Brew the Modern West Coast IPA recipe step by step:
Step 1:
Pour 18.35 liters of water into your kettle and set the heating to 65°C. Add your grains and stir well to avoid clumps. Continue until the temperature drops to 63°C. Hold it there for 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 15.45 liters of water to 77°C — this will be used for sparging.
Once the saccharification hour is complete, raise the temperature to 75°C for a 10‑minute mash‑out.
Step 2:
When the mash‑out is finished, proceed with lautering and sparging.
Take this opportunity to add 30 g of Columbus. Bertrand, founder of Draille Hop Brewing, is a fan of First Wort hopping. This practice allows for a more integrated bitterness in the beer.
The hops will remain until cooling.
Step 3:
Heat your kettle to perform a 60‑minute boil.
Step 4:
Once the boil is finished, turn off the heat, let the wort cool down to 80°C, and steep 30 g Mosaic, 20 g Simcoe, and 20 g Citra for 20 minutes.
Simcoe, Mosaic, and Citra are excellent candidates for biotransformation. Their addition at the end of the boil, in the whirlpool and/or in primary dry hop, releases aromas typical of West Coast IPAs: citrus, tropical fruits, and a slight resinous touch.
Their synergy creates a sharp, clean aromatic bouquet true to the style.
Step 5:
Cool the wort to 20°C. Take the gravity reading — it should be around 1.058.
Continue cooling until you reach 15°C. This cooler temperature will allow the hops to shine even more.
Transfer to the fermenter and pitch the 2 packets of US‑05 yeast.
This “Chico” strain is typical of West Coast IPAs and other American pale ales. Its neutral profile allows the hops to fully express themselves. Its strong attenuation also helps emphasize the beer’s pleasant bitterness.
24 hours after pitching, add 50 g Mosaic, 25 g Simcoe, and 25 g Citra.
Maintain a temperature of 15°C for 3–4 weeks. This is the time needed for the yeast to reach the final gravity of 1.008.
*If you have a hop dump port, Bertrand recommends dumping hops between the two dry hop additions.
Step 6:
When FG is reached, add 15 g Mosaic, 20 g Simcoe, and 25 g Citra. After 3 days, perform a cold crash at 2°C.
Step 7:
Once the cold crash is complete (3 to 5 days), you can carbonate.
For this beer style, 2.4 vol. CO₂ is ideal. If, like Bertrand, you are using a Unitank, you can serve directly from the fermenter. Otherwise, proceed with counter‑pressure bottling.
Not equipped with a pressure‑rated fermenter? No problem. When your cold crash is finished, sterilize 6 g/L of sugar and bottle as usual.
A word about Draille Hop Brewing:
At the foot of the Pic Saint‑Loup, in Saint‑Martin‑de‑Londres, Bertrand Bonnery is finalizing the launch of his microbrewery, Draille Hop Brewing.
Like many of us, his brewing adventure began with a first Rolling Beers kit. Years of practice, experimentation, and adjustments followed. Today, with his professional setup ready and only waiting for customs approval, Bertrand has agreed to share one of his flagship recipes.
Originally designed on his professional equipment, we adapted it for homebrewers so you can reproduce it at home, whatever your brewing system!
The name Draille Hop refers to the drailles, ancient transhumance paths crossing the scrublands of southern France. The brewery will offer resolutely hoppy, modern, and aromatic beers.
Bertrand’s Modern West Coast IPA recipe:
The goal was to brew a modern West Coast IPA: a dry, highly drinkable beer despite its 6.6% ABV, with firm but clean bitterness.
I wanted to highlight an aromatic profile dominated by citrus, tropical fruits, and a slight resinous touch, while maintaining excellent drinkability and a discreet malt base.
