Collaboration Beer: Why Do We Love Them?

Are you like me? Are you easily tempted to buy a beer based on who brewed it, the label, or some other marketing elements? I know I am and this is especially true if it is a collaboration beer.

I’ve always been a huge fan of marketing that is done right. That’s the type of marketing that really pulls in the audience in an authentic way and backs up what it is promising.

Making a collaboration beer (often called a collab) can be one of the most effective ways for a brewery to spread their name into new markets or simply build hype around a beer release.

Regardless, I’m a huge fan of picking up a collaboration beer so I decided to tackle this topic and share my recent experience being part of a collaboration.

What Is A Collaboration Beer?

As the description suggests, these are beers made where 2 or more parties collaborate to produce the beer. In most situations, one brewery works with another brewery – later in this article, I list out a few other versions of collabs.

Collaborations typically start because those in the brewery industry are well connected to each other. Many move from brewery to brewery and enjoy connecting with others in the 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 breweries decide to make a beer together, they discuss the concept, name, style, etc. Both teams contribute to this process to ensure it reflects their brand and the value of the relationship.

Most collabs are a single beer brewed, canned, and released by one of the breweries. This primary brewery takes on most of the work but they also benefit from the sales of the beer too.

In some cases, both breweries will brew a beer as part of the collaboration. This is really effective if the breweries are in different markets and each desire to build brand recognition in that other market.

The end result is the breweries are able to spend time doing what they love to do with an other brewery and further expand the visibility of their brand.

Types Of Collaborations

As previously noted, most collabs are between two breweries. If I had to guess, probably 90% of all collabs are this style. And this makes sense as brewers love the community of brewers so they are always looking for ways to work together. Keep an eye out for when your favorite local breweries make a collaboration beer as it is a great way to see who and how they work with others.

There are two other types of collaborations that you may find. First is when a brewery works with a brand/company that isn’t a brewery. These can be a lot of fun; especially, if this other brand produces a food or drink item that will influence the beer.

One that comes to mind is Yuenling works with Hershey to make a chocolate porter. The result was a beer that truly had Hershey notes. These are often my favorite as it gives these two companies a chance to do something unique. The results can vary as getting beer to taste like other food items isn’t always as easy as it may seem.

The last form is when a brewery works with a person, organization, group, or other non food type group. These can take a number of forms. This could be an organization and the brewery wants to help promote what they are doing. It could be a band that they collaborate with. Or simply a person or group that represents something important that the brewery wants to help recognize.

Regardless of the type, collab beers are often the most creative and well promoted beers. This happens because more people are involved in the process, recipe creation, and marketing of the release.

Hoppy vs Bitter: What’s the difference?

My Experience Creating A Collaboration Beer

Recently, I was fortunate to participate in a collaboration beer. Another local beer enthusiasts wanted to work with other a brewery to make a beer alongside a group of people that are actively promoting the local beer scene.

Luckily, I was included in the group of local beer fans that were invited to be a part of this collaboration. The brewery that agreed to work with us is Streetside Brewery. They already have an amazing reputation in Cincinnati so I was ecstatic to get to work with them.

Now that the group and brewery were identified, it was time to get serious about the plans. First up, discuss the concept, style, and beer name. Lots of great ideas were submitted and discussed (over a few beers at Streetside, of course!).

As it was going to be released in early December, we agreed that we should do a beer with a higher ABV and possibly dark. We also decided to avoid themes tied to Holidays since this collaboration wasn’t about the time of year but rather the relationships.

The Result: Socially Influenced

I felt really fortunate that may name suggestion, Socially Influenced, was selected. After a bit more discussion the style of Imperial Brown ale with waffle flavors was decided. In the coming weeks, the group was invited to the brew day, canning day, and of course to the release event.

Socially Influenced - Streetside Brewery - Collaboration Beer

The professionals still need to do the vast majority of the processes to ensure the end beer is the highest quality. However, it is still a ton of fun to be included in every step of the process.

Socially Influenced is 9.5% brown ale that features maple, cinnamon, and vanilla to give it the waffle flavors that we were looking for. I’m humbled to be included and love that my social handle was listed on the label as a collaborator.