Style: American Double IPA

ABV: 8%

OG: 1.072

FG: 1.011

IBU: 85+

I think the majority of craft beer lovers (those who have been there since the beginning of the American Craft Beer movement), will remember the days of, “how bitter can we make beer?” Some of the greatest IPA’s ranked to date came from this alpha-acid race for high resin producing hops, and the expedition of hops growing here in the US. Right around the early 2000’s, we saw this style of beer begin to explode into the variant, fractured, all elusive entity that has become the IPA of today.

For this beer, we start off in the mash with a very simple grist: copious amounts of Pilsner malt, and about a ten percent Victory malt. In the kettle, we hop at a rate of 3.3lbs/bbl with Magnum, Sterling, Simcoe, Centennial, and Chinook hops. We then ferment for two weeks with a common American ale strain of yeast, to allow for the subtle malt, and pronounced danke, citrusy hop characters to come through without being muddled by diacetyl (buttery popcorn flavors), or DMS (cooked cabbage/corn). After primary fermentation has been completed, we will then dry-hop with a blend of Cascade, Centennial, and Citra hops to lend a rich bouquet of citrus, pine, and cedar to the aroma. The result is a myriad of hop characteristics that are a memorial to beers we all grew up loving.

As a throwback to when I personally first got into American Craft Beer, this specific recipe reminds me of my humble roots, and how things have become so different since then. It’s been exciting to go back to ingredients once forgotten, to create a simple, yet complex beer that gave rise to what American Craft Beer has become.. Just as we pick up a mash paddle, or transfer hose, or buckets of house-made ingredients to use in our beer, so do others, pick up a hammer of their own. 2020 had been a tough year for everyone, worldwide, and this beer reminds me that we are all still in it, to work together: to recognize the complexity of simplicity, and the beautiful harmony we are capable of, no matter how different we are individually. Sometimes it’s the subtleties and nuances of a memory, a time, a place, that spark a sense of innovation and fellowship. Cheers, friends.

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