We tend to keep things local here in the Beer Nerd pages of City Weekly—and we still are for the most part. This week, we look at two local breweries that have teamed up with their cousins to the north from Melvin Brewing in Alpine, Wyo. Over the long Pie and Beer Day (Pioneer Day) weekend, Melvin hit the Wasatch Front hard with a bunch of new beer releases. Here are the Melvin collaborations with locals TF and Ogden Beer.

Ogden Beer/Melvin Brewing - Monte Crispo: This West Coast-style pilsner pours a pretty, clear goldenrod color. This puppy has a thick, light white head that settles to a thin pillowy layer with lace all about the glass—pretty solid and quite attractive.

This is what a beer should smell like, with nice resinous herbs and fruity citrus hops bursting in the nose. It's kind of like that reminder of the first time you drank beer, and you encountered hops for the first time—crisp, spicy and lightly sweet, featuring a bready lager-like mix. It makes me eager to take a swig.

Its shocking crispness wakes the palate right up with a burst of saliva thanks to citrus and dry lager notes. It's not overly sweet like many of Monte Crispo's IPA cousins, though I may be preferring West Coast pilsners over IPAs as a rule since the former have more approachable drinkability with those grassy herbal hops, pine, light citrus and fruit notes. This is a nice light/medium-bodied brew. The carbonation is bright, and the beer is quite dry without being cloying. I love the dryness, and that "thirsty again" feeling right after is impressive.

Verdict: Just when you think beers were maxed out towards perfection, this one came along and changed my mind all over again. For me, this is setting the bar really high for a fine craft lager. A must-have for anybody.

TF Brewing/Melvin Brewing - OxBlood: This collaboration is a take on the amber Mexican lager. The beer's color is an amber-brown with ruby hues; the clarity is quite brilliant, with a creamy and frothy two-finger head and excellent retention. The initial aromas I get from the beer are fresh rye bread and a little hint of something like coffee or dark chocolate. Toffee, toasted malts, caramelized sugar are also present.

On the first taste, I get nuttiness, bread crust, caramelized sugar and earthiness. Moving the beer around yields herbal, spicy phenols with some grassy dankness. Toffee, a hint of chocolate, and roasted malts round it out. The finishing flavors show a hint of char, roasted malts and a touch of floral hops. The mouthfeel of the beer is soft, creamy and carbonated. If you're looking for a Mexican session beer that doesn't require a lime, this is your beer right here.

Verdict: The beer does follow the guidelines for a Munich Dunkel to the letter—and yes, this beer is a lager. I did enjoy Oxblood, and will be drinking it as long as it's around.

Melvin launched a pretty wide release of these beers, along with a double dry-hopped version of their Star Valley IPA with Anchovy hops, Double dry-hopped Pils with Nectaron hops, a Huckleberry Pie ale and a Shandy with Grapefruit. As far as Monte Crispo is concerned, you can find it at Ogden Beer and many of the better beer pubs along the Wasatch Front. Oxblood is not available at TF as of this writing, but it can be found on draft at various pubs just like Monte Crispo.

As always, cheers!