When I posted my interview with Greg Koch of Stone Brewing, mention was made of upcoming collaboration brews Stone was spearheading. This month it’s with 21st Amendment Brewing and Firestone Walker Brewing, and the Stone Blog has a good writeup of what was brewed and the overall process:

Shaun O’Sullivan of 21st Amendment and Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker joined our very own Head Brewer Mitch Steele for one of our coolest collaborations yet. Since this was an all-California brewing team, they decided to expand upon that theme by using indigenous California ingredients in the beer, including chia seeds, pink peppercorns, fennel seeds, and 35 lbs. of Mission figs Shaun brought from a friends’ farm.

The result of this momentous collaboration will be a strong black ale of distinctly Californian pedigree. Named El Camino (un)Real Black Ale in honor of the historic Spanish mission trail connecting Northern and Southern California, this beer is going to be pitch-black monster loaded with roasty, spicy flavors.

15% of the batch will be fermented in oak barrels, and the beer should clock in at about 80 IBUs. No word yet on alcohol content.

Based on that ingredient list, though, this sounds like it will be a very interesting beer.