The more I thought about how to structure this list, the more obvious it became: The biggest impacts on how I think about beer, and on how we brew at Pinthouse, didn’t come from beers I experienced two decades ago. Those impacts have come—and they continue to come—from some of my closest friends in the beer world. Theirs are the beers that I have to include in this personal six-pack.
This is a group I’ve been doing collab beers with, and they’ve been highly influential in our brewing style and how we’ve evolved. In today’s context, so much has changed since those early days of craft beer, and so much of what pushes me—and Pinthouse as a brewery—is what our friends are doing now.
These beers and the brewers behind them have helped to shape our trajectory, especially over the past six years, since we started this ongoing group collaboration. They’ve not only influenced how we brew, but—as I’ve gotten to know them as people—they’ve impacted how we run our business and how we act as members of the brewing community.
Alvarado Street Mai Tai P.A.
Salinas and Monterey, California
Mai Tai P.A. is one of the most perfect IPAs, West Coast or traditional. Every time I have it, I feel like I can drink many. It’s beautifully nuanced without getting in its own way. I love the structure of it, and it’s one of the first beers that really taught me about texture in hop character. The oil character of the hops comes through nicely. It’s a beautiful beer that checks all the boxes when I’m looking for an everyday, go-to IPA. It’s a little more approachable than some of the in-your-face, “I want that one drink” kinds of IPAs. This is the one I want to sit down and enjoy by the pint.
Highland Park Timbo Pils
Los Angeles
The first time I had Timbo Pils was at the Firestone Walker Invitational. We were floating down the lazy river at the water park, and Bob Kunz was handing out cans of Timbo. It was one of those beers that blew us all away. It was unique in how it was so drinkable but with so much expression—a bit bigger than a pale ale, but with that lager crispness—it piqued a lot of interest. We’ve now been brewing that beer as a collaboration with them for a number of years, and we’ve seen the recipe evolve while we’ve put our own spins on it—we even won a silver medal at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival for one of our versions. At this point, it has influenced how we brew a lot of beers. Learning that technique and creative approach of using traditional hops through the kettle and modern American and New Zealand hops in the dry hop—it’s a really cool beer that blends the styles perfectly. I’ve never been a stickler for style, so I really appreciate that.
Green Cheek West Coast IPA Is Dead
Orange, California
I remember drinking this one for the first time at Finn’s Manor in Denver while there for the 2018 GABF. It was such a pure expression of West Coast IPA—so lean and crisp. The malt is there only to support the hop expression, with nothing extra. I really appreciate that—it’s a delicate edge to ride because if you get too lean, it can get abrasive, and you can lose drinkability or some of the positive attributes of heft to the malt. But if you start getting flabby with it, it can cover up some of the beautiful nuance of the hops. I remember thinking that this was such a pure expression of hops in a very well-constructed IPA. It wasn’t trying to be showy or fancy—the construction of the beer let it be interesting and exciting.
It was influential for us in how we’ve evolved our Green Battles and other IPAs over the years. We’ve definitely leaned out some of those beers that were originally designed with more malt, thinking we needed that to hold up to the hops. They’ve gotten leaner as a result of this beer.
Cellarmaker Training Bines
Oakland, California
There’s nothing scarier than giving your recipe over to some of the best brewers in the world and having them all brew your beer. But what Cellarmaker did with our beer—and what they do with all their IPAs—really blew my mind and forced us to rethink our processes. We thought, “If our recipe can produce this beer, we need to think about stuff that we haven’t thought about before.”
Their iteration of our recipe showed the beauty in their approach to using hops. It’s so evident in all their hoppy beers—they pull out so much hop character, so much aroma. Every time we brew a new beer in our “Brewed with Friends” series, the Cellarmaker version just has so much aroma. They seem to be able to pull that out more than any other brewer, and it’s really impressive.
Many brewers look at sharing a recipe as giving, but for us, sharing the recipe pushed us on our path forward. I can’t exactly figure out how to do it, but I love it. What they’re able to do with their hop profile in their beers, and still keep them very drinkable, is so exciting. They aren’t just one-and-done showpieces; they’re beers that are in your face and over the top, and you still want to drink pint after pint of them.
Russian River Mosaic Stack
Windsor, California
Mosaic Stack was probably the most influential beer for us when we were putting together our Mosaic Takedown, which won gold at the World Beer Cup this year. We did a beer trade, and they sent some of the new bottles, and the beer just blew my mind. I love how it’s called Mosaic Stack, and it still has Simcoe in it—that’s such a Russian River signature.
It really showcases possibility. Hop texture has been a big thing for me lately, especially with all the new flowable products, and we’ve been moving into using them as different tools in our toolbox. This beer showed us how to use some of the different forms alongside traditional forms to give depth to the palate. You have whole-leaf, you have flowable, you have T-90, you have Cryo—you’re able to get the fully rounded hop experience, and it feels like you’re in a baling room absorbing the hops.
Mosaic Stack has enough body to support the hops without getting in their way. It has a bit more assertive bitterness than we typically do, which I appreciate—it’s driven us to push our bitterness a little more. Vinnie does such an excellent job of selecting hops that fit his profile—his beers always have that unique character, and it’s something that we focus on with the agricultural aspect. I’ve had this conversation with Vinnie: Not every brewer loves Simcoe, but what he selects isn’t what we’d traditionally think of as Simcoe, and it works so perfectly in his beer. This beer showcases his connection with the farm and how that affects what hops can do.
Cloudburst Happy Little Clouds
Seattle
Happy Little Clouds is a pilsner for people who love pilsners but also love really hoppy beers. I love how Steve Luke approaches this beer—it’s always changing and evolving, and every batch is familiar but also fresh. He’s not so precious about the recipe and tweaks it all the time. There are always new hops in it, and he’s playing with contrasts between traditional Noble hops and New Zealand hops sometimes, or new American varieties. During harvest, there are usually cans of it in the cooler at CLS Farms, and I always love drinking it there on the farm. It’s a really fun pilsner that’s also very expressive, hop-wise.
