Rahr & Sons and Lakewood Brewing Co-Brew first-of-DFW Specialty Beer

For the first time ever in North Texas, two breweries, Rahr & Sons Brewing Company of Fort Worth and Lakewood Brewing Company of Garland, have come together to craft a special, limited edition beer that combines their unique styles. Breaking the mold among local brewers, their new Belgian-inspired Dubbel Ale is called DFW: A Collaboration of Two Breweries.

With an ABV of 6.4 percent, DFW will make its debut during North Texas Beer Week (October 31 – November 9).  It will be available on draft at area taps and will be sold at local retailers in 22 oz. bottles beginning the week of October 27.

“The decision to collaborate on a beer was years in the making”, Lakewood owner and founder Wim Bens said. “Rahr is where my brewing career began, and I’m very excited to team up on a beer that showcases the brewing heritage of both our breweries. To my knowledge, this is the first time two Texas production breweries have ever collaborated on a beer, so that makes it even more special.”

To create a beer that encapsulates their unique styles, both breweries went back to their roots for inspiration. With a strong German background and 160-plus years of brewing tradition in his blood, it was a no-brainer for Fritz Rahr, owner and founder of Rahr & Sons, to decide his contribution to this special fermentation would be a blend of German malts. Bens, a native of Belgium, added his personal flare with Belgian yeast and Belgian candi sugar. The result is a malty and sweet Belgian-style ale for easy drinking.

Collaboration beers, although new to North Texas, are not uncommon in other parts of the country and around the world. Both Rahr and Bens hope to see many more collaboration beers pop up between breweries not only in North Texas, but throughout the state.

On teaming up with Lakewood, Rahr remarked, “Lakewood is a fantastic brewery with great people and delicious beers. When we started talking about doing a collaboration beer with Lakewood, for me it was easy. Of course we would engage in this project. Why not? It was a natural fit – two breweries specializing in different styles of beers, but in a roundabout way akin to each other. We are extremely excited about teaming up with Lakewood to create something special. A collaboration between two breweries? You bet!”