The collaborations are loose: United in Beer’s 13 brews head into the wild

United in Beer was a proper kickoff to beer festival season.

If you missed this year’s United in Beer festival at Ex Novo, we first want to say sorry, because you missed one amazingly well-run and fun event. Rather than dwell on that, however, now comes the next obvious question.

Will the 13 collaboration beers be released at the participating 26 breweries?

Yes! Well, we think so, because it seems highly unlikely that multiple barrels were wiped out at the festival. To the best of our knowledge, every participant held some back to be released at their own taproom(s).

It was crowded, but not too crowded for the sold-out event.

We know that Steel Bender has their collab with Painted Lady on tap already, and Thirsty Eye’s collab with Sobremesa is likewise already available. And, yes, that crazy beer from Canteen and Truth or Consequences is on tap at the former, as we learned while stopping by for Drink Beer Save Turtles on Sunday afternoon.

Naturally, this brings us to identifying all 13 beers by name, by collaborating breweries, and style and ABV. Here is the full list, in no particular order.

It was impossible to get a photo of all the beers in one shot, but we did get a Jesse Herron cameo appearance.

United in Lemon, Second Street/Rowley Farmhouse Ales (Belgian saison with lemon zest and lemongrass, 5.5% ABV)
Pucker Punch, Canteen/Truth or Consequences (Sour IPA, 9.2%)
Super Saaz Me, Ex Novo/Gravity Bound (Dry Hopped Lager, 5.5%)
Golden Goat, Painted Lady/Steel Bender (SMASH, 5.1%)
Stormo Di Foglie, Flock of Moons/Bosque (Italian Pilsner, 5.1%)
Red on the Rocks, La Reforma/Bow & Arrow (Imperial Red with rum-soaked oak spirals, orange zest, and cinnamon, 7.5%)
The Good, the Bad, the Lager, Flix Brewhouse/Sunday Service Motor Co (Dark Mexican Lager, 5.7%)
Halftime Hazy, Bathtub Row/Santa Fe Brewing (Hazy IPA, 8.3%)
Fugget ESB, Marble/Sidetrack (Traditional English Extra Special Bitter, 5.4%)
Turtle Neck Lab Coat, Brew Lab 101/Turtle Mountain (West Coast IPA, 7.2%)
Proposito Comun, Sobremesa/Thirsty Eye (Classic North American, 5.4%)
I Ain’t a Player, I Just Kolsch a Lot, Icebox/Palmer (Kolsch, 5%)
Coin-op Lager, Kilt Check/Quarter Celtic (New Zealand Pilsner, 5.1%)

United in the Lemon was the first beer to kick, followed by Stormo Di Foglie. Pucker Punch and Red on the Rocks probably had the most mixed reviews, depending on people’s preferences. My personal pick was Fugget ESB, but it was a very close call as there were quite a few quality brews including Stormo, Super Saaz Me, Golden Goat, Proposito Comun, I Ain’t a Player, and Coin-op Lager.

Overall, it was a fun festival. The weather was warm but pleasant, the games were entertaining, the crowd was positive, and a good time was had by everyone that we knew.

A huge thanks to the entire Ex Novo staff and all the other brewery volunteers for their hard work.

After the festival, Mother Nature put on a show.

Festival season has begun. More previews are on deck. In the meantime, get out there and seek out your favorites from the fest, or go try some if you were not able to attend. Next year, just remember to get those tickets early.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister