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This week’s podcast is a roundtable discussion with three leading voices in West Coast IPA, all three based in California—Kelsey McNair of North Park in San Diego, Evan Price of Green Cheek in Orange, and Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River in Santa Rosa and Windsor. Over the course of two hours, these three discuss the ins and outs of brewing modern West Coast IPA today, including:
- simplifying malt bills to just pilsner or two row pale
- building body with water chemistry, to support hop flavor despite the light malt bill
- lowering starting and finishing gravities to reflect a more dry, modern approach
- adjusting liquor-to-grain ratios to boost attenuation
- using the enzyme ALDC as well as new yeasts to reduce hop creep and diacetyl production
- lowering knockout and fermentation temperatures for cleaner fermentations with ale yeast
- managing pH throughout the hot and cold sides for better technical performance and hop expression
- the impact of lower-pressure and open-top fermentation on imperial IPA, in the case of Pliny the Younger
- rethinking hop blends with each new crop year
- cold-side hop strategies for quality extraction and clarity in hop flavor and aroma
- using modern hop products on the cold side for greater hop intensity
And more.
This episode is brought to you by:
G&D Chillers
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