The nature of a beer collaboration is working together with (hopefully somewhat) like-minded people to create a harmonious product that reflects the ethos of both breweries. For Primitive Beer, a brewery only making spontaneous barrel-aged sour beer, this process often involves guest blenders tasting through different barrels to determine “what works together and how they want to emphasize different ingredients,” explains Brandon Boldt, half of the duo running the brewery alongside his wife Lisa Boldt. Creating a collab is a journey that involves drinking and finding the right mix, and a frequent co-conspirator in this process is Zach Nichols of Cellar West Brewery. Together they have made many a beer, and today we will highlight one old and one new collaboration of theirs: SuperMoon SuperFriends and Meager Portmanteau (Blend 2) respectively available this Sunday.

A Friendship Born From Beer (of course)

Brandon and Lisa first met Zach nearly a decade ago when Brandon was a beertender at Odd13 Brewing and Zach was working at Sanitas Brewing. Chance encounters in the taproom evolved into a respect for the Saisons that Zach was making. “Shocking that Farmhouse beers and specificity speak to us in the same way,” jokes Brandon as this blatant passion led to the creation of Primitive. 

Nichols would then open Cellar West in Lafayette, CO in 2016. “You’re moving closer to us!?” was Lisa’s first thought when she learned of this fortuitous move. With their friend’s brewery now a short bike ride from their home, Brandon and Lisa would become staples at Cellar West and share a healthy amount of beer and ideas over the years.

The Collabs

SuperMoon SuperFriends

What began as a collaboration with Romero’s K9 Club would eventually come to involve Cellar West. The interplay of freshly emptied tequila barrels and Colorado white peaches with Primitive’s 3-year blend began as the basis for this beer. As the beer matured, a distinct “sharpness from the tequila… and quite a bit of tart” began to dominate, necessitating a balancing act to rein in those edgy elements. Recalls Lisa, when tequila barrel aging “is done right it is beautiful,” so they decided to blend in a Brett Pale Ale from Cellar West to bring those spirit and stone fruit flavors in balance. This selection from Cellar West’s stock was aged in wine barrels and lent some youthful vibrancy to the blend.

Meager Portmanteau (Blend 2)

Building upon the success of B1, this second iteration blends Primitive’s 2-year spontaneous beer with Cellar West’s Meager Table Saison with time spent on second-use white peaches in addition to Citra Cryo hops. This combo yields a beer of 6.4% ABV, packing less of a punch than SuperMoon SuperFriends’ 8%. When tasted, this beer was still conditioning before it hit the right point “when it speaks to us… It needs to become the whole package and rounded rather than the individual components,” Brandon says of their process for determining when to release a beer. 

The Tastings

SuperMoon SuperFriends

SuperMoon SuperFriends pours like most Primitive beers with minimal carbonation and a golden hue. Upon first waft of the liquid indulgence, its component elements immediately make themselves known. Big ripe stone fruit combines with a touch of booze and some floral hops when fresh. 

Over two tastings one year apart, one fresh and one aged, it’s fascinating to experience the way this beer developed. While the nose is virtually unchanged, that maturation is apparent immediately as the beer is tasted. The fresh Brett funk and slightly hop profile imbued by Cellar West is supplanted by the aged spontaneous funk of Primitive, morphing from more saison to Lambic leaning over a year in the bottle. Peach plays a pivotal role here both in fresh and aged forms and surprisingly maintains a distinct brightness. The most controversial component of SuperMoon SuperFriends is undoubtedly the tequila barrel, and it is masterfully blended in to form a cohesive part of the whole. There is a slight herbal boozy tang that is balanced by both the fresh fruit and Saison.

The finish comes in waves. While the first sip is tart with some peachy backend, layers of nuance begin to settle in. Funk from multiple angles allures the senses and an enticing tequila-induced booze lingers, making one question just how complex a beer can be. There is a lot going on here, and it is an ode to Primitive and Cellar West’s vision that it all came together so well.

Meager Portmanteau (Blend 2)

The most recent of their collabs is a more approachable yet still very complex beer. Like with SuperMoon SuperFriends, Meager Portmanteau is a wonderful marriage of two different styles of sour beer. Unsurprisingly this pours a hazy golden orange in the glass with minimal carbonation and moderate head retention. 

The nose here hits on some of those second-use peaches with a complimentary dose of barnyard funky hops. As opposed to Blend 1 having no additional hopping, the addition of Citra Cryo here creates a distinct effect. Tangy citrus intermingles with stone fruit and a healthy dose of funk to create a layered experience which is certainly a common theme amongst these collaboration blends.

The back end finishes wonderfully funky from first sip to last. While this beer as tasted is not the exact finished product to be released to the public, there is a complexity that will gracefully age with time. The fruit pops with this fresh version, and it will gradually give way to an even more complex funk with time.

A Funky Collaborative Future

For those looking to give one of these featured collaborations a try, Primitive will be releasing Meager Portmanteau (Blend 2) at their final Howl At The Moon release of the summer this Sunday, August 4th. The event will be from 11 AM – 5 PM at New Image Brewing Wheat Ridge. In addition to this release, there will be 2 other new beers from Primitive: Lunar Contraption, a blend of Primitive Beer on white peaches and wet hops, and Stable of Stars, a 2-year blend made with Cohesion Brewing featuring 100% barley and Saaz hops. A special pizza pairing will also join the festivities.

Primitive is never a brewery to rest on their laurels, and its move to New Image will undoubtedly lead to more innovation and future exciting collaborations. Working together often leads to some delicious creations, and Primitive and Cellar West have bore out that thesis to great effect with these beers.

All photos courtesy of the author

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