NEIPA (Pressure) Fermentation schedule

[ninkwood]

I'm looking for some feedback on fermenting a NEIPA.

Given that I'm trying to preserve my bottled CO2 (using SodaStreams as I don't have good access to anything better at the moment), I want to utilize as much fermentation off gas as I can. I'm already purging starsan from my serving keg during the initial fermentation stage and I'm happy with that process. Where I need more help is exactly when to apply pressure to the fermenter.

Example schedule:

0hrs - pitch yeast

12-24hrs - first activity, add keg to fermenter outpost and purge starsan to ready the keg for filling

48hrs - remove fermenter lid and add the only dry hop (eventually I'll invest in a hop bong or other oxygen free hop dropping device, but for now I'm doing open drops during high krausen)

From 48hrs to day 7, I leave the beer in primary and then o2-free transfer to the serving keg. From here, I let the fermentation finish for another week or so, then cold crash and serve a few days later. If I spund the fermenter at some point after the dryhop, I can limit the need for force carbing, and the more CO2 I can save the better but I also don't want to take away from the end product/expressiveness of the yeast.

I've used Verdant and London Ale III but I'm open to other NEIPA yeast strains as well. Does anyone have any suggestions around when to start spunding and how high I can go with each particular yeast?

Thank you!

 

[Beer234]

I've only brewed a handful of NEIPAs but for what it's worth I generally purge with CO2 while adding the dry hop, then let the blow-off open for 5 mins while the wort off-gasses to purge any O2 that might have snuck in. Then set the spunding valve. The idea being that spunding as soon as you dry hop helps retain aroma.

If I'm dry hopping during active fermentation, I might let the pressure free rise or else just top up with CO2 to 8-10 PSI. Generally aim that the beer sits on the dry hop for no more than 3-5 days.

I've used Verdant and London Ale III like this. My general thoughts are that after the first few days most of the yeast flavour has been generated so I'm not too worried about applying pressure after fermentation has slowed down.

PS. I guess say after 48 hours, if you are going to dryhop/spund anyway, you could put the spunding valve on your purged serving keg for a few hours to capture some CO2 and use this pressure to purge the fermentor while you dry hop. The few extra hours under pressure before you dry hop shouldn't stunt the beer I would think.

 

[DuncB]

I have fermented my NEIPA open the first 24 hours, then sealed it up with hops suspended on sous vide magnets.
Low pressure 5 psi on the spunding and wait a further 24 hours ( depending on yeast used) then purged the starsan from the kegs.
Near end of ferment turn the spunding valve up to aim for a pressure and temp match that hits my target vols of CO2 in the final beer this may be 25 psi approx.
Disconnect keg at that target psi and then drop hops warm or cold crashed as per your preference.
Closed transfer at the end.

 

[ninkwood]

I have fermented my NEIPA open the first 24 hours, then sealed it up with hops suspended on sous vide magnets.
Low pressure 5 psi on the spunding and wait a further 24 hours ( depending on yeast used) then purged the starsan from the kegs.
Near end of ferment turn the spunding valve up to aim for a pressure and temp match that hits my target vols of CO2 in the final beer this may be 25 psi approx.
Disconnect keg at that target psi and then drop hops warm or cold crashed as per your preference.
Closed transfer at the end.

Thanks for sharing!

Couple questions if you don't mind. 1) how long can you wait generally to ramp up pressure and still have enough fermentation gas to get up around 25psi? And 2) have you had different experiences with different yeasts when it comes to pressure? I read somewhere on here that verdant still expresses esters well at around 10psi so I ramped to that after the first 48hrs or so on blow off with my last attempt.

I should get myself some sous vide magnets and forgo the pricey hop dropper too.

Thanks!

 

[DuncB]

Timing does depend on the yeast, I use ispindel in my fermenters so have an idea when rapid phase of ferment is slowing.
If using kveik and hot might be 24 hours.
If pressure is over the beer you can use a picnic tap to take samples and with a refractometer this sample can be small.
Pressure does suppress esters so if you want them keep the pressure low or none at the start. Meaning 48 to 72 hours if that fits the ferment profile.
Although warmer ferment increases expression I've not fermented say verdant at 24C and under pressure to prevent the over expressions. I'd rather ferment cooler and a bit slower at first.
Wondering how you went to 10 psi with blowoff, do you mean spending?

 

[ninkwood]

Wondering how you went to 10 psi with blowoff, do you mean spending?

Let me clarify this - Im fermenting in a fermzilla, and I connected the gas out to the gas in on a pet keg filled with Sani as soon as I noticed fermentation had started (had a blowoff setup using the same gas out prior to that, and after the kegs were purged. After about 48hrs of blow-off/purging, I opened the FV and dryhoped then added the spunding valve and ramped up to 10psi.

In retrospect, I think I'll keep the pressure lower in the future. I want as much yeast expression I can get until I taste that I'm overdoing it in the final product. I agree with you on low pressure/temp being preferable early on.

I'm comfortable taking samples with either a picnic or bottle filler that I have rigged up, and both work well enough with a wide range of pressures. But I hate taking too many samples as I'm still using a hydrometer, so I usually fly blind during the early stage. I'm considering getting a rapt pill or similar, Id love to have the info without constantly taking samples.

Thanks for your help!