Brewing Eclectic IPA

Craft beer’s most popular style, India Pale Ale, is experiencing a flavor revolution. Brewers are using a wide range of ingredients, from cocoa nibs to coffee, fruits to vegetables, spices, herbs, and even wood, to push the boundaries of the style.

Explore the creative ways these flavors are included when brewing these highly-hopped beers. Try your own version using 24 recipes for contemporary IPAs designed by one of the country’s top brewers.

"There’s no mistaking that we are living in the heyday of IPA," declares Cantwell. Among the most well-respected and experienced craft brewers in the world, Cantwell provides scores of tips and methods for first-time brewers and beer veterans alike to concoct a delectable brew and shares the story of how and why the proliferation of American IPA came to be.
Table of contents (PDF)


Dick Cantwell co-founded Elysian Brewing Company in 1996, where he served as head brewer until its sale to Anheuser-Busch in 2015. During his tenure, Elysian was named Large Brewpub of the Year three times at the Great American Beer Festival® (1999, 2003 and 2004). In 2004, Cantwell received the Brewers Association’s Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.

He has written for various beer magazines, authored Barley Wine with Fal Allen (Brewers Publications, 1998), The Brewers Association’s Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery, Second Edition (Brewers Publications, 2013), and Wood & Beer: A Brewer’s Guide (Brewers Publications, 2016) with Peter Bouckaert.

Cantwell, who has served as an international and national beer judge, as well as the Brewers Association’s Quality Ambassador, recently became the director of brewing operations at Magnolia Brewing in San Francisco.