Recipe: QUAFFbrau

As part of our second-annual Homebrew Summer program, various San Diego County breweries have teamed with amateur brewers to produce their homespun recipes on their commercial systems, then tap the resultant beers in their tasting rooms.

Today’s homebrewer-to-homebrewer contribution pays homage to the Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity. More commonly referred to as QUAFF, this local homebrewing club has played a vital role in the development of San Diego’s homebrewing and commercial-brewing communities, with many local brewers having gotten their start with the fermentation sciences as members of this organization, which has been named Homebrew Club of the Year numerous times and racked up innumerable awards. Two of the most popular “QUAFFers” of all time are Paul Sangster and Harold Gulbransen. The former was named the top homebrewer of the year at the National Homebrew Competition in 2011 before opening his business, Rip Current Brewing, the following year. Despite going pro he’s maintained both a homebrewer’s spirit and ties to QUAFF. When Homebrew Summer came along, he asked if, rather than select from recipes submitted to San Diego Beer News, he could team up with a homebrewer he was eager to work with. That individual was Gulbransen and, together, they brewed a hoppy American pilsner that will debut at Rip Current’s tasting rooms in San Marcos and North Park on Friday, September 16. Get hopped up for that tapping by checking out the recipe for the beer below.

Check back to San Diego Beer News throughout the summer for more recipes as well as release dates for other pro-am beers. It’s shaping up to be a great summer for homebrewers and beer fans alike, and we’re stoked to have you along for the ride!

QUAFFbrau Pilsner is an American-style pilsner that is primarily hopped using an experimental hop referred to as HBC586. We have never used HBC586 before, so we were anxious to give it a try. We thought this was the perfect opportunity to try something new for us in collaboration with one of San Diego’s most decorated home brewers.”

Paul Sangster, Co-founder & Brewmaster, Rip Current Brewing

Earlier this year I was talking with Paul about the upcoming Homebrew Summer event. Paul suggested we collaborate on the project, which I was very excited about. He and I have been friends through QUAFF, our local San Diego homebrewing club for many years. We have volunteered our services in helping host the AHA (American Homebrewers Association) National Homebrew Conferences in 2008 and 2011. We have also volunteered for multiple World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival competitions as well as co-organized many local and national homebrew competitions. So, getting to collaborate on Rip Current’s entry into San Diego Beer News’ event seemed like a natural progression of our long-standing friendship.

As we discussed ideas about the beer, we thought an American-style pilsner would be great for the warm summer weather. Smooth, light and easy to drink. Alex Stevens, Rip Current’s amazing head brewer, suggested we include a different pilsner malt from Weyermann called “Barke Pilsner Malt” with a bit of flaked rice to lighten it up. The Rip Current team also had a new experimental hop for the brew, one so new it doesn’t have a name yet, HBC 586. The yeast was from White Labs here in San Diego, WLP 830.

Brew day went extremely smooth. A bit of Mosaic hops was added to the HBC 586 and the beer had some dry-hopping added later on…we do live in San Diego after all! Due to our well-established links to QUAFF, Paul suggested the name QUAFFbrau for the lager. I loved the idea. I’m really excited to taste the beer. This was a really great experience afforded to me by my long time QUAFF friends at Rip Current. Thanks so much.

Harold Gulbransen, Homebrewer