Rhinegeist and Sun King are no strangers when it comes to collaboration, they have teamed up before, but never on a project that celebrates a milestone like this one. The breweries alongside some other industry powerhouses are getting together to put out a mixed four pack of 16oz Cans that they’re calling ‘10-4 Good Buddy’ to celebrate Sun King’s 10th anniversary.

The brewery is quick to point out that collaboration is at the core of their success from internal operations to opportunities working alongside industry peers. Over the last 10 years Sun King has worked with more than 40 different breweries across the United States in order to experiment with new brewing techniques, ingredients and styles.

Before we dig into the beer they’ve teamed back up with Rhinegeist to create, let’s talk about the other three that you’ll get in your four pack:

• Austin Beer Works – Collabergé – This is an Imperial Brut IPA that brings the dryness of champagne together with an aggressive hop profile.
• Cigar City – Highway Queen – Sour Golden Ale with Zinfandel grapes, sour cherries and raspberries. The beer is then aged on oak and uses an experimental yeast strain that produces lactic acid
• Three Floyds – Maximum Overdrive – A Baltic porter brewed with local, Indiana malt from Sugar Creek Malt, two different yeast strains and American and Slovenian hops.

The Rhinegeist Piece – Hoppiness Jones

You know that Rhinegeist doesn’t mess around – and this collaboration is definitely no exception to that. The breweries have had a close relationship ever since Rhinegeist opened their doors, with their Head Brewer Jim Matt coming to the Cincinnati brewery after leaving Sun King (you can hear a little more about his history on Cincy Brewcast). Since then, the brewery has become not just a “good buddy” to Rhinegeist, but a mentor and a group of real friends too.

They teamed up to create ‘Hoppiness Jones’ an IPA that was aged in both Tequila and Pinot Noir barrels, infused with hibiscus and then dry hopped. I have no idea what those flavors look like (or taste like) when they come face to face… but call me curious as heck.

You should be able to start finding these four packs all around Sun Kings distribution footprint at select bars, restaurants and liquor stores, which definitely includes right here in Cincinnati, starting in early June.

Huge congrats go out to Sun King for an incredible ten years, so far – and I’ll fill you guys in when I finally get my hands on this collaboration!