The Craft Brewers Conference is an annual event that brings brewers from around the world into a selected city for a few days of education, equipment buying, and camaraderie.
Brewers have also been using the occasion to get together in advance to create and then release collaboration beers. One of the most ambitious – at least from what I’ve experienced in recent years – will be released on May 1 by Embrace the Funk, the wild and wooded side of Yazoo Brewing.
Brandon Jones, the brewer behind ETF called his friends – Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River, Jason Perkins of Allagash, Jeffrey Stuffings of Jester King and Khristopher Johnson of Green Bench Brewing and they all agreed to lend their time, talent, and inspiration to the beer.
Then Jones got Jeff Mello of Bootleg Biology involved on the yeast side and Matt Albrecht of River Drive Cooperage to sort out the wood.
Everyone – minus Jason Perkins of Allagash – was able to jump into the zoom studios earlier this month to talk about the beer, how it all came together, and the spirt of collaboration among brewers and in the beer industry.
Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast. Download via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you download shows.