Dave’s 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.

This beer was created by long time pFriem employee, brewer Dave Newsom. The goal of this beer was to create an expressive and punchy beer that finishes dry and clean with a lingering bitterness. The base of this beer features a wonderfully light yet flavorful pilsner malt from our friends at Admiral Maltings paired with a bit of dextrose to helping to create a dry finish. We bittered this beer with a CO2 extract to ensure a strong yet balanced bitterness. For hops, this WCIPA was built from classic base notes of citrus, pine and a touch of dankness from the help of Simcoe and Columbus Cryo. Middle notes of classic mixed berries and citrus zest are derived from the dry hop with the hop duo powerhouse Citra and Mosaic. Top notes of tropical fruits help harmonize the flavors and provide an impactful aroma with the use of Krush Cryo and Nectaron with a slight hand of Abstrax Quantum: Nectaron in the brite tank to boost the aroma just a bit further. Expect a dynamic yet harmonious drinking experience that finishes light, clean and with a slight lingering bitterness.