Collaborations

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock, with Troegs

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock is the latest the brewery’s “Partner Ships” Series in 2016. The first release was with Maine Beer Co.

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock is brewed with Hershey, Pennsylvania’s Troegs Independent Brewing. This aggressively hopped doppelbock earned it’s new name, Continue Reading →

Posted in Trillium Brewing, Don't Miss This, Other Half Brewing

Trillium Swagger Like a Hundred Thousand Trillion, with Other Half

Trillium Swagger Like a Hundred Thousand Trillion, a collaboration with New York’s Other Half, debuts today. Recent collaborations with Other Half include two with Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts Brewery.

Trillium Swagger Like a Hundred Thousand Trillion is an India Pale Ale, aged on mango, peaches, and apricot.

Cans of the collaboration are on sale today at Trillium’s Canton, Massachusetts location starting today.

Style: IPA (w/ Peaches, Mango, Apricots)
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: 6/24/16

6.2% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Crooked Stave, Don't Miss This

Crooked Stave Totem, a musical collab with The Motet

Crooked Stave Totem Wild Ale debuts this summer, a collaboration with musical group The Motet.

The Motet hails from Boulder, Colorado – a six-piece group whose sound incorporates elements of funk, jazz, folk, and world music. (You can thank iTunes for the assist on that description.)

As for Crooked Stave Totem, the wild ale is a specialty blend of wild ales from the brewery’s sacred barrel cellar. Plus berries. Wild ales a crazy good with berries.

Totem is inspired by the oak barrels we hold scared at our brewery. Stacked to the ceiling, they elevate the natural wild beers we brew. This limited edition bottling will only be available through Summer, 2016 in celebration of The Motet’s new Totem and their headlining show at Red Rocks on July 22nd.

Crooked Stave Totem will be available in 12.7 ounce bottles throughout the summer.

Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Berries. Oak Aged.)
Availability: 12.7oz Bottles
Debut: June, 2016

5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Other Half Brewing, Creature Comforts, Don't Miss This

Other Half Grits & Greens, another Creature Comforts collab

For those of you keeping track of Creature Comforts, or all things collaboration for that matter, here’s one more for your radar. Other Half Grits & Greens.

You might recall Creature Comforts King’s Ransom, a collaboration with Brooklyn, New York’s Other Half Brewing. That beer was released at Creature Comforts in Athens, Georgia back in April.

This weekend, another Creature Comforts/ Other Half collaboration has been released, this time in New York – Other Half Grits & Greens. This release is a pilsner, the first ever by the young brewery.

Grits & Greens features Georgia grits (if you don’t know what grits are, watch My Cousin Vinnie), and hopped with Wakatu, Wai-iti, and Nelson Sauvin hops.

The collaboration was released over the weekend in 16 ounce cans. Happy hunting.

Style: Pilsner (w/ Grits)
Hops: Wakatu, Wai-iti, Nelson Sauvin

Availability: 16oz Cans. Brewery release
Debut: 6/4/16

5.9% ABV

Image via Other Half Brewing

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Firestone Walker Brewing, Headlines, Russian River Brewing

Firestone Walker & Russian River finally collaborate

Firestone Walker has teamed up with Russian River to create a new draft offering – STiVO.

As the name suggests, STiVO is a mashup of pilsners they both produce – Firestone Walker Pivo and Russian River STS.

This release is 10 years in the making, born out of mutual respect for each other’s breweries. Brewmaster Matt Brynildson regularly advised Russian River’s Vinnie and Natalie Ciluruzo as they were building their brewery. Brynildson conversely called upon the Ciluruzos when Firestone Walker built their barrelhouse.  The great friendship was born out of

This beer has 10 years in the making,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “Vinnie and I respect each other immensely as brewers, but more important, we’re good friends.”

For years, fans have been calling for a Firestone Walker/Russian River collaboration. It all came down to finally making something that really just fit at the right time. What might take fans by surprise is that the final collaboration is not an over the top hoppy beer (like you slammed together Pliny the Elder and Double Jack).

Neither brewery started out brewing pilsners, but have come to love the style overtime.

STiVO is a blend of both breweries water and malt philosophies that compliment this light style, with a collaborative approach to hopping. The two breweries basically split the hops down the middle, using Pivo’s German Saphir hops, and STS’s Alsatian Aramis hops. The end result is a new age Pilsner.

STiVO will debut at the Firestone Walker Invitational on June 4th. Draft will be making its way around the U.S. In Firestone Walker’s markets shortly after.

Style: Pilsner
Availability: Draft only
Release: June, 2016

6.3% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Jester King Brewery, Don't Miss This

Jester King Fantome Del Rey (Texas Edition) release day

Jester King Fantome Del Rey, the Texas edition and follow up to the 2014 Fantome collaboration releases today.

The Texas edition of Jester King Fantome Del Rey is a blend of old and young barrel aged beer. (AKA Bière de Courage.) The older piece of this blend is the 2014 edition from 2014, brewed with barley, dark candi syrup, coriander, and black peppercorns. That beer was fermented in stainless steel with truffle honey before headed to oak barrels.

Sadly, thanks to restrictive beer laws in Jester’s home state, the beer couldn’t be released there.

In 2015, Jester King brewed the young edition of the collaboration, and blended it with the old.

Jester King Fantome Del Rey (Texas Edition) will be available by the glass, and to-go in 750 milliliter bottles when the tap room opens on May 6th, 2016.

Style: Farmhouse Ale (w/ Peppercorns, Candi Sugar, Coriander, Honey. Barrel Aged.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft.  9,000 bottles.
Release: 5/6/16

8.8% ABV, 19 IBUs

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Heavy Seas, Coming Soon, Headlines, Troegs Brewing

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock, with Troegs

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock is the latest the brewery’s “Partner Ships” Series in 2016. The first release was with Maine Beer Co.

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock is brewed with Hershey, Pennsylvania’s Troegs Independent Brewing. This aggressively hopped doppelbock earned it’s new name, Hoppelbock. Between beers like Troegs Nugget Nectar, and Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, the extra hops make perfect sense.

We’ve added copious amounts of spicy, floral German hops to a ready, rich malt base to create this expression of regional collaborative ingenuity. Employing a generous dose of locally malted barley and massive dry-hopping, this lager can only be categorized as a “Hoppelbock”.

Heavy Seas Partner Ships Hoppelbock is now a 22 ounce bottle, and draft release.

Style: Doppelbock
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: May, 2016

7.25% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Oskar Blues Brewing, New Releases, NOLA Brewing

Oskar Blues The Wolf and The Lamb, a NOLA collaboration

Oskar Blues The Wolf and the Lamb, a new collaboration with NOLA Brewing Company, launches in the Louisiana market this week.

The team created a “double” pilsner-style beer, brewed with pilsner malt, and Czech Agnes and Styrian Wolf hops.

Crisp and spicy aromas dotted with floral, sage-like undertones of berries, pineapple, and citrus. A slightly bready medium bodied lager flavor continues the European hop onPilsslaught with more herbal and spicy fruity character.

The artwork for Oskar Blues The Wolf and the Lamb is a custom piece created in the spirit of the New Orleans Jazz Fest by legendary artist J Pierrel.

This partnership marks Oskar Blues one-year anniversary in the Louisiana market. Available in 12 ounce cans in Colorado as well. 

Style: Pilsner
Availability: 12oz Cans
Release: Week of 4/20/16

7% ABV

Special edition “The Wolf and the Lamb” signed and numbered giclee prints will be available from J. Pierre on 100lb hot press paper at the following events

–Avenue Pub 4/20 (Wednesday) @ 4:20pm
-The Bulldog Uptown 4/20 (Wednesday) @ 7pm
-World of Beer Warehouse District 4/21 (Thursday) @ 7pm
-Howlin Wolf  4/23 (Saturday) @ 8pmPiklspils
-Maison on Frenchmen St. 4/24 (Sunday) @ 8pm

by Reid Ramsay