Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

367: Humble Sea Sails the Calm, Clear Waters of Modern Lager Through the Fog of Today’s IPA

Jul 5, 2024

Brewmaster Nick Pavlina from Humble Sea talks about their journey from homebrewer to pro, focusing on perfecting their award-winning Munich-style helles lager. They discuss the experimentation with mash-step times, Noble hops sourcing, and using a less common yeast strain. They also explore the swift growth of their 'foggy' IPA inspired by their West Coast roots.

56:26

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Episode guests

Nick Pavlina

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Humble Sea focuses on perfecting traditional lagers through experimental techniques.

The brewery achieves significant growth by blending West Coast IPA traditions with modern hazy styles.

Humble Sea emphasizes water quality, yeast selection, and meticulous fermentation for distinctive lagers.

Deep dives

Craft Beer and Brewing Podcast Overview

Craft Beer and Brewing magazine presents insights and discussions about making and enjoying great beer. The podcast episode, based in Santa Cruz, California, features Nick Pavlina and Nate Chester from HumbleSea brewery. The episode delves into the brewery's journey from its inception, exploring how Nick's passion for beer, honed at Chico State and influenced by Sierra Nevada's Blondale, led to the brewery's establishment.

Intro

4min

Journey from Home Brewer to Brewery Owner

4min

Crafting a Brewery's Signature Beers from Lagers to Hazy IPAs

6min

Brewery's Journey into Lager Brewing

18min

Exploring the Fermentation of German Style Lagers with Unique Yeast Strain

4min

Brewing Yeast, Malt, and Hops in Crafting Lagers and IPAs

16min

Exploring Brewing Techniques, Growth Goals, and Quality Commitment

4min

The Humble Sea origin story told by cofounder and brewmaster Nick Pavlina is a common one: Avid homebrewer turns pro at the urging of family and friends. Yet that early experience with brewing, brewing, and brewing some more—on a one-barrel system—instilled a discipline for testing, evaluating, and adapting that stays with Humble Sea to this day.

A 2022 World Beer Cup silver medal for Munich-style helles gave them the validation they sought for the nascent lager program—but rather than anchor them in place, that success put more wind in their experimental sails. They continue to tinker with that beer, testing mash-step times and temperatures as well as fermentation parameters, in an ongoing quest to make it as perfect as possible.

Meanwhile, they’ve hitched a ride on the swift current of hazy IPA—or, in their lingo, “foggy IPA”—but they’ve done so in ways inspired by their West Coast locale. The result has been significant growth, and the brewery now has five different ports they call home.

In this episode, Pavlina and brewing operations director Nate Chesser discuss:

developing a house lager style by assembling pieces of various traditions and the practices of brewer peers
changing and adjusting their medal-winning helles despite its success
embracing decoction for both its tangible and intangible benefits
choosing and sourcing Noble hops for helles and pilsner
fermenting lagers with a less common yeast strain
building their initial “foggy” IPA out of a Pliny the Elder–inspired recipe
leaning into their unique water profile
spunding IPA for natural carbonation

And more.

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