This Double IPA with 'expressive yeast' is one of Alvarado Street Brewery’s most popular beers.

Alvarado Street’s J.C. Hill leads this master class in using knockout hops, yeast, enzymes, and other techniques to squeeze the most aroma and flavor out of your hops.

Beyond his in-house emphasis on barrel-aging, Kyle Harrop takes traveling and collaborating to new heights, tag-teaming on a variety of projects with fellow brewers across the country. His selected sixer speaks to his deep beer-geek roots, his love for seeking out obscurities, and his great appreciation for technical proficiency.

Alvarado Street cofounder and brewing director J.C. Hill explains how an exogenous enzyme combined with ample knockout hops is boosting biotransformation for more vibrant hop aroma in their West Coast IPAs.

Microscopic and difficult to measure, thiols can nonetheless add up to big tropical aromas in IPAs and other beers. In this video tip, Alvarado Street brewing director J.C. Hill describes a way to free up more thiols using a special yeast.

J.C. Hill explains the process that Alvarado Street Brewing follows in adding knockout hops and exogenous enzymes to its award-winning IPAs.

Alvarado Street cofounder and brewing director J.C. Hill explains some sensory and technical differences between dry hopping and using knockout hops boosted by exogenous enzymes.

Father and son team John and J.C. Hill opened Alvarado Street Brewery in 2014 as an upscale brewpub in tony Monterey, California with modest goals, but their exploration into hazy IPAs and fruit-forward kettle sours quickly put them on the map.

JC talks about co-pitching yeast strains in expressive (hazy) IPAs, why kettle sours don't have to suck, and the beauty of pilsners.

The cofounder and editorial director of Craft Beer & Brewing shares his standout beers and trends noted from another challenging year.

Tangerine wrapped in marijuana—dank, herbal—with heavy citrus-tropical notes: mango, passion fruit, melon, strawberry. Flavor is even brighter—lemon, grapefruit, fresh pine, floral spice—with subtle caramel tempering the bitterness and heat, easing drinkability.

Grape, apple, kiwi in the nose, with a chemical aspect that resolves into tropical fruit. Sweet flavor—grapefruit, orange, pineapple—bright and clean. Great balance. Bitterness starts to bite, then fades. Velvety mouthfeel. Fun aftertaste like guava candy.

“Nice balance of dank, earthy pine and bright citrus creates an inviting nose. Lively sip from a bright carbonation level and a supportive dose of lemon citrus and pine flavors. Finishes crisp, dry, and refreshing despite its somewhat singular focus.”

The Cellarmaker Training Bines IPA that we named one of our Best 20 Beers in 2022 was one of five that came from five different breweries in an unusual collaboration project. Now, you can brew it on your own system.

A recent release at California’s Firestone Walker may be a window into where IPA is headed, going for clarity and lean fermentation while borrowing hop-saturation hocus-pocus from the hazy grimoire. Brewmaster Matt Brynildson explains.

Immediate chocolate and orange on the nose. Aroma is well balanced. Thinner mouthfeel with balanced fla-vors of orange, chocolate, dark fruits, and vanilla. Alcohol is well-hidden. Flavors linger together nicely.

Muted aromas of tropical fruit. Very tropical and bright flavors fill the mouth with rushes of pineapple, pas-sion fruit, and kiwi. Low-to-medium bitterness throughout with a soft finish showcasing the hops flavors. Al-most like a clear NEIPA.

“Lots of fun—Gummi-worm passion fruit on the nose, some guava. Restrained acid with mango, apricot, and orange leading to a medium-dry finish. Pair it with _al pastor_ for a winning combination.”

“Light diesel and sulfur-like notes of garlic and green onion slowly fade, allowing aromatics of grapefruit, earthy pine, and a touch of lemon-pepper to emerge. Orange, lemon, pepper, garlic, onion, and pine all blend together in the flavor to create a wildly complex, cohesive, and interesting flavor profile that keeps you coming back for another contemplative sip. The soft mouthfeel and lightly sweet malt body form a perfect canvas to support the complexity of the hop notes. The near-perfect balance of bitterness cleans the palate without stripping away the nuanced complexity of flavors.”

“A refined, tropical-fruit-punch character—the dragon fruit/grapefruit combo works especially well, and the guava adds an earthiness without coming across like dirty socks. The classic beer-flavor element is minimal. Thoroughly enjoyable—tropical without the generic Kool-Aid quality. Dragon fruit lends it a beautiful pink color. Big tropical-fruit aroma transitions into big tropical-fruit flavor, while the moderate sweetness throughout is balanced by a moderate acidity. Finishes with tart fruit character. Big flavors, but it works and finds an overall balance. Fun beer!”