Play Ball! MORE Brews a Hit with Gambrinus IPA Malt
Hello, Fermentation enthusiasts. Please welcome Head Brewer David Ziebell and Production/R&D Brewer Victor Navarro from MORE Brewing Company in Illinois to the RahrBSG Blog. They’re here with us to rap about a recent West Coast IPA they brewed with 100% Gambrinus IPA Malt, a low-color base malt tailormade for IPAs.
The beer in question is called The Great Gambrino, which is a slam-dunk reference to The Sandlot, a 1993 film about several 12-year-old boys who live and breathe baseball and lack adequate supervision. As we all know, beer and baseball go together like the 4th of July and fireworks.
RahrBSG: Gentlemen! How’d The Great Gambrino come about?
Head Brewer David Ziebell: The classic West Coast IPA is always in need these days. They’re not everywhere. It can be a tough spot for some breweries. Do you make your West Coast light, like the super-pale pilsner route? Or do you use a touch of caramel malts? Nicole [Spak, RahrBSG Regional Sales Manager] mentioned the new Gambrinus IPA Malt to us, and I was interested in trying it for sure. We use Gambrinus Munich Dark in a couple beers, as you know.
Editor’s Note: You may remember David from Gambrinus Munich Dark in the Brewhouse, a March 2023 blog highlighting MORE’s series of decadent Imperial Pastry Stouts.
RahrBSG: How did Gambrinus IPA Malt perform in the brewhouse?
David: I definitely wanted to see how this malt would shine, so we used 100% Gambrinus IPA Malt here. We made a 10 bbl batch for draft across our three taprooms. It performed very well in the brewhouse. Our efficiency was great. The husk stability and everything like that were as expected. The run-off was clear. The boil-off was nice.
Production/R&D Brewer Vic Navarro [holding up a fresh pint to his web camera]: We have it on draft. I’m drinking it currently. It’s got a great color to it. Love the results. We used Fermentis SafAle™ US-05 as our yeast, and it dropped completely clear. No need for BioFine. It’s very clear and very bright.
David: You can never go wrong with the standard Chico strain. High attenuation and a clean fermentation profile.
RahrBSG: What kind of flavor profile are you getting from the malt and the final beer?
David: It’s a nice foundation for a West Coast in this example. Subtle sweetness and just the right amount of body; almost like you would see from using a Pilsner malt with just a touch of Dextrin. But now you don’t have to worry about any of those things. I also like how [the sweetness] isn’t so subtle that you’re going to throw it out of balance with a lot of hopping.
RahrBSG: Which hops made it in there?
David: We were able to load up the boil with Citra®, Cascade, and Crystal. We added Eclipse® and Chinook during dry-hopping — nice, classic West Coast hops with notes of pine, citrus, and stone fruit.
RahrBSG: What would you tell another brewer considering brewing with Gambrinus IPA Malt?
David: I would definitely recommend it. It does what it says it does. You get a good IPA profile and plenty of body with the standard single-infusion mash rest. It’s easy, multi-use, and predictable. We went with the piney and resinous route with our IPA here, but I think you could go all juicy hops with this malt too.
Vic: The malt hits all the marks for us. There was a bar patron complimenting us on the beer just now. I really enjoy how Gambrinus is pushing boundaries like this — there’s a lot of effort going on in the background here. As a brewer I would 100% recommend this malt.
RahrBSG: What else is going on at MORE right now?
Vic: We just dropped a beet beer. Belgian, Beets, Battlestar, Galactica. There’s elderberry and ginger in there too.
David: Do you want to talk about what you’re brewing today, Victor?
Vic: Umm. I’ve never brewed a pumpkin beer before. And we’ve never brewed a Czech Dark Lager either. So we’ve got that going today. I have a bunch of pumpkin on the hot side. I was scooping them out at 8 a.m. and now we’re seeing what extraction we’re getting. It’s very fun.
David: We also have a huge fest over here on July 13. MOREFEST. Last year 1,200 or 1,300 people came. We’ll have 60 breweries and meaderies from around the country. Don’t miss it!
RahrBSG: Thanks for spending some time with us, Fellas! Lovely work with The Great Gambrino and good luck with the big party!
Keep up with MORE Brewing’s latest releases, events, and their plans for a new location in Fort Wayne, Indiana – coming in 2026!
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