Collaboration Not Litigation Ale
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I love a beer with a good story.
Collaboration Not Litigation Ale popped onto my radar about a year ago. Did I read about the beer in a newspaper article online? Did I hear the story on the radio? I’ve no clue — I can’t remember! I absorb stories, and beer stories in particular have a way of catching my attention. In fact, the story of two breweries with a beer of the same name and style clanged around in the dark and dusty corners of my head for a full year — keeping company with useless A-Team trivia and the lyrics to Monty Python songs — waiting until just a few weeks ago, hen I crossed paths with a bottle of Collaboration Not Litigation Ale.
I’ll let the fine folks at Avery tell the tale:
Salvation. The name of two intricate Belgian-style ales, created by us – Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing and Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. After becoming friends a few years ago, we realized that we both had a Salvation in our line-ups. Was it going to be a problem? Should one of us relinquish the rights? “Hell no!” we said. In fact, it was quickly decided that we should blend the brews to catch the best qualities of each and create an even more complex libation. In April 2004, in top-secret meeting at Russian River Brewing (well actually it was packed in the pub, and many were looking over our shoulders wondering what the hell was going on), we came up with the perfect blend of the two Salvations. Natalie, Vinnie’s much more significant other, exclaimed, “We should call this Collaboration, not Litigation Ale!” “Perfect!” we shouted. We celebrated deep into the night, (or is it morning?). Fast forward to February 2008, and we completed our second blending of these two fine ales. Batch 2 will become available to the public February 12th.
My 22 oz bottle is part of Batch 2, bottled in February 2008. I bought mine one year later. Usually I steer clear of any beer bottle with dusty shoulders, but 8.72% ABV and a good story leave little room for negotiation.
The label relates the story above, but it also features two glyphs that look like something you’d find on the washing instructions for your shirt. It features a pint glass with an X through it, and an unmarred tulip glass beside it. By the time I’d noticed, I had already poured mine into a Duvel glass — so for once I had followed the instructions, just without knowing . . .
Nice fluffy, off-white head. The beer itself looked red-gold and fairly clear, but when held directly to the light to turned yellow. Holding it to the light made the age become apparent, too, speckled with solid particles.
The aroma was of dark fruits, malt, and some alcohol. The first sip reminded me of Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre, with the sweetness of brown sugar and raisins. But the more I drank the more those sweet and fruity tastes became more distinct. To me, this could be described as a Belgian version of Raison D’Etre — malty, with bruised banana flavors from Belgian yeast, brown sugar, delicious clove spice, and just a hint of hops.
The label explains the beer is brewed “with water, imported malted barley and wheat, Belgian candy sugar, turbinado sugar, hops, and two authentic Belgian yeast strains.”
Even though I haven’t tasted the Salvation by Avery or Russian River, I’m sure both brewers were able to sit back and bask in their creation — or, to quote George Peppard’s Hannibal, I’m sure they pronounced success with a satisfied, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
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July 30th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
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