Pacific Northwest - While many of you are sitting in your chair pondering that next India Pale Ale, Porter, or Blonde Ale, know that at some point the person responsible for brewing that beer received advice. Whether its from a book (ala, Charlie Papazian’s Guide to Homebrewing), a magazine (like Zymurgy), or a mentor (see, your local established brewer), they had to learn somewhere. Over time as with all activities, we lose that energy to create more than what we know.

Not seeing the signs often leads to loss of interest and eventually full blown failure, but sometimes we recognize that lack of motivation and reach out to others to help spark that fire of imagination back to a blaze. It’s because of this collaboration that we are happy to announce another beer coming from world famous Belgian Brewery De Proef and Athens’ (Georgia) Terrapin Beer Company.

Named Monstre Rouge, this collaboration recently bottled (in Lochristi, Belgium), was the creation of De Proef’s head brewer (and owner) Dirk Naudts and Terrapin’s Brian “Spike” Buckowski. Brewed this past March (2010), the beer has been resting, waiting to be released onto the shelves, starting in September.

Course, our curiosity overcame us so we reached out to head of SBS Imports, Alan Shapiro to shed some light on this beer.

Monstre Rouge (Red Monster) is loosely based on Terrapin's Big Hoppy Monster with a Belgian twist.  It is an Imperial Flanders Red Ale of 8.5%, fermented with brettanomyces and aged with toasted American oak. The malt profile includes a range of Crystal malts, Munich and Terrapin's signature Rye. It is hopped to 55 ibu's with a blend of American hops. It is a deep amber-red color capped by rocky off-white foam.  It has a complex flavor profile - tart, sweet, sour, hoppy and woody. This limited production beer is available in cases of 6/750ml cork-finished bottles and 30L kegs.  Suggested retail price is $15.99 per bottle

"I am very pleased to welcome Terrapin to the collaboration series," noted SBS Founder and President Alan Shapiro.  "I believe Spike & Dirk have created something truly unique that will be enjoyed by discerning Belgian beer consumers."

"We consider it a great honor to be invited to partner on this beer," added Terrapin Co-Founder and Brewmaster Spike Buckowski.  "It is a truly impressive list of brewers who have come before us and it has been a great experience to work with De Proef and SBS."

Each year SBS invites a noted brewer from different regions to co-design a beer and travel to Belgium to brew at De Proef.  Monstre Rouge is the fourth beer in the De Proef Collaboration Series.  Previous partners included Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey (2007); Jason Perkins of Allagash (2008); and John Mallet of Bell's (2009).  The 2011 partner (from the Northwest) will be officially announced in September.

The beer will be launched and made available exclusively for two weeks prior to general distribution through The Rare Beer of the Month Club, the country's most exclusive and prestigious beer club.  "We've featured several past products from Alan's collaboration series, and each has been an enormous hit with our very discerning customer base.  Monstre Rouge embodies exactly what we're going after in The Rare Beer Club, limited release, creative, outstanding craft beers." www.beermonthclub.com.

About De De Proef

Highly regarded Belgian brewing engineer and professor, Dirk Naudts, founded the De Proef brouwerij in 1996.  He crafts each batch in an 11HL (9 U.S.barrel) brewhouse that blends state-of-the-art technology with traditional methods. Prior to creating DeProef, Naudts was the Brewmaster at Roman Brewery in Oudenaarde, Belgium and Brewmaster at the prestigious St. Lieven brewing program in Gent, Belgium.-source, Alan Shapiro (Founder and President) of SBS Imports

About Terrapin Beer Company

Terrapin Beer company of Athens, GA was created by brewers Spike Buckowski and John Cochran in 2002.  They are regarded as perhaps the most creative and adventurous brewer in their region.  Terrapin beers are now available in 9 states. -source, Alan Shapiro (Founder and President) of SBS Imports

About SBS Imports

SBS Imports is based in Seattle, Washington and was founded by specialy beer industry veteran Alan Shapiro in 2002.  In addition to De Proef, SBS also imports Aspall Cyders from Suffolk, England, Batemans Ales from Lincolnshire, England, and Bellegem's Bruin from the Bockor Brewery in West Flanders, Belgium. -source, Alan Shapiro (Founder and President) of SBS Imports

As always, if you don’t find this beer on the shelf at your nearby grocer, pub, or restaurant, ask them to order a case.

Cheers