Craft Beer & Brewing Course
Brewing Modern Pale Ales with Cellarmaker
Tim Sciascia, cofounder and head brewer at Cellarmaker Brewing in San Francisco, details their approach to brewing highly hop-driven yet supremely drinkable American pale ales.
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In this 76-minute video course, cofounder and head brewer Tim Sciascia details Cellarmaker’s whole approach and process to brewing these modern pale ales. Among other topics, he discusses:
- how to maximize drinkability and balance in hop-forward pale ales
- selecting the best hops available
- hop varieties and when to use them, from the kettle to dry-hopping
- the importance of bittering hops for structure
- why to restrain your whirlpool hop additions
- advantages of post-fermentation dry-hopping
- rousing dry hops with CO2 to maximize aroma
- using enzymes to prevent diacetyl from hop creep
- yeast and fermentation in support of other components
- finagling some haze from the Chico strain
- brewing brighter West Coast–style pale ale
- building a malt bill to support the hops
- mashing high for sweetness to balance bitterness
- water profiles for hazy and West Coast pale ales
And much more.
Course contents
7 chapters, 22 lessons, 1h 17m of video
Chapter 1
Introduction
- Welcome + Intro to Cellarmaker and its Pale Ales7:47
- Brewer’s Perspective: Cellarmaker’s Connor Casey on West Coast Haze
Chapter 2
Constructing Pale Ale Recipes
- Balance, Yeast, and Hop Varieties6:39
- Selecting and Evaluating Hops5:09
- American Pale Ale: Hops in Harmony
Chapter 3
Hop Additions + Techniques
- Kettle, Whirlpool, and Knockout Hops + Volatizing Hop Aromas14:31
- Dry Hopping Tips: From Rousing to Preventing Hop Creep10:08
- Rethinking Dry Hops: Quicker, Colder … and Better?
- West Coast Pale Ales and Bitterness2:38
Chapter 4
The Other Elements
- Yeast: Getting Stable Haze from Chico + Healthy Pitches4:08
- Malt: The Bill, Milling, and Mashing7:52
- Water: Adjustments and Mouthfeel3:03
Chapter 5
Anatomy of a Cellarmaker Pale Ale
- Tiny Dankster (Hazy Pale)6:27
- New Beer Smell (West Coast Style)5:10
Chapter 6
Wrap Up
- Thank You2:59
Chapter 7
Recipes + Further Reading
- East-West Hybrids and More: The Accelerating Dialectic of IPA
- Balancing Act: The Classic American Pale Ale in a Changing World
- Recipe: Cellarmaker Mt. Nelson Pale Ale
- Recipe: Cellarmaker Kilning Me Softly IPA
- Breakout Brewer: Cellarmaker Brewing
- CB&B Podcast Episode 144: Cellarmaker’s Tim Sciascia and Connor Casey on Ethereal Hops and Hazy West Coast IPA
- Bonus Recipe: Cellarmaker Underberg and Cigarettes
What students say
5.0 from 3 reviews
I've enjoyed Dobis for years and it's great to get some brewer's insight into the philosophy behind the beer. I've found that my own brewing has progressed in the same direction after years of seeking out the most bitter west coast IPA's I'm now brewing a hybrid west coast with a more subdued, 50-70 IBUs, bitterness but an aggressive dry hop schedule to boost aromatics and arrive at a moderately hazy, but not milky, soft mouthfeel IPA. Every section has had some great nuggets. I really appreciate the transparency to dig into the details of times/temps/pH etc. Extremely practical and I will be incorporating several insights into the new brewery.
I found this course to be very informative and inciteful regarding West Coast Hazy IPA production.
A lot of information here, stop and smell the flowers.