A Collaboration to SAVOR

It's safe to say we were all a bit suspicious when Steve Dresler and Scott Jennings from Sierra Nevada came to visit Kansas City, and more specifically, Boulevard Brewing Company, a few weeks ago. While a collaboration was what most of us assumed was the reasoning for the meeting of minds, both parties kept mum and no details were provided on what was going on.

Well finally, the proverbial dam of information has broken, and we now have details on the upcoming Boulevard/Sierra Nevada Collaboration beer. The beer, which will be called Terra Incognita, is going to brewed exclusively for the 2012 SAVOR event in Washington, D.C. For those that aren't aware, SAVOR is a craft beer and food event held each year in the nation's capital. This year, there will be 60 breweries attending the event, which you can view here (props to Tallgrass on being chosen).

The beer description, courtesy of beerpulse.com, is intriguing:

"Sierra Nevada brewed a batch that Manley described as a dark ale. Maltier than an amber but not quite a stout. They brewed it with Estate malts out of Chico and wheat, the latter as “an homage to the longtime staple crop of the Midwest.” The beer then traveled to Kansas City. Boulevard brewed another component, blended the two beers, dry-hopped it with East Kent Goldings and are now aging it in Missouri oak barrels that previously held wine and spirits. The beer will soon go into 750s where it will be bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces."

So a blended, dark ale brewed with wheat and Brett, dry-hopped and barrel aged? I can't even wrap my head around what exactly this might taste like, but I'm a little upset I won't be at SAVOR to have that opportunity. I'm assuming that the 'exclusively' means that it won't be hitting retail shelves anywhere, but that is just an educated guess. However, if the beer is successful and well-received, who knows, maybe a version of the collaboration will be brewed again for regular consumer sales.

What do you think? Does Terra Incognita sound good? Are any readers heading up to SAVOR this year?

Other Popular Posts on KC Beer Blog