8 Beers We Want to Try at Collaboration Fest

Can’t wait for this year’s Collaboration Fest? Us either. Check out eight of the collaborations we’re excited to taste:

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Skeptic Ale — Epic Brewing Company & Ska Brewing Co.

“Skeptic” is this year’s Welcome Beer, the first sample event-goers will be handed upon arrival. The Peach Imperial IPA (8.5 percent ABV) is a combination of two separately brewed 40-barrel batches: The first batch was put in peach brandy barrels with a light addition of Nelson Sauvin hops. The second batch was heavy on the hops. These two batches, along with organic peach puree, create a fruity and hoppy brew with a vibrant white wine and fruit character. The beer will be on tap at both locations and available in 22 oz. bottles.

Dry-Hopped Courage — Pizza Port Brewing Company & Twisted Pine Brewing Company

Pizza Port and Twisted Pine—both fans of creating hoppy brews—are hopping up a traditional beer style for this year’s fest. “Dry-Hoppped Courage,” the 4.9 percent ABV Kolsh-style beer, was first lagered and then dry-hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Hallertau Blanc hops. The effect is a subtly sweet beer with a dry finish and an explosion of fruity aromas, including green grapes and manadarin oranges. Look for the beer on tap at Twisted Pine after the event.

Lydian IPL — Spangalang Brewery & Ballast Point Brewing Company

Lydian IPL, a 5 percent ABV India Pale Lager, is described by Spangalang brewer/owner Austin Wiley as a pilsner with hops. The beer includes a blend of American and German hops, including Hull Melon and Simcoe. During the brewing process, the brewers used a special techinque called “mash hopping”: hops are added during the mashing stage, giving off more aroma and a softened bitterness in the final product. Find the beer at Spangalang now and in select tap rooms around Denver after the Fest, including Falling Rock Tap House.

Dreamy Thing — Cerebral Brewing & Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company

Four-month old Cerebral joined forces with Our Mutual Friend this year. The result is a farmhouse ale, at 5.6 percent ABV, including 12 different strains of brettanomyces (brewer’s yeast) and Citra, Centennial, and Sterling hops. The beer showcases the fruity notes of the diverse hops, without any bitterness. Half of the brewed batch will be aged in Chardonnay barrels and bottled. But in the meantime, snag a sample on tap at Cerebral.

Papa Eder Weiss — Beryl’s Beer Co. & Goose Island Beer Company

When Beryl’s brewer Eric Nichols attended a beer school back in 2013, he formed strong friendships with four classmates who now work at Goose Island. Papa Eder Weiss (~8 percent ABV), a hoppy wheat-y IPA, is fondly named after a beer school professor. The beer is a twist on a classic German Weissenbach. While keeping the traditional malt bill of this style, the breweries added in their own unqiue hop profile, including Ella and Wakatu hops. The final product will have a bright, refreshing feel with fruity notes from the hops. Sample it after the festival in Beryl’s RiNo taproom.

Breeze’s Mom — Call to Arms Brewing Company & Avery Brewing Co.

Before Call to Arms was created, the owners worked for Avery Brewing Co. After the seven-month-old brewery officially opened, the two breweries have continued to collaborate and share beer ingredients. The inspiration behind this beer resulted from a brewing mistake, involving adding hops in the wrong order during the brew process of Avery’s popular “Out of Bounds” stout. The resulting “mistake beer” was a hit. Breeze’s Mom is a hoppy 6.8 percent ABV stout, including Centennial and Idaho 7 hops, creating a citrusy and melon-y aroma.

Neoteric — Crazy Mountain Brewing Company & Stillwater Artisanal

Described by Kaleigh Armitage of Crazy Mountain as a brew “like nothing else you’ve ever tried before,” Neoteric is a sour, overly hopped pale ale (5 percent ABV). The beer was late-hopped with Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin hops during the brew process, and included the addition of mango. The final taste sits somewhere between a sour and a fruity citrus ale. Find it on tap at Crazy Mountain and, if you love it, take home a four-pack or 22 ounce bottle.

Free to be Renegade and FCB — Renegade Brewing Company & Fort Collins Brewery (FCB)

“A love child of a lot of different styles” accurately describes this collaboration. The brewing process begins with yeast used when creating a Hefeweizen. During the fermenation process, however, the beer was lowered into a lager range and lager yeast was added. The resulting beer, at 6 percent ABV, is a “wheat lager.” The two breweries forged a strong friendship a few years back; this beer was new and experimental but played to the strengths of both breweries and was coined a “friendship beer.”