 8.2% is just right), Half Acre Magnus Schwartz and Point Brewing Cascade Pale Ale. But the show stoppers here are (a) Stone/Brewdog Bashah (8.6%, get this – Black. Belgian. Double IPA – i love these guys) and (b) Goose Island Pere Jacques (9% – banana monster that will turn you upside down)

New York….

• Ginger Man – Weyerbacher Quad. enough said. This went up today. Also going up are Abita Christmas Ale (New Orleans favorite), and Smuttynose Big A IPA; but the king has to be Harpoon’s Leviathan Imperial IPA – we sampled this down in New Orleans and were floored. This is an extremely well bittered IPA with perfect smooth sugars. The beer is comparable to Ruination.
• Rattle N Hum – Updated 12/9/09 – Woo. Wow. 40 taps and 4 Dark Star (England) Casks. This list is incredible – we will just rattle them off: Allagash Burnham Road, Smuttynose Finest Kind Kind (2x IPA – no ratings – rare as hell), Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale, Dogfish Head Burton Baton (2x IPA), Stone Sublimely Self Righteous, Southern Tier Old Man Winter, Brooklyn Back Breaker, and Sixpoint Otis –  – but the champs are here Brooklyn Monster ’07 and Cigar City Hunaphu (got to love the NY and FL connection – thank NYC shitty taxes and FL no taxes) . Hunu is a RateBeer Top 50, aged in cigar box wood and severely limited in production. Get it now.

Philadelphia….

• Monk’s Cafe – East Coasters – they still have Port Brewing High Tide – go get it. Its your last amazing taste of fresh hops for the season. You want a Belgian – get the Nogne O Tiger Trippel.
• Eulogy – Austria’s favorite is Samichlaus (14%) Dopplebock, aged for 10 months and ready for the Holidays. Very rare on tap. The Belgians here are the fare; there are plenty you will like.

San Diego…

• Toronado – Updated 12/11/09 – Unlike the SF version, these guys maintain an ever changing tap list online. Holiday beers on parade. Today you can grab a Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi. This beer is biblical in theme and in effect. An incredible Biere De Garde that has been reviewed as having “hints of egg nog” – really? They also have Mikkeller’ Santa’s Little Helper 2009, Oggi’s- Freakin’ Awsome (SD brewer with some amazing IPAs), Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper, and Santa Cruz Mountain’s Ginger’s Winter Warmer
• Stone Bistro – Stone Brewing’s own brewpub/bistro has probably the most consistently-impressive tap list in the city. Right now you can grab any of Stone’s brews, including Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, as well as Avery duganA (one of the more impressive new 2x IPAs), a winter ale offering from Bootleggers of Fullerton, CA, and Mission Brewing’s  Armada Imperial IPA (collaboration with San Diego Brewing @ 9.2%). We would love to try and get our hands on that Mission offering.

San Francisco…

• Toronado – These guys do not keep an updated taplist. But, they do have a pleasant surprise for you – Speakeasy is holding an Old Godfather Release Party today at this pub. This beer is a tasty caramel barleywine (10.2%). But the versions on tap today will be Barrel-Aged and extra special.
• The Trappist – OK OK we know its in Oakland, but this bar is incredible. They are hold KerstBier Festival right now, with some amazing Belgians. De Struise Tsjeeses (10%), Mikkeller To From, and Brouwerij De Regenboog‘s Catherine the Great Stout.

Seattle….

• Latona – UPDATED 12/12/09 – They just put up their new tap list.  Big Time Malaprop 8 is very intriguing. This abbey style ale (7.2%)  has excellent reviews and an interesting spiced malt. Check this beer out.
• Naked City Taphouse – UPDATED all the time. Naked City’s use of Twitter has been an excellent tool for beer lovers. Now you can be sure to know what is running on their taps at all time. Its a must follow. Right now they are pouring Speakeasy Brewer’s Reserve Old Godfather, Snipes Diminished Returns Double IPA and Diamond Knot Industrial Ho Ho. We were especially impressed with Snipes’ 2x IPA. The beer is not too bitter, very floral and extremely smooth, while maintaining a high alcohol content (9%). Snipes has been getting a lot of attention for hoppy beers over the past year.  Take a trip to Greenwood people!
• Brouwer’s Cafe – UPDATED 12/11/09 – Brouwers put some good beers on last night, notifying us via Twitter.
  Maritime’s Jolly Roger, Firestone Walker’s Reserve Porter, and the Fall 2009 version of Hair of the Dog’s Blue Dot Imperial IPA have hit the taps. Oh yeah – they also still have a few Big Wood beers running!

Let us know if we are missing something. Next week expect to see a post about all 8 cities!

Tasting Rooms Abound! Places to Grab Nanobrews in Seattle

Gilligans Brewing rests in peace.........but not forever!

Nanobrew? What the hell is that? Well I am using it. I like the term and I think it applies to several of Seattle’s once-garaged-up breweries.

There are several breweries in the Seattle area that produce beer on a very small scale. These breweries typically serve beer at tasting rooms in the area and rely upon retail sales at their tasting rooms, as much as they rely upon their limited keg sales to local bars.

Its tough to be small and make it, so these breweries are the hardest working out there. They distribute directly – on their own; they sell growlers to make sure their beer gets taken home; they print swag to make sure their name is on the breast of the public.

Visiting a Nanobrewery is one of our favorite things to do. You really get face time with the brewers (who are often the only employees) and the aura of brewing (as you are typically corralled amongst the brewing equipment).

Here are some favorites in the area, who have tasting rooms that you need to visit:

Big Al Brewing

Big Al is located down in South Park and they are generally known for their Irish Red, Smoked Porter and interesting seasonals (check out Brown Brother’s Scotch Ale)

These guys have a beer garden of sorts that is great in summer. But you can visit them year round:

big al brewing, inc.

Address – 9832 14th ave sw, seattle, wa 98106 – map

Phone – (206) 453-4487

Their tasting room is open 3:00-9:00 PM Monday through Thursday,
3:00-10:00 PM Friday, 1:00-10:00 PM Saturday, and 2:00-7:00 PM Sundays.

Two Beers

Since we work down in SODO – we like their location. They are on the cusp of SODO and Georgetown and have a tasting room that is open two days a week. Stop in for beer and pretzels to fill you growlers.

Address – 4700 Ohio Avenue South Unit A, Seattle WA 98134.

Phone – (206) 491-1439

The Tasting Room is open 3:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

From the site:

Come down for peanuts, pretzels, $3 pints, and HD TV on our 46′ LCD TV. Interested in renting the tasting room for a private party email us for rates and availability.

Schooner Exact

Where are these guys!? Luckily we just asked the same question. Hopefully we will get a response soon, but for now a little back story. Schooner Exact makes some damn tasty IPAs. Their use of the Randall (a fresh hop infuser) over the past year has made them one of my personal favorites.

They used to be located over in West Seattle, but have recently released information about their move to……..you guessed it – SODO! The only information that we have seen is that they will be located on 1st Avenue S, close to the West Seattle bridge (so are we – YES!).

So for now, we will stay tuned……

Baron Brewing

Aw schucks! They closed down their South Park commercial garage a few months back. But this was good news, as they have now moved into their new spot in Greenwood, Pillagers Pub. Though this place no longer has the tasting room feel – you can still get plenty of great beer. TRY THE RAUCHBIER!

Address – 8551 Greenwood Ave N Ste 5, Seattle, WA 98103

Phone – (206) 706-2779

The Pub is open from 3:00pm – 12:00am Monday – Thursday and 12:00pm – 1:00am Friday – Sunday.

Fremont Brewing

These guys really stepped it up quickly! Former attorney Matt Lincecum turned an old warehouse in Fremont into a beer mecca. He has hired Matt Lincoln, formerly of Goose Island Belgians fame, as head brewer, and Aaron Golston, from Thirsty Bear in San Fran (we’ve been there!), as an assistant.

Because of the wealth of brewing experience between these three (Matt is also an avid home brewer) they have been able to turn out a plethora of beers in just a short time. Though only Universale Pale and a few versions of their IPA have made the taps, they have a wealth of small production beers you can get at the tasting room or for instance at Brouwers’ Big Wood Festival and their previous Hopfest (their IPA was in my top 15 for its unique quality).

Plans are underway to open a second floor beer garden, but this place is very cool as it stands right now. Take an afternoon and check it out:

Address – 3409 Woodland Park Avenue North, Seattle, 98103

Phone – (206) 420-2407

The tasting room is open Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Gilligan’s Brewing

This was a major part of our life. We have some great connections with Gilligans and the people who work there. But, due to changes in ActivSpace policies, they were forced to move out of their amazing place on the Burke-Gilman Trail in Fremont. But, do not fret, we spoke with owner Seth Gilligan over the weekend and plans are underway for the re-emergence of GBC in early 2010.

GBC will be using a brewpub format and serving up delicious food and grog. Stay tuned for more details….

Again – we aint geniuses and we are certainly missing some true tasting rooms. If you know of some – please continue the dialogue below with some comments!