Beer of the Week: Hidden Gold

Quite often, collaboration days – professionals from different breweries coming together at a singular establishment to produce a special beer – come across as straight-up boondoggles. With so much downtime between steps in the brewing process and generous brewers’ proclivity for sharing the fruits of their labor, drinking and shop talk typically make up the majority of such sessions. And honestly, in some cases it really is mostly about friends in the industry hanging out and having a better-than-average workday. But make no mistake, collaboration brew days offer one of the best opportunities for fermentation pros to openly exchange information and learn from one another, and the best collab beers are those conceived with the express goal of two brewers tackling something new together or one sharing a special technique with the other. Such was the case when North Park Beer Co. Brewmaster Kelsey McNair visited his counterpart at Pure Project Brewing, Winslow Sawyer, to help conjure a hazy IPA using Citra Incognito. An all-natural hop extract imparting all the fruity characteristics of Citra hops without any of the green matter, this modern-era product is typically introduced during the brewing process. But as McNair and his team have learned through experimentation at their facility, Incognito extract can also be successfully added during the fermentation process. Interested in going that route, Sawyer invited his beer bud to Pure Project’s Vista HQ, where they cooked up this week’s featured beer, Hidden Gold.  This “murky” IPA (Pure Project’s preferred term for their New England-style hazies) delivers bright aromas of tangerine and gooseberry, followed by orange sherbet on the palate and a mildly bitter, pithy finish. It’s a full-fledged citrus sensory experience that would likely hit different (and not near as comprehensively) were it not for those cold-side Incognito additions. There’s no doubt about it, this was an educational meeting of the minds in which useful knowledge was shared for the betterment of Pure Project’s beers and those who enjoy them. That said, I’m sure plenty of beer was consumed and a good time was had by all. Both things can be true.

Hidden Gold is the first beer we’ve made using Citra Incognito, a highly concentrated hop extract that’s typically applied on the hot side of the brewing process. Kelsey at North Park pioneered using it on the cold side during fermentation, and we were excited to use that method in our new collab. By skipping the boil and adding it cold, we preserved more of the extract’s delicate aromatics and avoided some of the harsh bitterness that can come with hot-side additions. The result is a beer with saturated hop flavor, a soft mouthfeel and a fuller body that really pulls everything together. It’s amazing how versatile these modern hop products can be when used creatively and with intention.”

Winslow Sawyer, Co-founder & Brewer, Pure Project Brewing

Pure Project Brewing’s tasting rooms are located at 1305 Hotsprings Way in Vista; 2825 State Street in Carlsbad; 9030 Kenamar Drive, Suite 308, in Miramar; 2867 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park; and 2865 Fifth Avenue in Bankers Hill