Recipes: Tropical Mist & 2112

As part of our San Diego Homebrew Summer program, every Monday between now and the end of August, San Diego Beer News will publish homebrew-scaled recipes for beers professionally produced by craft breweries throughout the county. This week, agriculturally focused and environmentally conscious Pure Project Brewing is sharing the recipe for a citrus-infused blonde ale from its core lineup, Tropical Mist. Replete with local ingredients and steeped in technique, it’s a libational lesson in recipe form. So, too, is this week’s contribution from Linda Visa’s Home Brew Mart, 2112, the recipe for a highly reliable West Coast IPA that will work with any blend of hops you choose to fortify it with. Scroll down for the stories behind these beers as well as recipes from the source.

Tropical Mist Citrus Blonde Ale

Q&A with Pure Project Brewing Partner & Chief Production Officer Winslow Sawyer

Why did you decide to share this particular recipe?

I believe Tropical Mist fully embodies the Pure Project ethos and story. This beer is inspired by our roots in Costas Rica, uses California-grown-and-malted grain and features San Diego’s local, organic agriculture. The beer follows our desire to create sunshine beers–light, fruity and drinkable–to enjoy with friends and pair with the amazing weather we have here in San Diego.

What are some tips you have when it comes to recreating this recipe?

Have fun. Beer made with love tastes the best!

Please share some fond memories from your homebrewing days?

For my senior thesis in college, my brew partner and I drove all over the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area interviewing breweries about their sustainability practices in their brewing processes and operations. It was eye-opening seeing how different every brewer was and how each one had a different approach to making beer in their own style. This inspired me to find my own voice in my beer-making.

How did homebrewing lead you to want to make brewing your career?

Through homebrewing I realized that the brewing combined all of my passions; chemistry, biology, agriculture, community, engineering and history. 

2112 West Coast IPA

A summary from Home Brew Mart Assistant Manager Derek Lauridsen

Our resident vinyl aficionado named this IPA series shortly after the passing of Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the band Rush. The base recipe was created for our classes to give us an opportunity to brew a consistent and simple West Coast IPA with which we could experiment. The extract recipe uses Citra bittering hops, an addition of corn sugar and no steeping grains to produce a crisp IPA base upon which to add whatever hops we feel like!

San Diego Homebrew Summer is brought to you by our partners at Ballast Point Brewing, and you can find all of the ingredients to make this pair of beers at Home Brew Mart.