472: XPA Sensei Scotty Hargrave and Medal-Winning Grasshopper Blake Masoner Go Extra Deep on Extra Pale Ale
About this episode
Scotty Hargrave and Blake Masoner discuss the intricacies of brewing Extra Pale Ale and its impact on the craft beer scene.
Scotty Hargrave didn’t invent extra-pale ale—he reinvented it, giving the style the definition it had lacked before. Tinkering away on his homebrew kit in New South Wales, he developed the recipe for what would become Balter XPA—a beer that took off and popularized what has arguably become Australia’s signature beer style. It’s also a beer that also has inspired certain American brewers, including Craft Coast cofounder Blake Masoner. Craft Coast XPA medaled at the 2024 and 2025 World Beer Cups and is now a core beer at their two brewpubs/taco stands in San Diego’s North County. In this episode, Craft Beer & Brewing executive editor Joe Stange—interviewing them for a feature article in our upcoming issue—gathers Hargrave and Masoner for a trans-oceanic dive into the details of what makes a great XPA. With its lean malt base, full-spectrum hop character, soft mouthfeel, and addictively dry finish, it’s a simple beer that may not be so simple to execute. Among the topics they discuss: why they believe in Australian base malt for XPA the importance of hot-side hop additions—from first wort to whirlpool—and “spreading out” those IBUs water chemistry and the trick of achieving both…
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