Release: Maia Mosaic IPA

As part of our San Diego Homebrew Summer program, a dozen local breweries are producing recipes from local homebrewers at their breweries during the sunny season. The first of those beers to debut will be Maia, a Mosaic-hopped IPA from Ben Cusey, a homebrewer of seven years. His recipe was selected by a pro brewer sharing his hoppy-beer sensibilities…and first name: Ben “Shaggy” Blaney. That beer will debut today at San Marcos’ My Yard Live Beer Co. and be available for $5 a pint all weekend long. Enjoy the following insights about the beer and the brewing process, then head to North County to taste it for yourself!

Maia | Mosaic IPA

Commentary from My Yard Live Beer Co. Head Brewer Ben “Shaggy” Blaney about scaling a homebrew recipe up for his commercial brewing system

I was in a unique spot since one of the first times Ben and I hung out about two years ago was actually brewing this beer at his house. Also, a lot of the recipes I write have been scaled up from my home-built homebrew system, so I have a pretty good idea on how to adjust for efficiency and what not. We talked together on matching the changes in SRM (Standard Reference Method) from the boil, hop extraction and even yeast attenuation, to make sure this was still his recipe and didn’t feel like it was getting hijacked. Ben and his wife Caity, who named the beer, wanted to be here and see the entire process, and were here for the brew day and dry-hop day as well, so if you like the beer, give the credit to the Cuseys!

Q&A with homebrewer Ben Cusey

What led you to submit this particular recipe for consideration?

I picked this recipe, which I originally created on April 8, 2019, because it is what I like to drink as we move into the warm San Diego summer weather. It emphasizes the great flavor of Mosaic hops, but also keeps the ABV (alcohol-by-volume) low enough that you can enjoy a couple pints throughout the day without it taking over your day.

How did it feel having your recipe selected?

Brewing my beer on a system of this size had always just been a wouldn’t-it-be-cool conversation that you kick around with other brewers, so to have the chance to brew a recipe that I am passionate about on such a large scale felt pretty unreal. It was very reminiscent of being in Little League as a kid and getting the opportunity to walk out onto the field in a Major League stadium.

In scaling the recipe up and spending time in a pro brewery setting, did you pick up any tips that will have inform your future brews?

Scaling the recipe up really put the process and importance of different steps in perspective. We decided to slightly lengthen the whirlpool time and add hops to the initial fermentation to get a little more out of the Mosaic attributes that we were looking for. We did a multi-stage fermentation-temperature change that I will definitely be using the next time I brew this recipe. It was also great to get to use the higher-end equipment and see the full benefits of each upgrade for future purchases down the road.

Can you share a fun memory from the brew day?

Working on this collaboration with Shaggy, I realized how much flexibility there is in large-scale brewing. I was measuring out each ingredient and stressing about being an ounce over or an ounce under like I do when I homebrew. After laughing at me going back and forth and trying to measure hops exactly to the ounce, Shaggy gave me a bit of perspective on the actual impact that an ounce of hops has on 300 gallons of beer. 

What are you most excited about with this collaboration?

My Yard Live is one of my favorite spots to visit on the weekends, so I am most excited to be able to grab a pint of this collaboration beer on-tap and enjoy sharing it with friends and family.

Anything else you’d like to share ahead of your beer’s public debut?

I just want to thank My Yard Live, Shaggy and San Diego Beer News for putting this brew collaboration together and investing in the homebrew community. I had a great time working with Shaggy and some of the other My Yard Live staff. I highly recommend stopping by their place to try out some of their other great beers. MYL has a great atmosphere for all walks of life and is a great slice of normal that is so rare to find these days.