Brewers at Sam Adams have reformulated the flagship beer Rebel IPA.
The new recipe uses proprietary hops made exclusively for Sam Adams by a hop breeder in Yakima Valley, WA. The company is calling this varietals HBC 566. It’s brewed with an experimental proprietary hop, called HBC 682, for bittering.
“Rebel IPA now has a more intense juicy, tropical and citrus flavor supported by a leaner body and a crisp, clean finish to optimize the hop character,” the company says in a press release.
Rebel IPA was first launched in 2014.
The 2017 release will retain the original hops of Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe and Chinook, along with the two new varietals and Mosaic hops. The goal was to “optimize the flavor of each hop variety by changing up the blend and ratio of hops,” the company says.
HBC 566 adds a touch of lemon/lime, orange and eucalyptus flavor, the company says, while HBC 682 is used solely as a bittering hop.
“This is the first time we’ve significantly changed the recipe of a flagship beer,” says Sam Adams founder Jim Koch. “As hop varieties evolve, we want to use the new varieties to keep brewing the best beer possible.”
Samuel Adams Rebel IPA and Rebel Juiced IPA will be available nationwide in early 2017 on draft.
