HB&B Blog — West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #138 - Two Flints Sonic Muse West Coast IPA

Fundamentals IPA Matthew Curtis Two Flints West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #138 - Two Flints Sonic Muse West Coast IPA

Long time readers of this column will know that I have, for a long time, asserted the fact that the West Coast is indeed the best coast. The reason for this is because I love the taste of beer. I know this sounds like a gross generalisation (what is “beer flavoured”, anyway?), but please hear me out. For me, the two most glorious things you can find in a beer are the twin tenets of balance and drinkability. One cannot exist without the other: for a beer to be truly drinkable, its flavours must attain harmony, with no bum notes,...

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Fundamentals #137 - Elusive Brewing Brave Noise West Coast Pale Ale

Brave Noise Elusive Brewing maa Matthew Curtis Pale ale West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #137 - Elusive Brewing Brave Noise West Coast Pale Ale

It began with a simple question. When brewer Brienne Allan asked on her Instagram stories “Have you ever experienced sexism in the beer industry?”, responses, largely from women and non-binary folks, came in their thousands. It caused a shockwave that has been described as a “reckoning”, revealing a seedy underbelly of sexism and, in some of the worst cases, abuse that has been occurring in the beer industry all over the world. In the UK, diversity in the beer industry has improved over the past few years, albeit at a slower pace than it should. A new wave of craft breweries has...

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Fundamentals #136 — Track x Pellicle Always Trust the Optimist West Coast IPA

Fundamentals IPA Manchester Matthew Curtis Track Brewing Co West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #136 — Track x Pellicle Always Trust the Optimist West Coast IPA

Since I started writing about beer more than a decade ago, I’ve taken every opportunity to talk about the experience that showed me that beer was more than something you simply drink and enjoy. (Although, it’s also worth reminding yourself once in a while that it very much can – and should – be.) When I tasted Odell IPA for the first time in the brewery’s taproom in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2010, it crystallised a positive feeling I’ve carried with me ever since. It’s this that keeps me enthralled with beer and its culture. But how do you carry...

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Fundamentals #120 — Burnt Mill Get The Onyx West Coast IPA

Burnt Mill Fundamentals Matthew Curtis Suffolk West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #120 — Burnt Mill Get The Onyx West Coast IPA

Bitterness is one of the most enjoyable, and most crucial, elements in beer. In my opinion, anyway. When implemented correctly, bitterness sends a signal to your brain, telling you that what you’re drinking is refreshing, creating an impulse response motivating you to take another sip. If that bitterness is in perfect balance, then once your glass is empty, you’ll head to the bar and ask for another glass of whatever you just finished. It’s more powerful than any sales tactic or marketing scheme breweries can come up with. Brewers have known this for a long time, too. Bitter beer sells....

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Fundamentals #100 — Elusive x Rock Leopard Pining For Change West Coast IPA

Elusive Brewing Fundamentals IPA Matthew Curtis Rock Leopard West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #100 — Elusive x Rock Leopard Pining For Change West Coast IPA

I am a pub creature at heart. While I always keep plenty of beers that veer from the exceedingly interesting to the sublimely refreshing in my fridge, draught pints are what satisfy me most of all. What lockdown changed for me is that I now always like to keep a surplus of a reliable favourite in the house for those moments when there’s nowhere you’d rather be than curled up on your sofa, or sitting in the garden crushing a few tins. West Coast IPA being mostly my go-to style, in Elusive Brewing’s Oregon Trail I’ve found a fridge filler...

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