With the camaraderie between Washington state breweries, collaboration beers are natural and frequent occurrences. For many brewers, the only inhibitor to embarking on a group project is the inability to fit collaboration into a busy brew schedule. Brewery collaborations also create a way for breweries that sometimes compete for consumer attention and dollars - and even for talented staff - to hang out under friendly circumstances.

The industry also sparks friendships first, which leads to a collaboration - as in the case between Shane Johns from Engine House No. 9 in Tacoma and Trevor Rogers of de Garde Brewing in Tillamook, Ore.

"We have very similar brewing interests and genuinely enjoy chatting about beer and drinking beer together," says Johns of his friend, Trevor Rogers. "I enjoy his beers and try to get down to his place whenever I can. Otherwise we text back and forth a couple times a week."

The two brewers have collaborated on a Brett DIPA called VOLTRON, which will be released at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 24 at Engine House No. 9. Brett DIPA translates to double India pale ale incorporating Brettanomyces yeast, or Brett for short. Doubling an IPA generally means twice the amount of hops and twice the alcohol by volume, which means a strong, hoppy beer.

"Trevor and I felt like Brett brings new and interesting flavors that you can't get with Sacc yeast," says Johns. "We had wanted to brew a Brett DIPA for a while. I had been working with it a lot in the farmhouse beer series - batch five headed to distribution yesterday - so we just decided to get together and brew a couple different versions. Trevor had the hops. I had the Brett and the facility. We worked the malt bill out together."

There will be three total batches of VOLTRON brewed. They'll change the hops each time.

Why VOLTRON?

"We were sharing some beers with another friend of ours after our brew day and spit balled names," says Johns. "VOLTRON got thrown out, and being kids in the '80s, we immediately laughed. Thought it was fitting since it was the Transformer that all the Transformers change into. VOLTRON was a collaboration of individuals to form something better. That's what we are shooting for with this beer."  

In addition to the VOLTRON, E-9 will also tap several wild ales and barrel beers, including Rhubarb Wild, Grassroots/Anchorage Arctic Saison and the Verre Violet, a black current wild. Johns will also tap a one-off blend he calls the Holy Passenger. It's a blend of Cabernet barrel Holy Diver and the Oak Aged Dark.

As I reported, last Saturday Johns released an updated version of E-9's famed Tacoma Brew, changing the recipe back to its original Pilsener of the 1800s.

Is Johns happy with the result?

"No, not really happy with it," he says. "I think it's a bit too sweet and wasn't what I wanted. There be some adjustments made on the next batch. I think I will try a different yeast strain and tone down the malt bill."

With most beers it takes a few batches to work out the kinks. I think it's still a worthy brew.

VOLTRON RELEASE, 2 p.m. Saturday, May 24, Engine House No. 9, 611 N. Pine St., Tacoma, 253.272.3435

BEER HERE

Saturday, May 24

Among hardcore beer geeks, you will occasionally run into a subset that one might refer to as "Belgian purists." These purists claim all the best Belgian-style beer comes from Belgium itself. There's no doubt that many great Belgian-style ales come straight from the source, but the American craft brewing scene has developed its own wonderful knack for churning out classic Abbey-style ales, saisons and lambic-style beers. The ParkWay Tavern will host a USA vs. Belgium Belgian-style beer competition to settle the debate. Cast your vote from 5 p.m. until close. Pair the beers with Pat's waffle sliders. 

Sunday, May 25

Pint Defiance's Sunday Beer Sampler gives a nod to Oregon imports. From 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. you may drink 4-ounce pours of Coalition Rooster's Cream Ale, Vertigo Brewing's Razz Wheat, Seven Brides Brewing's Crooked Finger IPA and Klamath Basin Brewing Company's Backroad Vanilla Porter for $4.50 total.