So, I was sitting around this wonderfully extended 4th of July weekend.  About to decide on what beer to pop open while I let the ole laptop load up.  I noticed in the back of the Dedicated Beer Fridge, I had a beer that I purchased a few weeks back that I had never tried before.  The ingredients used to make it was such a collaboration:  Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme.  A beer that I probably would have waited for to have with some spicy food perhaps.  I tend to lean on that side when enjoying such spicy beers.  Perhaps some good old 4th of July BBQ?  I might even like this beer with some sushi.  Mmm...Ok, before I make myself hungry here I need to finish this.

So what beer is this, Mike?  Ah, yes.  Ladies and Sirs.  I'm speaking of the Saison du Buff.  This beer is not brewed by just one brewery.  No.  This is a collaborative beer made by our favorites over at Dogfish Head (DE), Victory Brewing Co. (PA), and Stone Brewing Co. (CA)



"So wait a minute.  These 3 companies got together and made a beer together?  Aren't they competitors?  Why would 3 breweries make a beer, like they were friends or something?  You wouldn't see Budweiser, Miller, and Coors doing that."

Damn right, you wouldn't!!

And they aren't the only ones to work together like this.
Avery Brewing Co (CO) and Russian River Brewing Co (CA) both had a Belgian Ale that they named, "Salvation."  <Ding, Ding, DING!!!>  Let's get it on!!  You figured these two would fight it out, right?   No, no, no.....what they did was, each of them brewed up their version and decided to make a blend of the two for a special release and call it, "Collaboration, not Litigation Ale!"

Also, here in Chicago, it's been done.  Three Floyds (IN) and Half Acre Brewing (IL) got together and made a Helles Boch and called it "Invasion."  A mighty tasty beer I might add!  And they're not done working together either!  They just released an IPA this past weekend called, "She Wolf."  Hurry and grab some before I drink it ALL.

And I'm just touching the tip of the iceberg that is the list of collaborative beers being made.  Google "Collaboration Beer" and you'll find a great number of them out there.

This is why I am in love, not only with craft beer, but the craft beer industry itself.  Yes, these craft breweries are individual businesses trying to grow on their own.  Trying to compete against the larger macro breweries.  Fighting for shelf space.  Wanting to be discovered.  Wanting to convert the fizzy yellow water drinkers into craft beer drinkers.  So instead of disliking and competing each other, they work together.  They respect each other.  They are friends.  They drink together.  Because they know, what they need to accomplish as an industry.  They need to turn those tastebuds, (used to bland, plain, insipid watered down pilsners they see on tv or hear about on the radio) into curious, adventurous, and desiring beer drinkers.  Once those people have been converted, they will go out and explore all that the craft breweries of the world have to offer.  I'm a convert myself <GASP> ("Hello, my name is Mike, and 7 years ago, I used to drink Miller Lite."  "HELLO MIKE.  Welcome!")
I think we've all been there.  Most of us, our first beer was something that normally we might consider washing our dishes with these days.  That's ok.  We've seen the light.  We took the little Blue Pill and have left the Matrix of boring, bland, beer.

I just love the fact that these breweries work together as a community to do this.  Which is where I thought, "I wish I could be a part of a community like that.  Too bad I am only a very novice home brewer."

But wait, here I sit and type.  About beer.  I might not be a professional brewer, but writing about this, that's part of something right?  Of course it is.  I'm a Beer Blogger.  And man, I'm just a beginner.  There are bloggers all over the country, all over the world, that have been discussing their favorite topic of beer for a long time.  Then it hit me, "Man, I'm part of an awesome community too!"

I have a very strong list of Bloggers, video/podcasters, broadcasters, writers to thank for the inspiration to join this very exciting group.
So I'd like to give a few of the names of Blogs, Casters, Writers who have inspired me to come up with this list of Bloggers I'd Love to Have a Beer With Someday.  And some of them, I have.  But I've always gauged people this way...  "Do I dig that guy/girl?"
"Yeah, I'd totally have a beer with them!" 

So if you're on this list, it's a good thing!


 Brad Chmielewski and Ken Hunnemeder
As a new fan of their video podcast, Hop Cast , I've really enjoyed hearing/seeing their beer reviews and various interviews.   You will often find them talking about a hard to find brew from the other side of the country, giving you updates on new breweries soon to open, a calendar of beer events.  Plus they're fellow Chicago guys, so you know they're cool.   Definitely check out their web site , follow the show on Facebook, and on Twitter.

And I'd like to take this time to make note of a few individuals who are stepping it up in what is considered a male dominated industry.  The ladies...

Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune
These two women are based in Los Angeles.  They are best known for co-authoring their first book, "The Naked Pint: An Unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer" .  I have just recently picked this book up.  I'm halfway through it and I will say this, if you think you know a lot about beer, these ladies still have a lot to teach you.  Not only is this book a great way to learn about the various styles, flavors, and textures of the endless choices of beer out there.  But they also teach the beginner or novice of the craft beer world, that beer is a sophisticated rival to any wine.   They show you how to pair your beer with food.  And they debunk the misconceptions that one might have when thinking about that big, scary, dark beer that you might be too intimidated to try.  It's a great, down to earth view of craft and artisan brews from two very intelligent beer sommeliers.  Christina and Hallie provide their expertise from work as beer educators, writers, bloggers, and authors.  They have worked together on sold-out beer dinners at critically acclaimed L.A. restaurants like Rustic Canyon Winebar & Seasonal Kitchen, which was featured in The Celebrator Magazine.
They can be followed on Facebook and on their website, The Beer Chicks.

Ashley Routson
Ashley is best known as The Beer Wench .  According to her blog, she's been running it about 2 1/2 years now and has accomplished quite a bit.  Things we like about the Wench:
1.  One of her favorite beers is the Bell's Two-Hearted
2.  Seems to have a punk rock attitude about beer.
3.  She went to Ohio State University (Go BUCKEYES!!)
4.  She seems to like bacon.  (Pssst, Ashley, in case you've never been to this site ...)
But Ashley is a Cicerone Certified Beer Server and is currently pursuing her Cicerone Certification.  The most important thing she does, in my opinion, is her Featured Beer Blogger segment.  She has interviewed many different beer bloggers (Not me yet, hint hint) from all over the country.  Why is this important?  Because she's doing a great job of creating a sense of community.   Bringing us all together so that we can learn more about beer and spread more information out to more people.  In fact, she's also been named the Chief Blogger of this year's Inaugural Beer Bloggers Conference that will take place November 7-9th in Boulder, CO.  I will be attending so I really can't wait to learn as much as I can from her.
Follow the Beer Wench on Facebook and on Twitter  as well.

Lisa Morrison - AKA The Beer Goddess
Lisa is the host and producer of the Pacific Northwest's only weekly, one hour long commercial radio show about craft beer.  Beer O'Clock .  She is heard on Saturday's on KXL 750AM.  If you're not from the Portland, OR area, you can listen to the live stream on kxl.com or the podcast which is available weekly on iTunes.  I have been listening to Lisa for about 4 months now and just love her enthusiasm for the industry.  As a women in a male dominated industry, she has accomplished an amazing amount that ANY of us should strive for.  She has numerous columns in national magazines ("All About Beer," "Beer Advocate Magazine.")  She's also a contributor on a regular basis of several other publications (Cheers magazine, The New Brewer, Beer Northwest, Nightclub and Bar Magazine, Zymurgy and Ale Street News)  From her posts on Twitter  and Facebook , she sounds like she's ready to publish her first book as well.  Hopefully we'll see that coming out sometime this summer!

Well, that's it for now....I'm sure there will be more Beer Love in the future.  This is my way of doing a Collaorative in my community.  As a newbie, I wanted to throw out some thanks for influencing, inspiring and motivating me to write and talk about one of my favorite subjects.  Beer.
Go to the sites, facebook pages, and twitter accounts.....you will learn a lot!