Ten breweries collaborate, create Beer City Pale Ale

Beer City Pale Ale, a collaborative celebration between ten area breweries, will be on tap throughout the month of July at various locations. The new brew will be on tap around the city, just in time for Craft Brew Month.

This April, Grand Rapids tied with Asheville, NC in the national contest to win "Beer City U.S.A." and now local brewery owners are celebrating their success by introducing Grand Rapids to a new beer.

"It's a beautiful ruby red color; light. It has cascade and nuggets hops in it- interesting pungent hops," says Barry VanDyke of Harmony Brewing.

Deciding on the the right beer happened mostly through texting.

"My phone was blowing up for two days straight," says VanDyke.

"The recipe was bounced around a bit though the miracles of technology between four or five of us and completed in one afternoon," adds Bill White, owner and brewer at White Flame Brewing Company.

The participating breweries are members of the Grand Rapids Society of Brewers, which normally meets once a month to talk all things beer and brew related. 

"We were throwing ideas out and I think the idea hit all of us at once. Let's do a collaborative effort. We're not in competition with each other. Let's celebrate this," says Wob Wanhatalo, head brewer at The Hideout Brewing Co.

The brewers kept the plan under wraps for three weeks as they planned together. Wanhatalo says he's made two batches of the ale, keeping one for The Hideout and sending the second off for distribution.

"It was finally time to let the cat out of the bag," says Wanhatalo.

"Hopefully other bars will pick up on it," he says. "That's really what we wanted to see: the beer to be available at other bars."

Because the idea and planning happened so quickly, Wanhatalo says they did not have enough time to get the "bigger guys," Founders, Schmohz and Brewery Vivant, on board. He says the bigger breweries have more of a brewing schedule to follow, but each brewery will be participating in some way.

"Brewery Vivant will be participating in celebrating Beer City U.S.A.," says White. Founders and Schmohz will be renaming an ale to go along with the other breweries.

"It's kind of a first come, first serve basis," says Wanhatalo of this first-time collaboration. "When it's gone, it's gone."

The brewers also hope to celebrate the Beer City U.S.A. title year round, right up until the next contest starts. Plans are already brewing for a possible winter stout, says Wanhatalo.

"Michigan beer has always been awesome, but it's starting a new chapter now," says VanDyke. "It's a Michigan style that's fairly distinctive and people will start to imitate it."