Homebrew Summer: Thai Tea Haze
From 2023 to 2025, Derek Gallanosa and Cyrus Baluyot (pictured above) worked at North Park’s GOAL. Brewing. The former was head brewer and the latter was behind the bar, but their friendship extended far beyond their Brewery Igniter workplace. After GOAL.
This is one of over 20 beers we’re sharing recipes for as part of Homebrew Summer, so be sure to check back with us often. Or, if you prefer, you can Cheers to homebrewing and another fun Homebrew Summer!
Head Brewer,Chula Vista Brewery
Cyrus and I have been friends for a few years now. I was impressed by his dedication to homebrewing and eagerness to learn as much as possible, specifically the tiny details that professional brewers do to improve quality. I chose him and this beer as our Homebrew Summer collaboration after attending a homebrew festival in Long Beach where Cyrus was pouring Thai Tea Haze alongside the region’s most active homebrewers. His beer stood out for the quality and uniqueness, which is a necessity when competing for attention amongst hundreds of festival attendees. We were excited to see how this homebrew concept would scale up to a commercial-sized batch.
Homebrewer
The base for this beer is a pretty straightforward, with Pilsner malt, flaked oats and chit malt for that classic soft, pillowy hazy IPA body. We fermented it with a London III strain for juicy esters, and loaded up both the whirlpool and dry-hop with Citra. The real fun part is the Thai tea. Instead of tossing tea leaves straight into the fermenter, we’re brewing a massive batch of actual Thai tea and infusing it right into the beer during packaging. At home, you don’t worry as much about loose packaging habits, but on a commercial level where this is hitting taps and shelves, oxygen is the enemy. We made sure to deoxygenate all the brewing water for the tea to keep the hop freshness completely locked in. Being back on a three-vessel setup at a five-barrel scale was a big eye-opener. Dialing in the lauter, turning all the different handles to route flow, and especially shoveling out hundreds of pounds of spent grain at mash-out gave me a serious shoulder workout. It was incredible seeing a five-gallon homebrew concept translate to a full five-barrel commercial batch.
Chula Vista Brewery is located at 294 Third Avenue in Chula Vista.