Two Brothers Brewing Company, the popular local brewery based in Warrenville, has teamed up with Urthel Brewery of Belgium in the conception of new beer.The collaboration is called Moaten, which means “Friends” in Flemish, and the brew itself is an Oak Aged Flemish Style Red Ale. Special yeast strains are used in the creation of Moaten and other Belgian Style Red Ales, which brings along sour and tart flavors in this intriguing style of beer.

The reddish brown colored Moaten smells of dark fruits, especially cherries.Moaten is sweet on the tip of the tongue before bursting into a bitter and sour brew when it smacks the back of your throat.Taste wise we all thought Moaten was exceedingly complex; it has numerous flavor profiles going on.Sour cherries, grapes, apricots, and sour apples were the dominant fruit tastes, all of which coincided with an oaky and faint coca-cola type flavor.Brett yeast was perceptible but didn’t dominate the palate like many other Belgian style beers.This was a very flavorsome beer overall, and could possibly use some aging to further merge and develop all of the complex flavors.

While it may need some fine tuning to be on par with other world famous Flemish Style Red Ales such as Duchesse De Bourgogne, Moaten is a fine effort by two of Binny’s favorite breweries.It is affordable at $6.99 a bottle, and is worth a shot since this style is not often explored by breweries due to the tenuous brewing techniques involved in the creation of the beer such as blending and oak aging.We at Binny’s like to see the continued amiability and partnership between outstanding brewers.What has been your favorite collaboration beer so far?What two breweries would you most like to see unite in the construction of a new beer?