MARITIME HOME BREW CHALLENGE

This challenge is an annual competition to find the best home brewers in the Maritimes.

7TH ANNUAL MARITIME HOMEBREW CHALLENGE STYLES

West Coast IPA or East Coast IPA. A portion of every brew needs to be partially mashed or steeped.

WEST COAST IPA

Overall Impression: A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong, pale American ale. The balance is hop forward, with a clean fermentation profile, dryish finish, and clean, supporting malt allowing a creative range of hop character to shine through.

Aroma: A prominent to intense hop aroma often featuring American or New World hop characteristics, such as citrus, floral, pine, resin, spice, tropical fruit, stone fruit, berry, or melon.

Appearance: Color ranging from medium gold to light reddish-amber. Clear, but light haze allowable. Medium-sized, white to off-white head with good persistence.

Flavor: Medium to very high hop flavor (same descriptors as aroma). Low to medium-low clean and grainy maltiness, possibly with light caramel and toast flavors. Medium-high to very high bitterness. Dry to medium-dry finish. Hoppy, bitter aftertaste with supportive malt. Low esters optional. Background clean alcohol flavor optional.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body, with a smooth texture. Medium to medium-high carbonation. No harshness. Very light, smooth warmth optional.

Comments: The basis for many modern variations, including the stronger Double IPA as well as IPAs with various other ingredients. Those other IPAs should generally be entered in the 21B Specialty IPA style. An India Pale Lager (IPL) can be entered as an American IPA if it has a similar character, otherwise 34B Mixed-Style Beer. Oak is inappropriate in this style; if noticeably oaked, enter in 33A Wood-Aged Beer. Dry, sharply bitter, clear examples are sometimes known as West Coast IPA, which is really just a type of American IPA.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.056 – 1.070
IBUs: 40 – 70
FG: 1.008 – 1.014
SRM: 6 – 14
ABV: 5.5 – 7.5%

EAST COAST IPA

Overall Impression: An American IPA with intense fruit flavors and aromas, a soft body, smooth mouthfeel, and often opaque with substantial haze. Less perceived bitterness than traditional IPAs but always massively hop-forward.

Aroma: Intense hop aroma, with stone fruit, tropical fruit, citrus, or other fruity qualities; not grassy or herbal. Clean, neutral, grainy, or lightly bready malt in the background; no caramel or toast. Absence of any malt character is a fault. Neutral to fruity fermentation character. Esters from yeast and hops should not clash. A creamy, buttery, or acidic aroma is inappropriate. Light alcohol aroma optional.

Appearance: Color ranging from straw to very light amber, sometimes with an orange hue. Hazy, often opaque, clarity; should not be cloudy or murky. The opacity can add a ‘shine’ to the beer and make the color seem darker. Any visible floating hop matter, yeast clumps, or other particulates is a fault. Medium to rocky, meringue-like white head with high to very high retention.

Flavor: High to very high fruity hop flavor, same descriptors as aroma. Low to medium malt flavor, same descriptors as aroma. Low to medium-high perceived bitterness, often masked by the fuller body and soft, off-dry to medium finish. The hop character in the aftertaste should not be sharp or harsh. Neutral to fruity fermentation profile, supportive of the hops. Should not be sweet, although high ester levels and lower bitterness may sometimes give that impression. Background alcohol flavor optional.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Smooth, possibly silky. No harshness. Light warmth optional. The beer should not have a thick, creamy, viscous mouthfeel, an acidic twang, or a raw starch texture.

Comments: Also known as New England IPA or NEIPA. An emphasis on late hopping, especially dry-hopping, with hops with tropical fruit qualities lends the ‘juicy’ character for which this style is known. Heavy examples suggestive of milkshakes, creamsicles, or fruit smoothies are outside this style; IPAs should always be drinkable. Haziness comes from the interaction between polyphenols from dry-hopping and proteins from starchy grains, not suspended yeast, starch haze, or other techniques; a hazy shine is desirable, not a cloudy, murky mess.

Vital Statistics:
IBU: 25 – 60
SRM: 3 – 7
OG: 1.060 – 1.085
FG: 1.010 – 1.015
ABV: 6% – 9%