Spurred by an empty tank, the need for an IPA and a true collaborative spirit, New York Beer Project’s Head Brewer Jason Crossett set out to accomplish something truly unique with their newest West Coast IPA – collaborate with every single one of his fellow brewers at NYBP, including the head brewer of their Victor location, Ben Elford.

“This beer was special to me as I wanted to brew a beer where the brewers at the New York Beer Project collaborated on,” Crossett says. “I had an open tank and needed an IPA to fill a gap between two seasonal IPA’s so I took this as a great opportunity for us brewers to have some fun and at the same time break up the monotony of brewing flagships and seasonal beers.”

This small batch West Coast IPA is 6.8 % with 65 IBUs. It’s brewed with Comet, Columbus, Simcoe and Chinook hops, and is triple dry-hopped with Simcoe Lupulin 2 pellets (aka Cryo hop pellets) and Columbus, resulting in aromas of citrus, grapefruit zest; earthy and resinous with subtle passionfruit. Malt flavors lend the backbone to support an assertive bitterness and dry finish. Resin, pine, and citrus hop flavors blend beautifully with the malt.

“I wanted to go back old school and brew a bitter, malt forward West Coast-style IPA. I asked each brewer to tell me what their favorite hop was in a West Coast-style IPA. I didn’t tell them what we were brewing or the project I had in mind. We came up with Simcoe, Chinook, Columbus, and Comet hops – all spot on for the style. Resinous, piney, citrusy, grapefruit! Simcoe, Columbus, and Comet came from the Pacific Northwest and we used local Chinook from Vertical Vines. I designed a malt base to provide a toasty malt backbone with light notes of biscuit, honey and caramel. We added our own take on the style to make it unique. It’s slightly hazier than a West Coast IPA normally should be, partly because one of our guys wanted to dry-hop after the first 48 hours of fermentation – so we did! We also dry hopped it two more times.”

Grab some of New York Beer Project’s new West Coast on tap today. And while you’re at the brewery, order a pint of their Tangerine Pale Ale (5.3%), brewed with tangerine/mandarin orange puree, sweet orange peel and Simcoe and Mosaic hops, which is also newly tapped.

Brian Campbell is a co-founder/Brand Manager of the BNBA’s enthusiast arm, Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at buffalobeerleague@aol.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague), Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague) and www.buffalobeerleague.com.