The beer camp across America is one of beauty. It’s a collaborative effort. A union between brewers to pursue the truest passion known to mankind – the love of beer. At a time when America needs it the most, 30 different regional breweries participated this year to help create 6 unique beers to represent this great country. These 12 beers are for you, America.
1. Pat-Rye-Ot Revolutionary Pale Ale – American Pale Ale
Collaboration by: Devils Backbone Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Stoudts Brewing Company, Trillium Brewing Company
Rye apples and a hearty dose of hops is what the bottle reads. A solid start. It has a spicy rye/malty flavor up front and a smaller sweet flavorful fruit taste to follow. It says there’s a good amount of hops in it, but you only get the smallest hint of bitterness at the end. It’s very light and refreshing though, which leaves you coming back for more – the sign of a good beer.
2. West Latitude Session Rye Ale – Rye Ale
Collaboration by: Bear Republic Brewing Co., Faction Brewing, Mad River Brewing Company, Magnolia Brewing Company,Maui Brewing Company
A rye ale brewed with Hibiscus. It has that funky yeast smell. It’s spicy and floral with a smooth finish. Medium bodied and the malts are pretty much the dominant force in this one. The hint of citrus and bitter hops are hard to catch with the spicy force of rye highlighting the beginning, middle, and end of the beer. I’ve never been big on rye beers to begin with, so I wouldn’t be too keen on getting it again. Thankfully there only 2 in the 12.
3. Sweet Sunny South Table Beer – Farmhouse Ale
Collaboration by: Austin Beerworks, Bayou Teche Brewing, Creature Comforts Brewing Company, Funky Buddha Brewery, Wicked Weed Brewing. 
The description reads: “This rustic ale features Southern twists including corn grits, tea leaves, and plenty of sweet fruit…” I thought it would end up like most farmhouse ales, sweet with a heavy dose of malts. But I was wrong. I was really wrong. This has a little bite and stings the tongue. It starts sweet with a nice fruity and malt flavor, and finishes just slightly sour. It’s kind of like Sierra Nevada’s Otra Vez. But whereas the Otra Vez is a lot more sour and aggressive, this ale is rounded out by the grainy fruit flavor. This is the perfect beer for those long summer days. For a session style sipper, it has such great flavor. This has my vote to replace sweet tea as the South’s drink of choice.
4. Moxee Moron Imperial ‘Session’ IPA – Imperial IPA
Collaboration by: Collaboration with Bale Breaker Brewing, Barley Brown’s Beer, Black Raven Brewing Company, Melvin Brewing, Odell Brewing Co.
I’ll have to hand it to the title. What in the fuck. A session IPA? It’s the drunk’s dream session beer come true. At 7.5%, it sure ain’t gonna be an all day IPA. It fits the bill – for a double that is. It has a solid malty/biscuit flavor to start, then your ride that right into what you’d expect, a kick of piney, syrupy resin hop flavor. It goes down smooth and feels a bit lighter than you’d expect a double to feel. Definitely hits the flavor of the Pacific Northwest on the nose. A solid beer all around.
5. Family Values Imperial Brown Ale – American Imperial Brown Ale
Collaboration by: August Schell Brewing Company, Dark Horse Brewing Co., Half Acre Beer Company, Perennial Artisan Ales, Sun King Brewing Company
“It features largely Midwestern-grown ingredients: Minnesota wild rice, Indiana honey, Missouri oats, Michigan hops, and cocoa nibs from Illinois as well as Sierra Nevada’s estate-grown malt.” So says the bottle. A hearty beer. It has a strong sweet flavor with a nice toasted finish. You get nice flavor and sweetness from the honey and cocoa. I have but one complaint. It’s definitely a winter beer. This bottle would be 100 percent more enjoyable trying to warm up from a wisco winter by the fire.
6. Stout of the Union Robust Stout – American Stout
Collaboration by: Bagby Beer Company, Beachwood Brewing, The Lost Abbey, Smog City Brewing, Societe Brewing Company
About what you’d expect from a stout done right. It comes out as black as I’d imagine my liver. A very creamy beer with coffee, chocolate and caramel flavors. Just a bit bitter and a hint of burnt, roasted flavor. A solid capstone to the camp. But I’d argue it suffers the same setback as the Family Values – it’d be better for winter. It’s just a bit too much for summer. But it does a good job reminding me of the coming fall.