Another epic Collaboration Fest has come and gone, leaving us with memories of a great day spent with all our beer drinking friends. Nearly 2,000 attendees got to sample over 130 different beers crafted by a record 180+ breweries. Collaboration Fest continues to stand out amongst a crowded field of beer festivals for its brewer-centric feel. Colorado Brewers Guild Executive Director Shawnee Adelson explains it thusly: “We like to say that it is a brewers party that the public is invited to, and because of that it feels like a class reunion for many.”

Shawnee also laid out what the festival means for the Colorado Brewers Guild. “Collaboration Fest continues to be one of the largest fundraisers for (us)… (It is) easily the largest gathering of Colorado craft breweries which reaffirms that this is many brewers favorite event.” Collaboration Fest has come to embody what the Colorado Brewers Guild stands for. “Community, collaboration, and creativity are key elements of what makes craft beer so great, and Collaboration Fest is a celebration of these elements.”

While community and collaboration are requisite key elements of a festival showcasing collaboration brews, it is the creativity that takes Collaboration Fest above and beyond. Working together, brewers come up with some zany ideas, and PorchDrinking wants to highlight some of those that worked out the best.

Cohesion Brewing + Schilling Beer | La Follette 9°

While a German Leichtbier isn’t the whackiest style imaginable, it is pretty crazy for Cohesion, an all Czech Lager brewery, to brew their first German Lager. In their typical fashion, this is an expertly crafted easy drinker that wonderfully highlights their custom malt blend.

TightKnit Brewing + Wiley Roots Brewing | Pilsnerwine

This Greeley collab brings the heat in a drinkable package. 11.5% ABV yet on the lighter side, it is fun to see a Lager taken to such extreme heights.

Loveland Aleworks + Root Shoot Malting | Brewers of the Corn

West Coast Corn IPA: substitute some standard malt for corn and you wind up with this slightly sweet and corny (in a good way) interpretation of a WCIPA.

Strange Craft Beer + Bent Barley Brewing | Chili Cherry Honey Kolsch

This beer is all its ingredients perfectly aligned in a wonderful package. Weird when you first think about it, this has just the right amount of everything.

Wild Provisions Beer Project + Great Divide Brewing | TmavYeti

A Dark Czech Lager given the barrel aged Yeti treatment, this is a wonderful hybrid of things both these breweries do great.

A Bit Twisted Brewpub + Monolith Brewing | Bad Ass (Smoked Pulled Pork Stout)

Not much to add to this beyond its byline – this beer is every bit what you would expect. Smoked grains and smoked pork butt create a liquid BBQ experience hard to find anywhere else.

Beyond these creative collaborations, we have to highlight two beers that blew us away.

Cannonball Creek Brewing + Shred Beer | Alpha Blaster

Colorado West Coast IPA masters and GABF medal-winning staple Cannonball Creek worked with California upstart Shred to brew this ode to the modern West Coast IPA. Loaded with tropical juicy hops yet still maintaining huge drinkability, this collab was a pour we grabbed a sample of every time we were in its vicinity.

Liquid Mechanics Brewing + Burgeon Beer | West Coast Cartel

A continuation of a series that Liquid Mechanics has been making for a while, this is another collab with a local Colorado WCIPA making legend and a California brewery specializing in their native style. Big hop presence, strong malt backbone, and still maintaining a respectable level of drinkability.

All photos by Britt Antley

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