Of all the doors that are flung open by that which we love, beer and brewing, the most gratifying is the  fellowship that occurs amongst like minded individuals.  A classic example occurred on a Sunday not too long ago in which myself and a few other beer bloggers, under the organization of Peter, from Simply Beer, all brewed the same recipe, each with one minor alteration.  As is the case with our Sip With Us Saturday, it was nice knowing that a few friends were partaking in the same experience at the same moment in different areas of the country. After our beers fermented, conditioned, and carbonated, we sent two bottles out to each of the other five participants: Aaron – Captain’s Chair Derek – Luther Public House Erik – Top Fermented Joseph – Hopfen Treader Peter – Simply Beer Last Friday, we all connected vis Skype, a first for this technologically backwards beer geek, and sampled each others beer.  I was quite surprised how it nearly seemed as if we were all sitting in one of our kitchens or a quiet pub.  Even more surprising, was the profound difference between the beers.  Remember, each beer was identical in recipe, save one alteration, addition, or subtraction. Our brews ...

Before reading this article, I implore you, attempt to get "Get Together," by The Youngbloods stuck in your head. As the spirit of reconciliation and good will hovers in the news, it is a good time to review a beer born of collaborative efforts.  When two different brewers/breweries come together to create a unified beer, the result is usually fantastic; interesting at worst.  Collaboration forces unique beers as signature styles and ingredients from two different entities merge to form something new.  While we have reviewed several collaborative brews before (i.e. Collaboration Not Litigation, Pop Skull), for this article one of my favorite Bavarian breweries enters the spotlight, Schneider Weisse. The historic brewery demonstrates exemplary beers (Aventinus) and quirky humor (secret recipe link on their website).  What happens when old world German meets new school American, in this case the highly respectable Brooklyn Brewery? A beautiful collaboration, of course. Apparently, Garrett Oliver and Hans-Peter Drexler of the respective breweries have long admired each others' work and fostered a friendship over the years.  They decided to meld the hop heavy Brooklyn IPA style with the soft wheat Schneider style.  Two different brews were collaborated, one brewed in Brooklyn, Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse, and the other in Germany, ...