In a market that just can’t get enough new experimental IPAs to quench their thirst for flavor variety, Karl Strauss delivers another home run hit with their new single hop IPA. Isomerizer IPA, the company’s latest small batch success story, has just been released as a year-round brew and added to their core lineup. Isomerizer is now available on draft and in cans at all Karl Strauss brewpubs, the company’s Tasting Room in Pacific Beach, and select stores and craft beer bars throughout California.
Karl brewers were inspired by their love of the Mosaic hop and the success of their Mosaic Session IPA, which exploded in popularity during its commercial release in 2015, and decided to further their experimentation with the versatile hop. R&D Brewmaster Paul Segura took on the project as a challenge, aiming for an IPA with a more pronounced hop profile and just enough body to supplement the vibrant aromas and flavors of the hop. The result is an outrageously flavorful, well-balanced IPA bursting with notes of grapefruit and tropical fruit with a subtle malt backbone and a dry, hoppy finish. “Mosaic is such a beautiful hop — the best one I’ve seen come along in a while,” says Segura, “so we wanted to make an IPA that really showcased its full spectrum of flavors. We kept the malt profile subtle which allowed Mosaic to shine through the beer with its flavors of grapefruit, passion fruit, mango, blueberry, and all of that tropical goodness.”
Isomerizer IPA is named after the chemical process that occurs when the alpha acids in hops are converted to iso-alpha acids, which provide the bitter flavor to the beer. It was one of the standout favorites at the company’s 29th Anniversary Changing of the Barrels event amongst a stacked lineup of special releases, small batch, and unique barrel-aged brews.
“While fleeting trends in craft beer come and go, IPAs remain a sought-after staple of the industry, along with the constant desire for variety and exploration. As craft beer enthusiasts themselves, our brewers share these passions and use our small batch program as a platform to get creative and innovate, and in this case, demonstrate their expertise in the art of hop experimentation,” said Matt Rattner, president, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. To learn more about Karl’s Isomerizer IPA, visit www.karlstrauss.com.