That beer has style

For this edition of Brewer's Corner I want to talk beer styles. I just brewed our 260th batch, another extravagantly hopped super cloudy New England style IPA called "hop down for what?" This is the latest style of beer to divide craft beer fans, create controversy and excitement in an ever-changing IPA world.

I brew all styles of beer and keep at least 20 beers on tap at the brewery tasting room so there's something for everyone at all times, but the New England IPA is getting a lot of attention coast to coast. Although there are many styles of IPA, for the most part they are divided into two easily discernible categories, East Coast and West Coast.

East Coast style are typically darker in color, usually amber, with more complicated grains and less hops than the West Coast style which is defined by its see through golden color and amazing hop aromas. For a small brewery or home-brewer without filtration, creating a clear aromatic West Coast style IPA is challenging and a sign of good process and balance if achieved.

Now the newest, hottest player in the game is the New England style which can be seen from across the room. So cloudy you can't see anything through them in the glass, some of them, like our latest double IPA "the Southern Cross is real", literally look like orange juice in a pint glass, exciting for some and a sign of laziness and/or bad brewing process for others. Yes, I said laziness, not haziness. The misconception is if your beer is cloudy, you've done something wrong. More recently breweries have been using gimmicks such as adding wheat flour and other things to the beer to give it a cloudy appearance.

I am a purist and I have brewed hundreds of batches of IPAs and have used experimentation and accumulated knowledge to know when and where to add hops to achieve a beer that will maintain its haze, flavor and aroma for the life of the beer. I like to describe it as "using unprecedented amounts of hops at unconventional times" so, hop-heads rejoice, right here in your hometown you have a microbrewery that has eight uniquely different IPAs on tap at all times.

Along with Belgians, fruit beers, hefeweizens, porters, stouts, reds, lagers (hoppy lagers, of course), and barleywines, our Bourbon barrel aged beer program is in full force with new releases every month or so. If you have any questions about the beer I make or the beer "you" make, feel free to come and ask for me at the brewery or you can email me at [email protected].

Local Craft Beer is located at 365 Enterprise Way, Ste G. For more information call 661-822-2337.

Happy Holidays from LCB, Tehachapi.