The folks over at GoodLife Brewing here in Bend first told me about this collaboration probably two years ago when they were just getting started with it: Brett Lager, a collaboration with The Ale Apothecary (who at the time was building out their barrel and tasting room next door to GoodLife). In fact the collaboration between GoodLife and AleApoth began before then, as GoodLife would help out by being a delivery point for shipments.

At any rate, the beer has finally come to fruition and GoodLife has announced its release, with a series of dates lined up for release parties around the state. Here is the full press release:

This beer is the symbolic result of years of collaboration between now neighboring breweries, GoodLife Brewing and The Ale Apothecary. As two distinct versions of what an independent American craft brewery is and represents, we designed this Brett Lager to take elements from both breweries to create something new and unique.

GoodLife Brewing’s Brewmaster/Co-Founder, Curt Plants (who suddenly passed in April) always talked about a man in the woods who was creating some of the best beers in the world and he wanted to figure out a way to create a beer with him. Curt’s business partner and Co-Founder, Ty Barnett said, “This beer has been something Curt was working on for many years. We have known Paul, at The Ale Apothecary, since he opened it. It started by him needing a place to have materials shipped with a high dock and somewhere trucks could get in to in the winter. Then, between beers Curt and Paul began talking about a crazy collaboration.”

First, we brewed a Dortmunder style lager at GoodLife’s production facility. After 2 months of cold-conditioning, we transferred the beer into Sokol Blosser barrels and allowed the beer to warm up to ale temperatures, then added The Ale Apothecary’s wild house yeast culture to further evolve the beer during the 18-month barrel aging process.

The house culture from The Ale Apothecary provides intense aromas of tropical and stone fruits, benefitting from completely natural carbonation from bottle fermentation. Fresh cut hay, funky barnyard notes and figs are reminiscent of Belgian lambic while the initial lager characteristics of Mecca Grade Estate malt and yeast are still evident and intertwined. This beer was made with The Ale Apothecary’s finely tuned aging process and GoodLife’s adventurous style to create a truly wild beer experience!

Brett Lager will be available for sale at both The Ale Apothecary and GoodLife Brewing’s tap rooms, as well as limited distribution in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Bottle release parties are scheduled at the following locations:

10/12/17 at Broken Top Bottle Shop from 5pm-7pm
10/16/17 at The Bier Stein from 6pm-8pm
10/17/17 at Belmont Station from 5pm-8pm
10/25/17 at Beerworks from 5pm-9pm

Barnett also said, “Sadly, Curt was never able to try the final accomplishment. Having passed away in April, as you drink this delicious brew, cheers Curt and Paul for making this truly one of a kind beer!”

This beer is dedicated in loving memory to GoodLife’s Brewmaster/Co-Owner Curt Plants.

Here are links to those release events (two aren’t up yet):

• Broken Top Bottle Shop (Bend), 10/12 (Thursday)
• The Bier Stein (Eugene), 10/16 (Monday)
• Belmont Station (Portland), 10/17 (Tuesday)
• Beerworks (Medford), 10/25 (Wednesday)

This will definitely be a beer to check out, particularly if you like (and are familiar with) The Ale Apothecary beers. No word yet on how much bottles will sell for, but if like the other similar offerings I would expect around $30.