Courtesy of Ft. George
  • Georgetown's Manny Chao, Ft. George's Jack Harris, and Pfriem's Josh Pfriem.

Ménage à trois and circle jerk jokes aside, here come a pair of IPAs from two separate brewery trios.

First up, it’s time for Fort George Brewery’s annual dalliance partnering with another pair of regional brewers who excel at IPAs. The third in their annual series is called 3-Way IPA, and the new batch makes its Portland debut today at Roscoe’s Bar at 5 pm. The co-conspirators this time ‘round are Pfriem Family Brewery from Hood River and Georgetown Brewing from Seattle.

Fort George's past brothers-in-hops included Lompoc and Gigantic from Portland, Block 15 in Corvallis, Boneyard from Bend. Asked about the ongoing collaborative series, brewmaster and co-owner Jack Harris said, “We select breweries who take the joy and responsibility of brewing great beer to heart. We pick breweries we can learn from.”

This year’s 3-Way IPA features a cornucopia of tropical fruit throwing hop varietals: Simcoe, Meridian, Citra, and Equinox. And just like a refreshing fruit salad, it weighs in at a surprisingly light 5.7 percent ABV, meaning it offers the ability to enjoy more than a couple pints (or pint cans that will begin hitting the market).

Courtesy of Ft. George
  • Courtesy of Ft. George

Next week, Ecliptic Brewing delivers Points Unknown in cahoots with San Diego County’s Stone Brewing and a welcome surprise from Asheville, NC’s Wicked Weed Brewing. This IPA is in the vein of a West Coast imperial then blended with a Belgian-style tripel aged in tequila barrels that arrives two weeks late for Cinco de Mayo. It clocks in at 9.5 percent ABV. A release party will be held Wednesday, May 20 at 5:30 pm.

Attendees can additionally taste kegs of the two unblended base beers used to create the resulting blend that’s 80 percent IIPA, 20 percent tripel. “We’re incredibly excited to tap Points Unknown at Ecliptic,” says John Harris, Ecliptic owner and head brewmaster. “Collaborating with our friends at Wicked Weed and Stone has been an incredible experience for us.” The tripel ale matured in a barrel that initially housed red wine before finding being repurposed to age añejo tequila. Sounds like a winner.

3-Way IPA release at Roscoe’s, 8105 SE Stark, Fri May 15 (today), 5 pm
Points Unknown release Ecliptic Brewing, 825 N Cook, Wed May 20, 5:30 pm