Beer Collaboration Alert!

Beer collaborations are on the rise. Urthel and Two Brothers conspiring to make Moaten, an oaked Flemish Red Sour Ale. Collaboration Not Litigation by Russian River and Avery. The list could go on and on. Collaboration lets two - or in the following case, three - brewing minds focus on one brew, with the final output being a frankenstein of styles and ideas. Usually, it works. And at the worst, it's going to be an interesting beer.

One of OMG Beer!'s favorite breweries, Schlafly's in St. Louis, has joined up with O'Fallon's (Missouri) and New Albanian (Indiana) brewing companies. The final result, as yet unnamed, is an Oak Aged Dry Hopped Smoked Rye Pale Ale, coming in at 6.5% ABV and 35 IBUs. Pictures and more on Hoosier Beer Geek (run by the biggest beer geek in Indiana...I'm guessing). The beer is supposed to appear at all three breweries in January, which means an excuse to visit Missouri or Indiana soon.

Orange Blossom Pilsner

Name: Orange Blossom Pilsner
Style: Pilsner (more of a hybrid between pilsner and mead)
Brewery: Thomas Creek Brewery/Orlando Brewing Partners
City of Origin: Greenville, SC/Orlando, FL

Poured a bottle of Orange Blossom Pilsner (OBP) into a pilsner glass, where it glowed golden-yellow with a thin white head that quickly dissipated and left little lacing. Very much echoes the look of light American lagers. A very strong suggestion of honey sweetness in the aroma leaves just a little room for a floral hops bouquet and a hint of citrus. The first sip of OBP hinted at the underlying malts, but was quickly dominated by a mead-like honey sweetness. A few sips into the beer though, you could taste the pilsner malt and noble-style german hops underneath the cloying floral meadiness. With a pilsner, you expect the hops to stand out a little more, but here, they just can't win the flavor battle with the floral honey notes. Not entirely a bad thing, this rounds the beer out and smooths out the bitterness. Orange Blossom Pilsner has a little more body to it, compared to most German or American pilsners, and though definitely a good, easy drinking summer beer, could perhaps use a little bit more carbonation to add lightness to the rather sweet finish.

Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale

Beer brewed with roasted soba noodles resonates with the heart of the homebrewer. There's something special about making use of the pantry to add an extra dimension to a beer. Poured this into a tall pilsener glass and it definitely looks at home, with a nice fluffy off white head atop a golden-amber pillar that speaks to any American or German beer drinker. The aroma is nutty and malty, a little hint of sweetness too. More robust than a lager, the floral, herbal elements of the aroma and taste in this beer speak to german beer flavor, what people typically call "noble hops." Brewed with a descendant of the German Hallertau hops known as Crystal hops, there's definitely a german lager feel to this medium-bodied ale. The roasted soba adds a touch of grain and nut flavor, which goes well with the sweetness (which maybe suggests apple in the vaguest way). Goes down dry and easy, if you miraculously find this beer on tap, you could drink it for hours.

The name Morimoto might be familiar to you food geeks out there. This beer is somewhat of collaboration between the Iron Chef celebrity and the Rogue Brewery.