Bend, Oregon’s GoodLife Brewing has been seeing some interesting changes for 2017. Earlier in the month they announced a distribution change in southwest Washington, transferring distribution rights from Craig Stein Beverages to Kendall’s Pioneer / Corwin Beverages. Roughly concurrent with that, news came out that a new head brewer was coming on board—Tyler West, fresh from Oakshire Brewing (and whom Central Oregonian beer folks might remember as Silver Moon’s head brewer).

And today they announced their new Experimental IPA series, Secret Stash—a rotating recipe and combinations of hops being released roughly every two months. They have had the first Secret Stash IPA on tap here in Bend for a short while now. I thought it was simply a new IPA, possibly a one-off, but it turns out they had bigger plans. I believe this is the first project of this type that GoodLife has undertaken.

Here’s the press release:

With the success of Descender IPA, GoodLife Brewing’s flagship IPA, we are excited to announce the launch of Secret Stash Experimental IPA Series, which is going to be a platform for our brewers to make their imaginations a reality. A new Secret Stash is going to be revealed roughly every 60 days and will be our take on different variations of IPA’s in addition to different hops in each batch. But here’s the catch, each year it will be a different style of beer, so get your IPA fix in 2017 because you’ll have to wait to see what we have in store for 2018’s Secret Stash.

Secret Stash #001: This medium bodied NW ale is a bright copper color with an off-white laced head coming in 8.8% ABV. A northwest forest of dank aroma with fresh pine, juicy citrus, with a touch of tropical fruit. Dominant layers of citrus, pine, and earth are paired with subtle flavors of roasted sweet caramel. Secret Stash #001 finishes with herbal tea and bitter citrus notes.

Although it’s still a few weeks away from being released, here is a preview of Secret Stash #002: A light to medium bodied Spring IPA to transition seasons. Using floral/fruity/herbal German and American hops, along with a touch of lemongrass, this IPA will awaken your dormant taste buds while pushing the boundaries of a traditional IPA. Pilsner base malt, a touch of dark specialty malt, and fermented with house ale yeast, Secret Stash #002 will have a pleasant backbone allowing bright spring flavors to shine through. At 50 IBU and 6.5% ABV, you will be able to enjoy a pint… or two… or three while you watch the NW bloom.

Here is the 2017 Secret Stash IPA release schedule:

• Secret Stash IPA #001- January and February
• Secret Stash IPA #002- April and May
• Secret Stash IPA #003- June and July
• Secret Stash IPA #004- August and September
• Secret Stash IPA #005- October and November
• Secret Stash IPA #006- December and January 2018

Secret Stash Experimental IPA Series will be available in draft (1/2 BBLS and 1/6 BBLS) only throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho with limited volume so make sure you try every Secret Stash!

Should be interesting to watch how this unfolds. Pity it’s only on draft, this seems like it would make a great canned beer series.