n/a

THE FACTS

Over the years, we have brewed well over a dozen different IPAs. You’d think we were done.

We’re not.

We wanted to brew a sessionable summer IPA. Easy, breezy, yet still with a bite. While searching for "just right," we decided to brew with honey, to give it some dryness and up the alcohol just a bit, and hopefully keep some residuals from the clover and honeysuckle that is this honey.

The honey was procured from Honeyrun Farm, which was fetched from hives just two days before we got our hands on it. Raw, without "benefit" of any processing, we probably should list bee legs and wings as an adjunct.

Because we had an abundance of Cascade hops in the cooler, we decided to brew with (almost) all Cascade.

As you are well aware if you’re a hophead, hops can impart a citrus note along the lines of lemon and grapefruit. We thought that brewing with orange zest would round out these notes. The zest is the "Zee" in ZIPA--Zest IPA.

Now we were ready to brew.

WRITER’S EMBELLISHMENT

Everything you read above is true. We never let the facts get in the way of a good story though, so let’s go backwards as if it’s forward.

This brew was conceived in the days leading up to Independence Day. Having already brewed a beer to celebrate Columbus’ 200th birthday, we thought we could do more.

Let’s celebrate the 4th in an irreverent way, we said. So we started with an orange peel. We thought it would give some zip. It’s an IPA, so ZIPA it is.

What institution deserves a beer named after it? Hmm... "ZIPA de Doo Dah, ZIPA de day, my oh my it’s a wonderful day."

OK, that being set, we decided on all American hops--Cascade it is. Lots of it. Then, all USA malt, with just enough British malt to remind us whose butt we kicked.

And so, with a little reverse engineering (uh, copy writing,) and our tongues firmly planted in our cheeks, we offer a beer we hope is as brash as those creative souls who participate in the annual Columbus Doo Dah Parade, another reason we are proud to call Columbus home.

Though you’re likely to just see ZIPA when it’s on tap, maybe even pronounced Zeye-Pee-Aye everywhere else, you now know it’s full name: ZIPA de Doo Dah.

Writer’s Embellishment: stop