Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Collaborative Evil

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 17, 2008 7:00PM

2008 has been a banner year for Flossmoor Station Brewing Company. The rollout of their bottled beer line was well-received, with beer lovers snatching up the Pullman Brown, IPA and Station Master Wheat Ale as quickly as the brewery can bottle them. This week's selection is a joint effort between Flossmoor Station brewmaster Mat Van Wyk and two other gifted/twisted brewmasters.

The seeds of this week's selection starts in Truckee, California. Todd Ashman of FiftyFifty Brewing had an idea of developing a beer recipe, bringing in other brewers for their input, and perfecting the brew through trial, error and lots of tasting. Ashman worked in concert with Van Wyk and Zac Treimert of Lucky Bucket Brewing Company in Omaha, NE, tweaking everything from ingredients to label artwork to create "Collaborative Evil." This Belgian-style strong dark ale is brewed with raisins, black cardamom and other spices, orange peel, honey from the Morton Arboretum, Mexican and Indian sugars, and two strains of Belgian yeast. Calling this an experimental beer would be an understatement. Collaborative Evil teems with flavor and makes for a wonderful cold weather session ale. We brought one of our two bottles to Sunday night's Clandestino supper club dinner, where its spices paired perfectly with the bread pudding dessert.

Here's where getting your hands on a bottle gets complicated. The run sold out shortly after its release in October. Since then, beer collectors have been looking to trade for it on beer forums and websites. We bought two bottles in October, and the second one is not on the table for trade (although we will listen to offers). Good luck getting your hands on a bottle of "Collaborative Evil," Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week."