Founded in Austin in 2012, Pinthouse Pizza has grown from being a local brewpub to one of the most respected small brewing companies in the country. Meanwhile, Brewmaster Joe Mohrfeld is widely regarded by his peers as one of the world’s top IPA brewers. Pinthouse’s packed trophy case includes six Great American Beer Festival medals, three World Beer Cup medals, plus a turn as champion of the Alpha King Challenge.
In this 76-minute video course, Mohrfeld goes into wide-ranging detail on Pinthouse’s approach to brewing world-class, envelope-pushing, aroma- and flavor-forward IPAs, including the brewery’s flagship Electric Jellyfish. Among other topics, he discusses:
- The evolution of modern IPA
- The strengths of different hop forms, from whole leaf to Cryo
- The challenge and opportunity of hop selection
- Best technique for rubbing and evaluating hops
- Using wet hops fresh from the harvest
- Underrated hop varieties and their “survivability”
- Hop agronomy, terroir, and the farmer’s influence on beer
- Tips on blending hop varieties
- How and why Pinthouse uses Kölsch yeast for its IPAs
- Different approaches to brewing IPA, from West Coast to hazy to freestyle
- Intentional layering of malts, adjuncts, and hop varieties
- Employing bitterness for balance
- Timing and quantities of hop additions in the kettle, whirlpool, and cold side
- Avoiding diacetyl and how to test for its precursors at home
- Monitoring dissolved oxygen (DO) for maximum freshness
- Water profile and its importance to fermentation and attenuation
And much more.
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