The Experimental Hops & Process Behind Topa Topa + Craft Coast’s New Collaborative XP

Two coastal breweries have come together to make a hoppy beer with a lighter touch - Extra Coasty XPA is the latest can release coming to a Topa Taproom near you, and to San Diego Beer Week on draft this fall.

The refreshing extra pale ale style is seeing an uptick in demand as credited to Australian brewers exploring the style in more recent years. With a bright, hoppy flavor and modest ABV, the XPA has proven its appeal to a growing audience.

Topa Topa Brewing Co. Founder & Brewmaster Casey Harris connected with San Diego’s Craft Coast Beer + Tacos Co-founder & Head Brewer Blake Masoner to collaborate on a new release, landing on the XPA largely for this reason. Together with Director of Brewing Operations Graham Strong, they developed a selection of hops and explored different processes to create a beer showcasing clean hop bitterness without the hard, bitter bite nor an aggressive alcohol content that comes with other popular hoppy beer styles.

Strong shared that the collaboration was an opportunity to work with some processes and ingredients his production team does not typically use in day-to-day operations, such as first wort hopping. “As I understand it, you choose a hop that may not normally be a bittering hop - maybe it has low to medium alpha acid levels. You then use that hop to ‘build up’ your perceived bitterness by adding more small doses throughout the hot side brewing process instead of in one big burst as would be appropriate for other styles.”

For the hop selection, the team layered functional and iconic hops into the recipe, to make it a truly collaborative project. “We decided to use Mosaic and Simcoe for first wort hopping, sprinkling them in throughout the hot side. Strata and Nectaron were used for our active dry hop, since this style was popularized in Australia, and they are hops from the southern hemisphere. Then we took a page out of Blake's book and finished with classic West Coast hop flavors from Mosaic Cryo and Krush, which was formerly experimental hop HBC 586,” says Strong.

Extra Coasty XPA

Topa Topa Brewing Co X Craft Coast Beer & Tacos Collaboration

Hops: Mosaic, Strata, Nectaron, Krush; Mosaic Cryo and Mosaic Dyna Boost

Malt: Pure Idaho Pilsner, White Wheat, Carapils

ABV: 5%

16 oz can 4-packs, in limited supply

Available at all Topa Taprooms - can & draft:

• Ventura HQ & Brewery - 4880 Colt St, Ventura, CA 93003

• Downtown Ventura - 104 East Thompson Blvd. Ventura, CA 93001

• Ojai - 345 E Ojai Ave. Ojai, CA 93023

• Santa Barbara - 120 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101

• Camarillo - 2024 Ventura Blvd. Camarillo, CA 93010

And in very limited supply at select SoCal craft beer retailers.

Topa Topa® Brewing Co. was founded in 2015 in Ventura, CA, nestled between the Topa Topa mountains in Ojai and the salty shores of the Pacific Ocean. Topa Topa is upheld by a trifecta of values: quality, craftsmanship, and community spirit. This means we use the freshest ingredients, we work with the most skilled brewers around, and we thrive on uplifting and unifying our community. We are a proud member of 1% For The Planet, donating at least 1% of our sales annually to local 1% For The Planet approved environmental partners.

Instagram: topatopabrewingco

Media contact: cambria[at]topatopa[dot]beer