Ferus Fluxus, which means, “wild flow,” is the beginning of a new, untamed collaboration series for Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project of Denver, Colo. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of trying the beers brewed by Crooked Stave, they are well-known for their wilds, sours and crazy collaborations. So, we can expect to see some pretty inventive brews being produced in their new collaboration series.
For this series, talented craft brewers from other breweries will work alongside Crooked Stave to do a little exploration, creation and scribbling outside the lines of beer’s stylistic borders. The hope for the series is to showcase the contrasts that occur when fermenting beer with Brettanomyces (Brett).
According to the Crooked Stave blog, “The concept for this series came about after many late night discussions while drinking beers fermented with Saccharomyces (single-celled yeasts that ferment sugar), and the curiosity behind what these beers would taste like with Brett.”
So what craft brewery is collaborating in the first installment of this new series? None other than Upslope Brewing Company out of Boulder, Colo. Upslope’s got a wild side of its own. Upslope brings award-winning canned beer to thirsty outdoor enthusiasts, and is often enjoyed at the top of a mountain.
Sam Scruby, brewer at Upslope, had this to say, “We knew we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to follow through and make an awesome sour beer together. We thought the fruity esters of our Belgian Pale Ale would fit really well with the funkier notes that Brettanomyces imparts in a beer. We also decided that souring in red wine barrels would add a nice rounded wood character and impart a subtle wine flavor.”
Considering the number of Great American Beer Festival medals won by both of these breweries, it’s safe to say their beer baby is going to be a real winner. But with two versions of the beer being brewed, things are about to get pretty wild.
Scruby explains, “Some of the wort was transported to Crooked Stave where they pitched their house bugs (yeast) to let ferment at their location, while the other part was fermented at Upslope, racked into barrels and inoculated with Crooked Stave’s Brettanomyces.”
The collaboration between these two breweries goes beyond the brewing. The Ferus Fluxus will be canned at Upslope in 19.2 ounce cans and then labeled with Crooked Stave’s bottle labeler. Accodring to Scruby, “The cans will be available for purchase at the Upslope Lee Hill tap room in North Boulder.”
Visit CrookedStave.com to learn more about the Ferus Fluxus Collaboration Series.
Tiffany Lutke is the current Craft Beer Program intern at the Brewers Association. She spent her days as a kid in the small craft brewery her father owned on the east coast, which led to her love for small and independent breweries. When she’s not pouring beer at Upslope Brewing Company taproom in Boulder, she’s sharing pints with old friends at her favorite beer bars like The Mayor of Old Town in Fort Collins, Colo.
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