McGlothan
Well-Known Member
So this seems to be a new style of IPA that has been gaining popularity recently. When looking into west coast and east coast style IPAs and their differences, it seems that west coast IPAs have less malt and more hop character, while east coast IPAs have more malt and less hop character. How long have west coast IPA's been around? I have been a long time fan of Pliny the Elder but never came close to cloning it. I researched west coast IPAs and found a different approach to making IPAs and finally got close. Basically, you have a lighter grain bill, corn sugar in the boil, and some nice west coast hops and thats basically it. My IPAs have been so much better since I have been brewing them with this technique. I am a fan of west coast IPAs so this isn't a surprise to me, but there isn't a lot of info out there about how to brew west coast IPAs. The best website I have stumbled upon is Bertus Brewery. He uses hop extracts in some of his his IPAs and I have been using them recently. These have changed my IPAs dramatically. Anyway, this is just more of an FYI to people who are looking to brew that west coast style. Russian River, Lagunitas, Green Flash, Firestone Walker, who else?? the west coast IPAs are the best (IMHO) and can be easily made!