Inspiration and approach to dark Mexican lager

At Craft Coast in Oceanside and San Marcos, California, Blake Masoner is happy if you show up for tacos and stay for a beer. The fairly priced tacos are scratch-made, down to the tortillas themselves, packing loads of flavor into every bite. Fellow San Diego–area brewers refer to them as “The best tacos between here and Tijuana”—but the beer they brew here is anything but an afterthought.

Eight medals in four years at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festical—in competitive categories such as hazy pale ale, American IPA, and international pilsener—are evidence of the brewery’s ambition on the quality side, and they’ve modified both classic and modern brewing techniques to serve their flavor and aroma goals.

In this episode, Masoner discusses:

• abandoning a “no core beer” policy to keep customers happy
  
• brewing Mexican-style dark lager with dry yeast and vorlauf-only dark malts
  
• mitigating sulfur production with 34/70 yeast
  
• Australian-inspired XPA design without Southern Hemisphere hops
  
• using Mosaic at different times for different effects in West Coast IPA
  
• knockout hopping to find the true heart of new varieties
  
• pinpointing flavors through dry hopping
  
• building a team-wide winning mindset
  

And more.

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