N. Portland's Occidental Brewing has collaborated with Bellingham, Washington's Kulshan Brewing on the latest version of Northwest Pilsner. Occidental competed with Kulshan Brewing in the final round of Peaks and Pints taproom (in Tacoma, WA) pilsner challenge last April. In that head-to-head, Kulshan Brewing came out on top - but, a collaboration was born.

After a series of phone calls and emails, the Kulshan brew crew came down to Portland to brew the latest version of Northwest Pilsner. This time the beer carries a hefty load of citrus and tropical fruit notes from the use of Azacca hops. Scents of orange, mango, and pine are buoyed by a moderate amount of perceived bitterness on the back end. It's 5.0% ABV and 35 IBUs.

Occidental/Kushan NW Pils is currently pouring at Occidental Brewing's taproom and a few kegs will arrive in Bellingham for Kulshan Brewing next week. Kegs of the collab are available via Maletis beverage in Oregon and in the Seattle/Tacoma area via Northwest Beverages. If you are in the Seattle/Tacoma-area, there will be a release party at Pint Defiance on Thursday, October 17th where members of both Occidental and Kulshan will be present.