Crosby's Kitchen & CocktailZymaster No. 7 Portrero Hill Sour-Mash IPA

Anchor, already a pioneer in craft brewing, moved to San Francisco's Potrero Hill in the late 1970s. In 1993, we repurposed a small corner of our brewery and began distilling whiskey from a mash of 100% rye malt. We call it Old Potrero®. Although we've experimented with beer and hops in the distillery, we've never used rye or sour mash in the brewery—until now. This Zymaster, Potrero Hill Sour-Mash IPA, begins in our distillery, where we prepare a 100% rye malt mash just as we would for our rye whiskey. After transferring it to a small open fermenter, we pitch the yeast and wait. Five days later, we mash it in the brewhouse, using a blend of pale barley malt and rye malt. Then we add the sour mash from the distillery, which lowers the pH of our brewery mash. By introducing sour mash before the boil instead of after it, we are able to create tartness in this brew without sourness. In the brewkettle, we use four additions of Nelson Sauvin, a dual-purpose hop from New Zealand. We also dry-hop with Nelson, which creates Zymaster 7's unique tropical aroma. An English ale yeast contributes dry, clean flavors.