Columbus Cryo + Mosaic 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 bright aromatic hop aroma of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine.

In the evolving and nuanced world of WCIPA this beer is inspired by our friends at Ghost Town and their project Dank Dive. Playing off the super ripe and aromatic flavors of Mosaic with the punchy dank/ganja notes of Columbus Cryo to make a very expressive flavor profile. This beer rides the edge of ripe fruit and sweet body odor in all the best ways possible. This beer should make your teeth feel green while giving you a ripe tropical experience. We went with the fruit forward Columbus Cryo and left the garlic and onion versions for brewers on the other side of the playground.