How to Brew West Coast IPA

A classic West Coast IPA starts with a simple, clean malt bill to support the hops without overshadowing them. The goal is to create a crisp, dry beer that lets bitterness and hop aroma shine. 

• Pilsen Dry Malt Extract (DME) – Provides fermentable sugars and a light malt base. 
• Caramel 10L Malt – Adds a subtle touch of sweetness and a hint of body without overpowering the dryness.

Hops are the defining characteristic of a West Coast IPA, with an emphasis on bitterness and resinous, piney, and citrus-forward flavors. Hop additions throughout the West Coast IPA brewing process ensure a balance of bitterness and aroma. 

• Summit (First Wort Hopping) – Provides firm bitterness with a slight citrus and herbal note. 
• Summit & Cascade Blend (Flavor, Flameout) – Enhances citrus and floral flavors, creating a balanced hop profile. 
• Cascade (Dry Hop) – Boosts aroma with grapefruit, pine, and floral notes. 

When figuring out how to brew West Coast IPA at home, precise hop timing is essential. A West Coast IPA is brewed with bittering hops early in the boil, aromatic hops near the end, and dry hops during fermentation to maximize aroma without increasing bitterness.

A West Coast IPA requires a yeast strain that ferments cleanly, allowing the malt and hops to take center stage. 

• US-05 Dry Ale Yeast – A top choice for home West Coast IPA brewing, this strain provides a neutral, clean fermentation that enhances hop character and promotes a crisp finish.
• LalBrew Nottingham - This strain promotes hop biotransformation, accentuating hop flavor and aroma. 
• LalBrew Pomona IPA Yeast - Bred specifically for brewing tropical, juicy IPAs. Produces peach, citrus and tropical fruit notes and creates a stable haze for milkshake IPAs.
• BRY-97 West Coast Ale Yeast - perfect for fermenting hoppy IPAs or Pale Ales, as it promotes hop biotransformation and accentuates hop flavor & aroma. It ferments clean and neutral without too many esters in the finished beer. This strain is exhibits high flocculation, meaning the yeast clumps together well and less stays suspended in the beer.

A stock pot is essential for boiling your wort. When brewing West Coast IPA at home, you’ll need: 

• A 1-2 gallon pot for small batches. 
• A 5+ gallon pot for a full-sized 5-gallon batch. 
• Choose a pot with enough room to prevent boil-overs while keeping evaporation under control.

Temperature control is key to how to brew your own West Coast IPA successfully. Each Craft a Brew IPA making kit includes a traditional glass lab thermometer, but a digital food safe thermometer works well, too! A thermometer helps maintain the right temperatures during different brewing stages: 

• Mash temperature: 155ºF for steeping grains. 
• Yeast pitching temperature: Below 75ºF for clean fermentation.

A funnel helps you transfer the wort into your fermenter cleanly and efficiently, reducing oxidation risks.

Fermentation is where the magic happens! A 1-gallon glass carboy is ideal for small-batch brewing, ensuring proper yeast activity and hop interaction while maintaining a sealed environment. A rubber stopper and airlock keep unwanted bacteria and oxygen out.

A racking cane is used to siphon beer from the fermenter into bottles, reducing oxidation and preventing unwanted hop sediment from entering your final product.

After fermentation, you’ll need bottles to carbonate and store your West Coast IPA. For a 1-gallon batch, you’ll need:  

• Ten 12oz pry off bottles & Crown style bottle caps
• Eight 16oz pry off bottles & Crown style bottle caps
• Four 32oz pry off bottles & Crown style bottle caps
• Choose between flip-top bottles (Grolsch-style) or pry-off bottles with caps and a capper tool.

When dealing with high volumes of hops, a nylon hop straining bag is highly recommended. You want to keep hop matter out of the fermenter and bottles to prevent harsh or grassy hop off flavors. 

The first step in home West Coast IPA brewing is brew day, where you'll extract flavors from grains, add hops, and prepare the wort for fermentation.

Step 1: Sanitize Everything 

Before brewing, sanitation is crucial to prevent unwanted bacteria or wild yeast from contaminating your beer. 

• Mix half of the sanitizer packet with approximately 1 gallon of water in a bucket. 
• Sanitize all brewing equipment, including fermenter, airlock, scissors, thermometer, and yeast packet. 
• Let the sanitized equipment air dry on clean paper towels. 

Step 2: Heat the Water & Steep the Grains 

• Pour at least 2.5 gallons of water into a large brew pot and heat it to 155°F. 
• Place steeping grains in a steeping bag and submerge it in the water. 
• At the same time, add Summit Hops directly to the pot. This hop technique is called “First Wort Steeping,” and helps intensify hop bitterness by extending the hops’ contact time in the wort. 
• Maintain the temperature for 20 minutes, then remove and discard the grain bag (do not squeeze it). 

Step 3: Boiling & Adding Malt Extract 

• Bring the wort to a boil, then turn off the heat. 
• Stir in half of the Pilsen Dry Malt Extract slowly to prevent clumping. 
• Bring the wort back to a slow rolling boil and start a 60-minute timer. 

Step 4: Hop Additions 

Hop additions are crucial for how to brew West Coast IPA at home since this style is all about bold bitterness and aroma. 

• 30 minutes left in the boil – Add the first packet of Summit & Cascade Blend Hops (Flavor, Flameout). 
• 15 minutes left in the boil – Stir in the remaining Pilsen Malt Extract. 
• 5 minutes left in the boil – Stir in 3 1/3 cups of white table sugar to dry out the beer and increase ABV. 
• End of the 60-minute boil – Turn off the burner and immediately add the second packet of Summit & Cascade Blend Hops (Flavor, Flameout). 

Step 5: Cooling the Wort 

• Quickly cool the wort to below 75°F by placing the pot in an ice bath in your sink. 
• Cover the pot with a lid to prevent contamination. 
• While cooling, sanitize your fermenter and all equipment that will touch the beer post-boil. 

Step 6: Transferring & Pitching Yeast 

• Once the wort is 75°F or lower, transfer it to the fermenter, leaving behind thick sediment. 
• Add cold water as needed to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. 
• Aerate the wort by sealing the fermenter and gently rocking it back and forth. 
• Open the US-05 yeast packet with sanitized scissors and add the yeast. 
• Fill the airlock with water and insert it into the rubber stopper. 
• Place the fermenter in a cool, dark area (60-75°F) for fermentation.

Fermentation is where the yeast converts sugars into alcohol and CO₂. 

• Within 12-72 hours, fermentation will become active. Expect bubbling in the airlock and foam on the surface. 
• After the first 72 hours, fermentation will slow down, but let the beer sit for two full weeks to ensure complete fermentation.

After 2 weeks of fermentation, you’ll add dry hops directly to the fermenter. The dry hopping stage is essential in how is West Coast IPA brewed because it enhances hop aroma without increasing bitterness. 

• Add Cascade hops directly into the fermenter through the lid hole. 
• Seal the fermenter again and let the hops infuse for 5 days.

Now that fermentation is complete, it's time to bottle and carbonate your beer. 

Step 1: Sanitize Bottling Equipment 

• Mix the remaining half of the sanitizer packet with water. 
• Sanitize bottles, caps, bottling attachment, and flexible tubing. 

Step 2: Prepare the Priming Solution 

• Mix 2/3 cup of white table sugar with 2 cups of water. 
• Bring it to a boil, then let it cool to room temperature. 
• Pour the cooled priming solution into the fermenter and gently stir. 

Step 3: Bottle Your Beer 

• Fill sanitized bottles, leaving about 1 inch of space at the top. 
• Cap the bottles and store them in a dark, room-temperature area for conditioning.

• Let bottles condition at room temperature for two weeks to develop natural carbonation. After 14 days, refrigerate and enjoy your crisp, hop-forward West Coast IPA!
• After 14 days, refrigerate and enjoy your crisp, hop-forward West Coast IPA!

✅ How to Avoid It: Stick to simple, highly fermentable malt bases, like Pilsen Dry Malt Extract. Use a healthy pitch of clean, high-attenuating yeast, like US-05, which will ferment out more sugars. Add a small amount of table sugar (as outlined in our recipe) to help dry out the beer. Maintain consistent fermentation temperatures (65-70°F) to ensure full attenuation. 

✅ How to Avoid It: Stick to a simple malt bill—our recipe uses Pilsen Dry Malt Extract and a small amount of Caramel 10L for subtle balance. Avoid using too much caramel or roasted malt, which can add unnecessary sweetness. Focus on hops and fermentation as the main flavor contributors, not a complex malt backbone. 

✅ How to Avoid It: Use First Wort Hopping (as in our recipe) to create a smooth bitterness. Add bittering hops early in the boil for strong, clean bitterness. Use aroma and flavor hops in the final minutes of the boil for bright citrus and pine flavors. Don’t forget dry hopping after fermentation to boost the fresh, resinous hop aroma. 

✅ How to Avoid It: When transferring beer, always use a siphon or auto-siphon to reduce splashing. Work quickly when dry hopping, and don’t leave your fermenter open for too long. Keep bottled beer stored in a cool, dark place to slow down oxidation and preserve hop character. 

✅ How to Avoid It: Choose a clean, high-attenuating yeast like US-05, which ferments dry and enhances hop bitterness. Avoid English or Belgian yeasts, which can add unwanted fruity esters that interfere with the crispness of the beer. Keep fermentation temperatures stable at 65-70°F to ensure clean fermentation without off-flavors.

• Add Summit hops to the kettle before you bring the wort to a boil. 
• Allow the hops to steep as the wort heats up, releasing their oils gradually. 
• This results in a balanced bitterness that defines the West Coast IPA brewing process.

• Add dry hops after fermentation slows down (around Day 10). 
• Use Cascade hops, known for their classic pine and grapefruit notes. 
• Avoid dry hopping for more than 5 days—longer contact can introduce unwanted vegetal flavors. 
• Limit oxygen exposure when adding hops by working quickly and keeping the fermenter sealed.

When working with large volumes of hops, it’s a good idea to use a nylon hop straining bag on brew day and for any dry hop additions. Keeping hop matter separated from the beer and out of your bottles will ensure the best possible hop flavors. Lingering hop matter in your bottles can cause unpleasant grassy or vegetal off flavors.

West Coast IPAs are known for their bold, resinous, and citrusy hop character. The best hops for this style are those that provide pine, grapefruit, citrus, and dank resin rather than soft, fruity or tropical notes found in hazy IPAs. 

• Cascade – Classic grapefruit, citrus, and floral notes. 
• Centennial – Bright citrus, floral, and pine character. 
• Chinook – Earthy, spicy, and intense pine bitterness. 
• Simcoe – Complex blend of pine, berry, and citrus. 
• Summit – High alpha acid for strong bitterness with a touch of dankness. 

West Coast IPAs are defined by their crisp, clean, and assertive bitterness. Unlike New England IPAs that focus on juicy hop flavor, a West Coast IPA brewing process maximizes early and mid-boil hop additions to extract bitterness. 

• Use high-alpha acid hops like Summit or Chinook early in the boil. 
• First Wort Hopping (adding hops before the boil begins) can enhance smooth bitterness. 
• Bittering hop additions at 60 minutes provide a solid bitterness foundation. 
• Sulfate-heavy water chemistry (using Calcium Sulfate/Gypsum) enhances crisp hop bitterness. 
• Avoid excess malt sweetness—keep your grain bill simple to prevent unbalanced flavors.

The West Coast IPA brewing process focuses on clarity, bitterness, and a dry finish, while a Hazy IPA prioritizes juiciness, mouthfeel, and low bitterness. 

West Coast IPAs rely on fresh, bold hop aroma, but oxidation can ruin the beer’s bright, piney character, turning it stale or even giving it a brownish hue. 

• Add dry hops after primary fermentation slows (around Day 10). 
• Work quickly to reseal the fermenter and limit oxygen exposure. 
• Purge with CO₂ if possible before opening a keg or fermenter. 
• Store your beer in a dark, cool place to slow oxidation.