Hops & Grain Brewery to release 12 versions of same IPA this year to showcase hops diversity

The latest year-round can release from Hops & Grain Brewery, the Greenhouse IPA, hit select retail shelves on Jan. 13 in Texas and feature a couple of fun wrinkles for craft beer fans. After brewing more than 18 different versions of an IPA over the past two years in the brewery’s Greenhouse 3-barrel (bbl) pilot system, owner Josh Hare decided upon the canned version, a light copper-hued IPA with a grain bill that delivers a hefty, lasting foam head and just a hint of malt flavor to balance out the generous hopping.

This IPA, however, is unlike any other, as every month Hops & Grain will release the brew to the marketplace with a very noticeable change in aroma and flavor. In an industry where consistency is key, this variance is intentional and is strictly due to the fact that the H&G team will use different hop varieties for each release of the Greenhouse IPA.

One release per month, 300 cases per release, 12 releases per year — with each smelling and tasting different from the last. This is a tribute to the versatility of one of Hops & Grain’s favorite plants. And fans must act quickly to snag each release, as the most each account will receive is ten cases.

“We are very excited to finally release an IPA in a can,” said owner Josh Hare. “The beer weighs in at 7.6 percent ABV and roughly 55 IBU’s. Our first release will showcase a fairly new hop variety called Mosaic, full of intense grapefruit, earth and just the right amount of dank. We also blended in small amounts of Meridian and Nugget to help add some juiciness. We’ve been advocates of hops since day one at Hops & Grain and since we have a hard time deciding which one we like the best, we decided to create an IPA series that celebrates the wondrous contributions that different hop varieties provide. Each release will showcase different hop varieties while maintaining the exact same grain bill, water profile, yeast strain and kettle hop additions. The only change we make for each release is with dry-hopping that is done after fermentation causing each release to be dynamically different in flavor and aroma.”

But wait, there is more! To learn more about the specific hop varieties used and the intention for their use, Hops & Grain developed a cool webpage dedicated to just that. A QR code will grace each can, where folks can scan the image on their smartphones and subsequently be taken directly to the Greenhouse IPA site, allowing them to discover more about each release. And if fans can’t get their hands on the first release, fear not, another style will be released within 30 days of the first.