Belmont Station 28th Anniversary West Coast IPA

By the 1790’s the British were established in India and needed beer, which was considered a staple in every household. India, however, presented serious problems for brewers. Hot temperatures, poor water and short supplies of basic ingredients made it impossible to brew beer. Attempts to ship beer out of Britain to Calcutta failed. 

George Hodgson of London produced a pale ale of greater strength and bitterness than those he sold in London. The hops helped protect the beer from spoilage, as did the increased alcohol content. Hodgson’s India Ale arrived in Calcutta in fine shape-clear, strong, and bitter, with a big, resinous hop aroma. The word spread of India Pale Ale and people throughout England and the United States were clamoring for this wonderful new beer. The rage lasted through 1970’s, but lost steam in the 1980’s and became just another name for low alcohol bitters. 

As craft beer has emerged and grown, so has IPA! IPA has helped grow Craft Beer to what it is currently today. There are now many shapes and forms of IPA, but they all share a bright, aromatic hop aroma of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine. Hop flavor coats the tongue and these beers finish with an assertive, but balanced bitterness.     

Belmont Station 28^th Anniversary West Coast IPA is created in celebration of their 28th anniversary and a nod to our friendship and partnership over the years. This IPA takes a modern approach to brewing a bright West Coast IPA and incorporates nods to the classic Pacific Northwest IPA. We focused on using only high-quality pale malt with a touch of Vienna malt to help create a beautiful marigold color and to ensure a supportive malt base that harmonizes and meld with the hops. We wanted to focus on classic IPA flavors including citrus, berry, grapefruit, and pine. In order to do this, we brewed and dry hopped this beer with a Pacific Northwest powerhouse Mosaic combined with a classic - Simcoe and Columbus hops. To help modernize this beer and bring in the West Coast IPA elements the use of a light hand of Krush Hyperboost extract brings this beer to light. Cheers to friendship!