346: 12 West Finds Success in Simplicity with West Coast Pils and IPA

With taprooms in Mesa and Gilbert, Arizona, 12 West may boast one of the coolest “home breweries” in the United States. Its production space is in the 6,000-square-foot luxury garage behind one of the founders’ homes, with roll-up doors that open to a patio with a swimming pool, skate ramps, and a moto track in the distance. Meanwhile, the beer that head brewer and co-owner Justin “Gully” Gullickson and assistant brewer Andrew Cooper are making to feed the two taprooms is as compelling as it is consistent.

In this episode, they discuss their West Coast–style pils, Radial Spines—one of our Best 20 Beers in 2023—as well as their high-scoring IPAs. Along the way, they touch on:

• blending West Coast IPA and pilsner grists for their West Coast pils
• setting up successful lager fermentations with a single-infusion mash
• whirlpooling with Cryo hops
• dry hopping cold for extended periods with Cryo hops
• staggering hop-blend percentages between the hot and cold sides, based on individual hop characteristics
• grounding new-school hop flavors with old-school classics
• brewing IPA with gummi sharks

And more.

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