499: Spyglass Searches for Unique Modes of Balance in Hazy IPA and Mexican-Style Lager

Nashua, New Hampshire’s Spyglass may not have a unique origin story—engineer friends with a knack for homebrewing started the brewery to focus on the styles they were tired of driving and trading for—but after honing their processes and recipes for the past eight years, and growing into a 20 bbl brewhouse and large-capacity taproom, they’ve grown more comfortable tackling technical brewing problems on both ends of the spectrum. Whether it’s thicker and more saturated hazy DIPA, or lean and light Mexican-style lager, their smart use of malt with some surprisingly large percentages of specialty malt helps them find balance whether the volume is cranked up or dialed down. Cofounder John Wagner and Director of Production Danny Sump join the podcast to discuss their approaches to each, highlighting the beer ¡A Huevo!, which recently scored a 98 in Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®.

In this episode, Wagner and Sump discuss:

brewing Mexican-style lager with six row barley and corn

using chit malt for better foam in light lager

softening lager with extra calcium chloride then sharpening with other ingredients

brewing lager without a diacetyl rest

coolpooling Mexican-style lager with Saaz hops

using 40%+ specialty malt in hazy IPA

never bringing hops above 165°F in hazy IPA

pushing higher pH

underpitching while over-oxygenating for better haze stability

And more.