A retro American IPA from the style's 1970s beginnings - cascade hops galore!
[Character]A "retro" American IPA going back to California where it all began. Simple malt character, light color, and a lot of Cascade hops![Food Pairing]Pulled pork sandwich, spiced white fish fritter, caesar salad[Naming]While the IPA was invented in the UK in the 1800s, it was a dying style when it was reinvented in California. Perhaps fitting for America's beginnings, a style largely outcast in its home country, this style became a real pioneer in its new home, and would go on to change the face of beer around the world.[Brewer's Voice]For the second release in our Innovators series, we look to the West Coast of the United States. It is here starting in the 1970s and 80s that the fledgling craft beer industry was starting to use "experimental hops" with piney and citrus-like character. It was this experimentation that gave birth to not only IPA as we know it now, but also all the new varieties of hops that now typify the style.
The hop that gave birth to it all was Cascade. Anchor Steam, a brewery in San Francisco, was one of the first to use this hop exclusively in one of its releases: Liberty Ale. It is to this pioneer that we looked for inspiration for this brew.
The majority of the recipe emulates what the original Liberty was known for: light color, Cascade hops in the kettle and dry hop, and 50 IBUS, which was unheard of at the time. We didn't try to brew a clone of Liberty but tried to keep the essence of what it meant for the craft beer industry. To Cascade we added a touch of Idaho 7 for a bit more depth of hop character. Other than that we changed very little, so who knows, perhaps this beer tastes like the first Liberty Ale that came out of Anchor Steam!StyleAmerican IPASeries6 InnovatorsABV6.0%Gas Volume2.4MaltPilsnerHopPolaris, Cascade, Idaho 7YeastAmerican AleCategoryBeerJAN4589718741048Best Before2023/07/04
