Collaboration

Collaboration Not Litigation is the product of blending two production beers from different breweries, both of which are named Salvation. The name is said to be a tribute to the collaborative nature of craft brewers, because in any other industry there probably would have been cease and desist orders issued by one party or the other. One of the most interesting parts of this beer is the fact that it's a blend of two fairly well established beers. Two beers that already have followers and quite well regarded in their own right. Blending those two beers together sounds risky, but it also sounds like a lot of fun. This beer has a great story behind it, hopefully the actual beer is as much fun to drink.

I first had Boulevard's Imperial Pilsner at the beer's release party in Lawrence, Kansas. In case you hadn't heard, this Imperial Pilsner is a collaboration between Boulevard Brewing Company and Orval's master brewer Jean-Marie Rock. Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's brew master, and Rock met at a conference in Tucson last year. It was there that these two Belgians hit it off and agreed to collaborate and resurrect a beer Rock had brewed some 30 years before. The style that beer most closely resembled is what we now call an American Double or Imperial Pilsner.

I was especially proud of finding this bottle of at the liquor store, not because it was particularly rare but because it was on the clearance rank. I'd seen a few bottle of these on the shelves over the holidays but didn't get around to picking one up. Even though the holidays are a month behind us I couldn't pass up getting a bottle of this collaboration for half price. The timing worked out well because just enough time had passed that I was no longer burnt out on holiday seasonal beers. After picking up this bottle I realized something a little strange...

I've been looking forward to this beer ever since it was announced that Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada would be collaborating. I really like the Dogfish Head beers I've had, but I haven't been real crazy about Sierra Nevada's brews. I was anxious to see how Dogfish Head's extreme beer styles would jive with Sierra Nevada's tendencies to just throw a bunch of hops into a bottle and call it beer. Ok, that's a bit harsh... but that's what my experience with Sierra Nevada has been. I finally got the chance to have a glass of Life & Limb on tap and was quite pleasantly surprised.