DC Brau - 5th Anniversary Collaboration Flight

Today's beer is actually five - I'll be reviewing a flight of beers. Last month, it was DC Brau's 5th anniversary, and in celebration, they released a mixed 6-pack with 5 different collaborative beers from different breweries across the US. They are:

• "Pink Pallet Jack" - a 5.0% saison in collaboration with Perennial Artisan Ales
• "Zehn von Zehn" - a 5.5% dunkel lager in collaboration with Port City Brewing Co. 
• "Celestial Garden" - a 7.0% ABV India Pale Lager in collaboration with Austin Beerworks
• "Ripa the Dipa" - a 9.0% double rye IPA in collaboration with Sun King Brewing Co.
• "The Wise and The Lovely" - a 10.0% imperial stout in collaboration with Cigar City Brewing

The sixth in the pack is DC Brau's "On The Wings of Armageddon", which as you may recall has been reviewed here before.  So I'm not going to go into that here. But I'm very interested in seeing the five new one-offs that they've developed - particularly, I'm interested in the diversity of styles represented in the six-pack. Some collaboration packs I have had run with a theme, and have been heavy on one kind of beer (usually IPAs) but it looks like this one spans the spectrum of colors and flavors.

#1. "Pink Pallet Jack"

I'm starting with the lightest of all the beers. This one, a saison, has a nice lush and fruity aroma. It's darker than expected, but also delicious. Deep and lush, it's how I like my saisons - a bit spicy, but mostly heavy on flavor and thickness. Pretty good start to the flight!

#2. "Zehn von Zehn"

Here's a collaboration with Port City Brewing, a local brewery just across the Potomac in Alexandria, VA.  This beer is very malty, a bit sweet, with deep bready finish. To me this is a lot like the German dunkels (for example, Weihenstephaner "Hefeweissbier Dunkel".) This was super tasty. I actually got a growler of this, as well. There's something about that malty sweetness that I like in a beer, and makes it a smooth-drinking casual beer for any occasion.

#3. "Celestial Garden"

As traditional IPLs go, this is pretty nice. It's a very resiny, bright lager, with some bitter and tangy floral hops flavors coming through. Nothing super new or inventive, but I like the lightness of it, and the resin taste adds a nice aspect. Pretty good!

#4. "Ripa the Dipa"

Here's a double IPA made with rye. It's got that usual DIPA color - a deep burnt orange - and a standard strong maltiness with a good showing of hops. Honestly, it's not super different from a lot of the DIPAs I have had, but I should note is that it's less bitter than some of the other DIPAs; perhaps that's the rye coming through. Anyways, pretty good, but not terribly new or inventive.

#5. "The Wise and the Lovely"

This is perhaps one of my favorite of the five. It's the darkest of all the beers; pours a pretty root beer color in the glass. It throws an inviting dark chocolate aroma. Taste-wise, it's deep, chocolaty, and dark with little carbonation. The lactose is evident. with a sweet smoothness coming through. There's not a heck of a lot of burnt flavors, just creamy dark chocolate throughout. I really like it. Devon at D'Vines calls it a "liquid fudge brownie" and I agree. It'd make an awesome beer float. I admit I also ended up getting a growler of this, and would seek it out especially in mix-your-own-six at Harris Teeter. It's one of the finest lactose stouts I have had the pleasure to drink. I wish this was bottled and sold all the time!