A New Champagne of Beers: Brut IPA

The world of IPAs has been overwhelmed with juicy, hazy, fruit-laden and lactose-filled variants.

But one of the latest trends—the Brut IPA—takes the opposite approach. Similar to brut champagne, this sub-style is bone-dry and effervescent.

Originating in San Francisco at Social Kitchen & Brewery, this new style is produced by adding  amyloglucosidase into the mash or during fermentation. This enzyme further breaks down the sugar into a completely fermentable form. From there, the yeast work overtime, leaving the beer with no residual sugar. This allows the excessive amount of late addition and dry hops to shine. Combined with a high level of carbonation, the resulting beer is light, highly aromatic, flavorful and bubbly, without the sweetness and bitterness of a traditional IPA.

At Fireforge Crafted Beer, we brought our own version to Greenville this past New Years Eve with the Replicant IPA. This bright Brut was so named for its mimicry of champagne and as homage to the cult film Blade Runner, which takes place in 2019. You guys raced downtown to try a pint, drank us dry and left us wondering: should this really be the end of Replicant?

Six months later, we’ve released the extended version: Replicant, Director’s Cut. We took the dry, bitter-free Brut IPA you loved and introduced a new pair of experimental hops, #06300 and #06277 from Hopsteiner. Inhale the perfumy, floral nose and sip for flavors of melon, tropical fruit and coconut—all created by the hops.

We hope this new IPA gains its own cult following among Greenville drinkers. Considering Blade Runner has seven different versions, this may not be the last time you see Replicant IPA…