Other Half Brewing turns eight this year, so we teamed up to collaborate on a beer in celebration of the anniversary. The result is the limited-edition 8th Anniversary Collaborative West Coast IPA (7.2%), which will be available Friday on draft and to-go exclusively through Other Half taprooms in New York City, DC, and the Finger Lakes. It’s also included in their 8th Anniversary Collaborative Mix Pack, which is available for shipping to seven states through their online store.
Keep reading to learn more about the collab.
The world of beer is a small one. For years, Firestone Walker Brewmaster Matt Brynildson and Other Half Brewing Head Brewer and Co-Founder Sam Richardson have been running into each other at brewing events, conferences, and even at hop selection in New Zealand back in 2019 (image below). Other Half has also joined us to pour at the last several Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festivals.
In short, we’ve been hanging with the folks at Other Half for years, but this is the first time our brewing teams have worked together to create some magic. We have to give credit where it’s due. Matt told us, “The collab was Sam’s idea.” And a great idea it was.
Sam was eager to create a West Coast IPA for the two breweries’ first collaboration, noting that the Firestone Walker team does a great job with the style and that West Coast IPAs are where he got his start. “Despite Other Half’s reputation as a brewer of New England-style IPAs,” he explained, “our roots are in West Coast IPAs because I spent the first 11 years of my brewing career making them almost every day.”
“I can’t wait to taste the finished beers,” Matt said. “The IPA utilizes a mid-fermentation addition of Mosaic Cryo-hops to really fill out the hop flavor, plus some New Zealand hops and some Simcoe in the second dry hop.”
Sam told us, “The best part of the process of making this beer was nerding out with Matt about different hop varieties.” We think it’s safe to say this won’t be the last collaboration between Firestone Walker and Other Half you’ll be seeing.
Only 45 barrels of the 8th Anniversary Collaborative IPA were produced, so be sure to get a taste of this celebratory brew before it sells out. Visit their site here to learn more.