Beer of the Week: Shoots IPA
Local brewery consultant leans on connections to extend his company's beer lineup
From the Beer Writer: It’s good to know people in the brewing industry. Frankly, if it weren’t for the friends, colleagues and connections I’d made writing about and working within the local beer scene, San Diego Beer News wouldn’t exist. Ditto CLTVT, a construction-management firm that’s shepherded many a local brewery project from conception to reality over the years. In doing so, owner Chris Slowey has formed meaningful bonds with numerous brewing professionals. And in 2021, when partnering with pro surfer Cheyne Magnusson and San Diego chef Davin Waite to start a beer-and-food concept called Shoots Fish x Beer, Slowey was quick to call on some of those contacts, namely the brew crew at Miramar’s AleSmith Brewing. Together, they developed Shoots’ flagship lager. That rice-infused number has done so well that retailers who carry it started asking Slowey when Shoots would start offering other styles of beer. The answer is now. Starting this weekend and continuing through the next week-and-a-half, the Oceanside-based operation will begin rolling out three new core offerings, including this week’s featured beer, Shoots IPA. Unlike its bottom-fermenting predecessor, this West Coast IPA (as well as an accompanying blonde ale and double IPA) were developed in collaboration with Embolden Beer Co., where it was later brewed. No strangers to IPAs (they release numerous hop bombs from clear to hazy to imperial throughout the year), that brewery’s solid craftsmanship benefits Slowey and company, just as AleSmith’s experience shows up in the Japanese-style lager. Shoots IPA makes for a nice extension to Shoots’ product line while serving as a reminder of the good that comes from people in the San Diego brewing community working together to help one another out.
From the Brewery: “It was important to us to have an IPA as part of Shoots’ core four beers, but we didn’t want a palate-buster. We wanted our flagship IPA to be New School in nature and have a tropical vibe matching our Hawaiian-inspired brand. To accomplish that, we hopped it with Mosaic, Waimea, Strata and Sabro. Together, those varietals bring about aromas of key lime, coconut and tropical fruit salad, all of which are allowed to shine thanks to purposely restrained bitterness. The tamped-down IBUs (international bittering units) also allow this IPA to pair well with the variety of fresh fish and seafood offerings like the fish tacos and poke bowls that we serve at our counter inside Oceanside’s Bottlecraft bar and bottle shop inside the Tremont Collective. A good time to check that spot out will be Saturday, July 29, when we hold our Summer of ’76 Fest featuring live bands and vendors plus the debut of one of our other new beers, Shoots Blonde.”—Chris Slowey, Co-founder, Shoots Fish x Beer