In Seattle, collaboration is as inherent to the brewing landscape as Yakima hops. But the newly released Perfect Strangers IPA No. 1 is unusual in that it's a collaboration between barmen, not brewers—each from different Capitol Hill nightlife bastions.

Myles Burroughs is the beverage director for all things Linda Derschang; Ryan Minch is the bar manager at Rhein Haus. The two called upon Everybody's Brewing (a brewery based in White Salmon, along the Columbia River, whose down home–looking cans are a relatively familiar sight at grocery stores) to design an exclusive IPA for their respective establishments. 

Minch and Burroughs have homebrewed here and there, but decided, presumably over drinks, that collaborating with a pro might be a better way to create small batches of the types of beers they don't see elsewhere on the market.

For IPA No. 1, they wanted to use rye and wheat, not just barley, plus German hops alongside Northwest Cascades, for a spicier, grassy aroma. Finally, Granny Smith apples for acid, all designed to invoke fall, and stray from the more familiar Northwest IPA profiles. 

Given their professions, says Minch, the men's input to head brewer Jess Caudill involved specifics of grain, nose, hops, and ABV—"We didn't just say, 'make us an apple beer.'"

The project's name also originated in beer-drinking sessions, and is absolutely a reference to the hit late-'80s sitcom (oh, Bronson Pinchot, you underappreciated talent). The duo says the debut IPA is the first in a series of collaborations which might include other breweries, or even other bars depending on how things shake out.

Perfect Strangers IPA No. 1 is now on draft at Rhein Haus, Linda's Tavern, Smith, and Tallulah's until it's gone.