New Belgium and Odell Brewing FOCOllaboration
FOCOllaboration is the first ever joint effort from New Belgium and Odell Brewing — both located in Fort Collins, CO. This 6.7% ABV and 55 IBU American Pale Ale is a combination of ingredients that each brewery is known for employing in their own individual products to great effect. From New Belgium we have a hoppy combination of Centennial, Cascade and Citra hop varieties. From Odell Brewing we get a solid backbone of Fawcett Crystal Malt.
The end result is a beer that is incredibly flavorful and excellently balanced. Packed with fruity hop goodness, FOCOllaboration isn’t just your run-of-the-mill hop bomb. The beer is smooth drinking, refreshing and, unlike many collaborative efforts, isn’t some silly imperial experiment. It’s just a down to earth, flavorful pale ale.
Appearance
The brew pours bright amber in color with a dense cap of off-white foam that fell slowly, leaving behind clinging lacework.
Aroma
FOCOllaboration smells darn tasty with herbal hop notes, grapefruit, light tangerine/orange, wafting pine and soft malt.
Taste
A wonderfully fruity character leads the way with hints of grapefruit, orange and distant pineapple as piney notes and herbal hints comprise the hoppy end of the medium bodied brew. A smooth, balancing combination of carmel and lightly toasted bread round out the flavor profile succinctly. The moderate level of hop bitterness tantalizes the taste buds as a soft malt sweetness lingers late in the lasting finish.
Overall
I like collaborations like this — take staples of each brewery’s flagship offerings and combine them in a fashion that creates something that is decidedly drinkable instead of something that shouldn’t exist to begin with. FOCOllaboration is an easy drinking and refreshing pale ale that is packed with a wonderful array for fruity hops and supporting malt backbone. Now, the questions begs to be asked, will we see this as a year-round offering or annual release from the companies?
Rating: 4/5
This is a review of a promotional sample.
