Blank Slate, Orchids collaborate on beers

Orchids at Palm Court and Blank Slate Brewing Company are collaborating on a series of four beers — one for each season — to be served in the restaurant and The Bar at Palm Court. Each beer will be themed to the life cycle of the orchid and incorporate seasonal culinary elements.

The first beer, Orchids Bloom, is now available on draft in the restaurant and bar, located in the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, 35 W. Fifth St., Downtown. The French-style saison, brewed with coriander and hibiscus, will also be offered for a limited time at Blank Slate's East End PourHouse, 4233 Airport Road, Unit C, beginning at 5 p.m. Friday.

"The beer has a fruit forward nose and contains a flowery component derived from the use of dried hibiscus flowers, which also give the beer a nice springtime pink hue," Scott LaFollette, owner of Blank Slate Brewing Company, said in a news release.

Orchids Bloom will be available while supplies last or until the next seasonal collaboration is released in early summer.

Blank Slate has already done two local food-inspired collaborations this year. In January, the brewery released Opera Cream Stout, infused with the BonBonerie's Opera Cream-flavored coffee. Then in February, Blank Slate teamed up with Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery to make a Cincy 3-Way Porter.