Style: New England-style IPA
Special Notes: Collaboration with Pipeworks Brewing Company. Guava added.
Hops: Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic
ABV: 6.4%
IBU: 5
Availability: Limited
@untappd says: 4.08/5
There’s an epic battle on the Windowsill today. Who will win?
If you know anything about me, you know that I love collaboration beers with a passion. Can you imagine my absolute joy when I saw that one of my new favorite breweries, Beer’d Brewing Company, had decided to collaborate with one of my other favorite breweries, Pipeworks Brewing Company? That’s what we have on the Windowsill today… the Dogs Vs. Shinobi, a New England-style IPA with guava puree added that essentially mashes together the two breweries’ most iconic brews—the Dogs & Boats from Beer’d and the Ninja vs. Unicorn from Pipeworks.
I spoke to Beer’d’s Aaren Simoncini about this collaboration. Here’s what he had to say:
How did the partnership with Pipeworks come about?
Mike from Pipeworks has family in CT and had planned a trip back home to visit them. As luck would have it, Sarene Craft Beer Distributors, our Western CT distributor, also carries Pipeworks here in CT and thought it would be a great idea to put us in touch. We started the conversation and it was pretty obvious early on that our brewing styles were similar. We discussed some of our favorite ingredients and techniques and Dogs Vs. Shinobi was born!
How did you incorporate the two brands to make this one beer?
The final product is certainly a mashup of the two brands (there’s an IP issue preventing us from calling it Dogs Vs. Ninja). We talked about the beer we like to drink, and how we wanted those brands in a bit more of a sessionable ABV range. We also wanted a fruity punch to be included in the final product, and we both immediately gravitated to the Guava, as it plays so well with the Citra, Simcoe and Mosaic.
Who did the label for this can?
Dan Hamilton created the imagery for the can label. We started working with Dan a few years ago and love the fact that we can pitch him a cool name or concept and set him loose. We wanted to incorporate both brands without loosing our style and this is where we landed!
Anything else cool about this collaboration?
We love collaborations because they get us outside of our wheelhouse. They’re a great opportunity to learn a new technique or incorporate unfamiliar ingredients in someone else’s workshop. With all that said, it’s time for us to get outside of our wheelhouse, wink, wink, so keep your eyes out for the next step.
As for the Dogs Vs. Shinobi itself? I think you already know… It was awesome. Great mix of hops, and the guava made everyone so nice and fruity. Great collaboration!
Thanks to Aaren! I can’t wait to visit Beer’d myself in a couple of weeks!
Check this one out on Instagram. Make sure you follow Beers on Windowsills for more great craft beer!