Crafting a Balanced West Coast IPA with Emphasis on Bitterness and Dry Hopping

This week’s podcast is a roundtable discussion with three leading voices in West Coast IPA—Kelsey McNair of North Park, Evan Price of Green Cheek, and Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River. 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 pilsner or two row pale
• building body with water chemistry to support hop flavor despite the light malt bill
• lower starting and finishing gravities to reflect a more dry modern approach
• adjust liquor to grain ratios to boost attenuation
• using 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 through the hot and cold side for better technical performance and hop expression
• the impact of lower-pressure and open-top fermentation on imperial IPA fermentation in 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.

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