Although we're quite happy with how this one turned out, unfortunately we've missed the mark a little in terms of brewing strictly to the West Coast IPA style. There's certainly a little too much residual sweetness from the malt, so it hasn't got that hop-focused, dry finish that is expected with a West Coast IPA. As an American IPA however, it is very good, though we'd still knock back a little bit of the toffee and crystal malts to dial back the sweetness - it's just a little cloying and distracts somewhat from the hop character.
In terms of colour, it's spot on with a beautiful golden, honey like colour. Comparing it once again strictly to the style and it is a little bit hazy, though we made no effort to clear it at all, since crystal clear beer isn't a particularly high priority for us at this point. It is something we'll look at correcting for future brews though, especially when we start delving into the world of lagers and pilseners that really benefit from some clarifying.
The hop schedule was pretty good, with a fairly restrained bitterness considering the level of IBU's that are in it. The combination of hops was good too, centennial really seems to dominate in terms of the flavour though.
So if you're looking to brew this one yourself, we'd reduce both the toffee and crystal malts to 200g each to instill a bit more balance, but would keep just about everything else the same.
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