No Cease & Desist Needed Here

I was intrigued by Breakside Brewery's Suburban Farmhouse Ale from the moment I heard about it and saw the label mock up. Touted by Willamette Week as a "tribute/spoof" to The Commons' flagship beer, Urban Farmhouse, I had to wonder:
A) Was this all an early April Fool's Joke? 
B) If not, what did  The Commons know/think about it?
Luckily I had been invited to a preview event for the beer and I aimed to get more details.

As it turns out, Breakside had acquired some Saison yeast (3711 for all you brewer types), something they don't generally use and brewed up a draft only seasonal beer. When the name Suburban Farmhouse was proposed Brewmaster Ben Edmunds got in touch with Mike Wright, owner of The Commons, and got the go ahead. The story is much more interesting to hear Ben tell it himself, which you can do by listening to the YouTube audio.

With the full story known next it was time to try the beer. From the cloudy appearance to the distinct hop presence resulting from being dry hopped with Topaz, this is an entirely different beer from Urban Farmhouse. Not one to rely on my sometimes faulty memory, I thought the only way to be sure however was to do a side-by-side tasting, which Ben graciously sprung for. Both are enjoyable beers, it's just a matter of what you're in the mood for.

Suburban Farmhouse (pint glass) & Urban Farmhouse

If you're interested in trying out Suburban Farmhouse for yourself, keep your eyes open for kegs of it being tapped as it is draft only and there is a limited supply. Breakside will be hanging on to 16 kegs for their own use and distributing the other 44 kegs to: Portland (16), Seattle (16), greater Oregon (4) and British Columbia (8).

Cheers to craft brewers playing in the sandbox nicely and having a sense of humor!