“That’s a picture of my house on the can,” says Diane Gooding, who represents the sixth generation to run her family’s hop farm in Parma, Idaho.
The can holds an IPA named for her farm and brewed with hops that grew on it—including a new variety named Vera.
“They grow some of the most amazing hops on the planet, and we’re fortunate to be able to work with them,” says Conor Brown, owner and brewer at Offset Bier in Park City, Utah. “This beer highlights the newest public variety, Vera, as well as Gooding Farms Citra and Idaho Gem. While only 5 percent ABV, you’d never know by drinking it.”
Offset’s Gooding Farms beer won gold at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival, beating out 61 other entries in an unusual category for beers that showcase the newly named Vera. (Industry All Access subscribers can read more about that here.)
Brown also won gold in the Session IPA category for Offset Oros, just as he did in 2024 for Offset Divi. Also last year, Craft Beer & Brewing’s editors named Offset Dopo one of our Top 20 Beers in 2024. All three of those beers, like this one, were IPAs of 5 percent ABV—what Brown calls LIPAs or “Lie-PAs” because many drinkers would expect IPAs with this much character to have a higher ABV. (For much more about Brown’s approach to these beers, be sure to check out CB&B Podcast Episode 403, as well as his notes below the recipe.)
The USDA and Hop Research Council announced Vera’s name and official release in June. (As an experimental variety, it was known as HRC-003 and W1108-333.) Because it’s a public hop, not proprietary, any U.S. farmer can grow it without having to pay royalties. The hop’s namesake is Vera Katherine Charles, a mycologist who was one of the first women to hold a position of scientific expertise at the USDA. In sensory, Vera (alpha acids 5–6%, beta 4–5%, total oils 1.3 ml/100 mg) tends to express notes of sweet, candy-like fruit, including citrus, mango, pineapple, and peach.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.052 (12.9°P)
FG: 1.014 (3.7°P)
IBUs: 55
ABV: 5%