Collaboration Fest offers a chance at some rare offerings.
The idea is simple: Take a great Colorado brewery, team them with another great brewer from anywhere in the country and tell them to go wild. The result: .
The unique beer festival — March 21 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High — will showcase — including a few rare offerings that will draw the most discerning craft beer hunters.
Itap one of those moments that defines the craft beer industry, where camaraderie often trumps competition and collaboration leads to innovation. And it appeals to the insatiable lust in the craft beer community for the latest, most innovative beer.
“The craft beer industry is pretty unique that the brewers are willing to share ideas and help each other out from start to finish,” said Casey Berry, a co-founder of Imbibe, which is hosting the festival, now in its second year. “We love to embrace that spirit.”
The first year of the festival wowed the crowd with 50 collaborations. This year, itap even bigger with 111 breweries from across the nation participating in the event sponsored by the Colorado Brewers Guild.
“Itap an amazing example of how craft brewers work together, not just in Colorado but nationwide, to raise the profile of craft beer,” said Steve Kurowski, the marketing director at the guild.
One brewer in each collaboration must be a guild member but the other players are the wild card. It led to a few fun teams, such as a Summit County collaboration featuring a barleywine from Backcountry, Breckenridge, The Bakers’, Dillon DAM, Broken Compass and Pug Ryan’s breweries; or an east-side Boulder project from Fate Brewing, BRU and Wild Woods.
The collaborations with big-name, award-winning out-of-the-state breweries may draw the most attention with Durango’s Ska Brewing joining California’s Stone Brewing for a one-time-only Belgian tripel; Denver’s Station 26 partnering with Florida’s Cigar City for a white IPA; and Telluride Brewing working with Atlanta’s Sweetwater for a big IPA with hop hash.
Other out-of-town can’t-miss brewers at the festival: D.C. Brau from Washington, No Labels from Texas, the Bruery from California and Starr Hill from Virginia.
A number of the beers are available only at the festival, though others collaborations will be on tap at the respective breweries after the festival.
One beer — an American hopped black lager schwarzbier called Midnight Mischief — from Denver’s Epic Brewing and Virginia’s Devils Backbone will make it to bottles available after the festival in brewers’ home states.
“Itap exciting to see who can come up with the coolest collaboration,” Berry said.
The event will take place on the club level at the stadium and , organizers said. Itap a 1,000 more than last year and the venue is another big upgrade.
To wet your palate, here’s a few more collaborations expected at the festival, according to organizers:
4 Noses Brewing, Big Choice Brewing and Wonderland BrewingBeer Name: Bazinga!
Beer Description: This ménage a trois collaboration starts with a Belgian wit base recipe. After adding loads of lemongrass and rose hips to the mash and boil, each brewery used different yeasts to impart a distinctly different flavor. To top it all of, a modest dose of vanilla beans were added during conditioning to get the flavor explosion.
Available After Festival: Yes
Bootstrap Brewing and Walnut BreweryBeer Name: NutStrap Imperial Coffee Stout
Beer Description: Imperial Stout with Ozo coffee
Available After Festival: Yes. Available on tap at both breweries.
Comrade and Crooked StaveBeer Name: TBD
Beer Description: Imperial Wit
Available After Festival: Yes. Available at the breweries and select bars and restaurants.
FATE Brewing Company and Lost Highway Brewing CompanyBeer Name: TBD
Beer Description: German style pilsner with Barke Heirloom Barely and Polaris and Sorachi Ace hops.
Available After Festival: Yes. Available at FATE, Lost Highway and Cheeky Monk.
Eastside Nano Collaboration: FATE Brewing Company, BRU and Wild WoodsBeer Name: TBD
Beer Description: Three different versions of a hoppy belgian golden strong ale, all brewed with the Wyeast 1388 yeast strain, Saaz and Styrian Goldings hops. Each beer is between 9-10 percent alcohol by volume and 40-50 IBUs.
Available After Festival: Yes. Available at all three breweries
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland Aleworks, Verboten, Crow Hop, Big Beaver and BuckhornBeer Name: Anything for Love
Beer Description: Belgian Quad
Available After Festival: No
Grist Brewing Company and No Label Brewing CompanyBeer Name: Skiing in Jeans
Beer Description: This is a traditional German bock using all German malt and hops with the addition of Colorado wildflower honey and Texas pecans. The nutty flavor and residual sweetness from the honey shine through on this perfect-for-spring beer.
Available After Festival: Yes – Available at Grist Brewing Company and select bars and restaurants.
Kannah Creek Brewing and The Bakers’ BreweryBeer Name: The Prickly Peach
Beer Description: A Belgian strong ale fermented with Palisade peaches, prickly pear cactus and spiced with eucalyptus and Jamaica peppers (whole allspice).
Available After Festival: No
Mockery Brewing, River North Brewing, Our Mutual Friend Brewing, Zephyr Brewing, Beryls Beer Co., Brew ‘n Q Homebrew ShopBeer Name: RyeNo Cluster Fuggle
Beer Description: 51 percent rye beer with roasted barley (roasted at Our Mutual Friend), Belgian house yeast from River North Brewing.
Available After Festival: Yes. Available at Mockery and Beryls Beer Co.
Mockery Brewing and Baere BrewingBeer Name: Brevis and Butthead
Beer Description: Kettle Sour Pale Ale
Available After Festival: Yes. Available in both taprooms.
Odd13 and 12 DegreeBeer Name: 12/13/2014
Beer Description: Sour Belgian Strong Ale
Available After Festival: No
Powder Keg Brewing Company and Avery Brewing CompanyBeer Name: TBD
Beer Description: Powder Keg and Avery will be blending various vintages and styles from selected sour barrel projects at both breweries.
Available After Festival: Maybe. If any remains it will be available at Avery Sour Fest.
River North Brewery and Red Leg Brewing CompanyBeer Name: West of Ardennes
Beer Description: Rye barrel fermented Belgian Imperial Brown
Available After Festival: No
Ska Brewing and Stone Brewing CollaborationBeer Name: Mighty Mighty Bastogne
Beer Description: A Tripel Tripple brewed with Bagstonge Belgian Ale yeast.
Will Be Available After Festival: No
Ska Brewing, Wynkoop Brewing Company and Reel Big FishBeer Name: Reel Big Stout
Beer Description: Oak aged imperial stout
Available After Festival: Yes, at Wynkoop and Ska draft accounts in the Denver metro area.
Station 26 Brewing Co. and Call to Arms Brewing CompanyBeer Name: Schwarzbier
Beer Description: Schwarzbier is an easy drinking German black larger.
Available After Festival: Yes. Available on draft in the Station 26 taproom and on draft in select accounts in Denver and Boulder.
Station 26 Brewing Co. and Cigar CityBeer Name: White IPA
Beer Description: White IPA brewed with wheat, oats and orange peel and hopped with Amarillo, Citra, Lemondrop, Mandarina Bavaria, and Summer.
Available After Festival: Yes. Available on draft in the Station 26 taproom and on draft in select accounts in Denver and Boulder.
Summit County Collaboration: Backcountry, Breckenridge, The Bakers’, Dillon DAM, Broken Compass and Pug Ryan’s BreweriesBeer Name: Summit Safety Meeting Barleywine
Beer Description: A full strength barleywine with flaked rye and Mosaic hops balancing out the caramel malts and fresh figs and dates sweetness.
Available After Festival: Yes. Some of the beer is being barrel aged in Breckenridge Bourbon barrels for later consumption.
Twisted Pine and Blind TigerBeer Name: Twisted Tiger
Beer Description: Weizenbock
Available After Festival: Yes. Available at the Twisted Pine ale house and other select Colorado craft beer establishments.
Verboten Brewing and New Belgium BrewingBeer Name: Top Bunk-Bottom Bunk
Beer Description: Collaboration in a glass: Black and Tan, Peppermint Stout called Top Bunk and a Chocolate Brown named Bottom Bunk. Stout will float on brown.
Available After Festival: Yes. Available in both tap rooms and other Northern Colorado bars.
Wynkoop and TivoliBeer Name: Double OG aka D.O.O.G
Beer Description: Imperial Malt Liquor
Available After Festival: Yes. Available at Wynkoop Brewing Company and other Denver accounts.
