Triple IPAs are not easy to make.
The hoppiness of a triple IPA is big, brash and in your face. But to give the beer balance, brewers have to create a solid malt backbone that can carry the hoppiness through to the end and support the high alcohol content.
Brewers are also dealing with a varying number of different hops, which can give the beer characteristics that range from floral and fruity to piney and earthy. Get too many mixing together and it can be a muddled mess.
It’s a delicate balancing act and one that can go wrong — not that it ever scared away Sound to Summit head brewer Grady Warnock, who brewed his first ever triple IPA a few weeks ago.
Warnock and Sound to Summit, along with Marysville’s 5 Rights Brewing, is hosting the only Washington Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow event in Snohomish County, on Feb. 9.
“I wanted to really challenge myself and do something different,” said Warnock, who scaled up an IPA recipe for his Spinal Hop Triple IPA.
Including Sound to Summit and 5 Rights, the Hop Mob event at Sound to Summit will feature five triple IPAs made by Snohomish County breweries and two more from Pacific Northwest brewers. The event is a celebration of super hoppy, big ABV beers that make even the most hop-headed veteran pucker up.
5 Rights Brewing head brewer and owner R.J. Whitlow attended last year’s Hop Mob event at The Collective in Woodinville. When he discovered that they wouldn’t be hosting an event this year, he approached Sound to Summit owners John and Stacey Sype about hosting. They agreed to host it, but only if Whitlow would help out.
“We realized that there were a number of Snohomish County brewers making triple IPAs, but no one hosting an event,” Warnock said. “We wanted to make it so everyone didn’t have to go down to Seattle to try these beers.”
Whitlow has been brewing his Full Code Triple IPA for a few years now, but he really likes this year’s version.
“I don’t really like my triple IPAs to be too sweet, so I really dried this one out this year,” said Whitlow, who estimated the beer at close to 10.7 ABV. “You really need to pitch a lot of yeast at it so that it doesn’t create off flavors.”
Along with the large amount of hops, triple IPAs also have an extensive malt profile, giving these beers a high original gravity. (Gravity refers to the density of the wort pre-fermentation.)
Warnock said that he could only make four barrels of the Spinal Hop because he couldn’t fit any more ingredients in the mash tun. He also calculated the cost of making a triple IPA to be about 25 percent higher than a regular IPA.
Because of the high alcohol content of these beers, Whitlow said they’re encouraging everyone to have a plan to get home after the event. Along with bringing along a designated driver, Whitlow mentioned using taxis, Uber and Lyft.
“These are really big beers, and we want to make sure everyone can come out again next year,” Whitlow said.
The event
Hop Mob Roadshow event at Sound to Summit Brewing: The Snohomish brewery, along with Marysville’s 5 Rights Brewing, will be pouring seven different triple IPAs at its Hop Mob event from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 9. For more information about this event and other Hop Mob Roadshow events, which are running through Feb. 11, go to www.wahopmob.com/events.
Triple the hops
Here’s a look at the lineup of beers at the Hop Mob event.
Full Code (RX) Triple IPA, 5 Rights Brewing: Brewed with Magnum, Enigma, Vic Secret and Mosaic hops, this triple IPA has flavors of berry, passionfruit, pineapple and hints of pine. A medium-body and dry malt backbone allows the hops to shine.
M.O.A.B., At Large Brewing: Brewed with Citra, Columbus, Simcoe and Amarillo hops, this Mother Of All Beers, hence the M.O.A.B., is a collision of hops and malt. The Vienna and honey malt gives the beer a touch of alcohol warmth.
Shipwreck XXXIPA, Diamond Knot Brewing: Rich and full-bodied, this triple IPA is aged on port-soaked oak chips to give it a sweet but dry finish.
Zeek IIIPA, Farmstrong Brewing: Made with all Skagit Valley grains and Zeur, El Dorado and Simcoe hops, this triple IPA is also dry-hopped with Simcoe and Citra hops. Flavors of citrus, peaches and apricots make this one juicy IPA.
Almost Made It, Skookum Brewing: Made with Citra, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin hops, this triple IPA has massive flavors and aromas of ripe peach, guava, tangelo and white grapes. The flaked oats gives it a gentle malt body, allowing the dankness to shine.
Spinal Hop, Sound to Summit Brewing: A hop-forward triple IPA boasts a large citrus and piney aroma on a solid caramel, malty backbone.
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