Brewing Collaboration: Why should we do it?

What is a Brewing Collaboration?

As a home brewer a typical brew day is a solo adventure, but it doesn’t have to be.

Collaborations typically start because those in the home brew community are well connected to each other. Many are apart of a home brew club and enjoy connecting with others in the home brew community. Inevitably, these people become friends and decide to brew a beer together.

I know that sounds a bit cheesy and overly simple but that’s how it works.

Once two brewers decide to make a beer together, they discuss the concept, name, style, etc. Both contribute to this process to ensure they achieve their desired result. Most collabs are a single beer brewed, bottled/keged.

The end result is the brewers are able to spend time doing what they love to do with an other brewer and further expand their knowledge of brewing. It’s the gathering of a community, an act that brings people together, giving them the opportunity to share creative energy and collaborate on ideas and processes.

Why are Brewing Collaborations a good idea?

Beer collaborations are often ideas born after a few beers have been consumed (not surprisingly!). Brewer friends decide they want to embark on a project together and try something new. Often these friends have access to different ingredients and equipment, which makes the innovative process of collaborating together both energizing and exciting.

Knowledge

All brewers have a different level of brewing knowledge, creativity, equipment and processes. With an open mind, collaborating with another brewer can be very a enlightening and fun experience.

When brewers collaborate with other brewers, they tend to get specific about the technical details. With other brewers there’s a chance to really talk about technical brewing and learn about their process. All these little things that add up to determine the quality of your beer. It’s a learning experience for all involved.

Ingredients

Most home brewers keep a stock pile of ingredients at home. This may include grains, hops or even yeast. Sometimes, another brewer may have something that you just can’t seem to find elsewhere. Even when it’s possible to get the ingredient, there may be substantial wait time.

Collaborating is a great way to share ingredients, and cost to come up with that fantastic brew.

Creativity

They say that great minds think alike. Sometimes great minds think a little bit differently, and that’s where the creativity comes in. When brewing a collaboration it is best to experiment. Here are few examples.

• Brewing two batches of the same recipe and using two different yeasts.

• Brewing the same style with the same yeast, but using two different recipes.

• Brewing the same recipe, but using different hops or hop schedules.

Really when it comes to collaborating the possibilities are endless.

Competition

Most brewing competitions have a limited number of entries available. Even with this limit, there can still be hundreds of beers submitted. Collaborating on a brew is a great way to maximize your winning chances.

Since there are two brewers there are two different entry possibilities.

Once you have finished the beer it is time to try the beer and see which batch turned out best. This is the beer that is entered into competition. Both brewers submit their favorite beer from the collaboration and enter that beer separately. This lead to a better opportunity for winning.

I’m a huge collab fan and I’m guessing you are too. I can testify that it truly brings people together in a fun, creative, and positive way.

I hope to be able to do another collaboration beer in the future. Cheers!