I haven't commented in a while, but have continued to follow the thread and brew a slightly amended recipe of post 1418. I am 15 batches in. I am posting my key learnings just in case it may help someone else.
RECIPE
> Totally agree with Braufessor, 1318 is My least fave yeast. The esters it produces are too over powering. Yes, it results in a "juicy" beer but it also mutes the hop flavor / aromas. Same for WLP644. Current fave is Imperial Organic Barbarian (Conan). Am on fourth gen - Attenuation was 85% last batch, Peach esters are subtle but present - ferm temp of 64 day 1-7, then let it rise to 68 remainder of ferment
> For the people that say Galaxy is too overpowering / dank - the BEST NEIPA by Treehouse (Green) is 80%+ Galaxy....very fruity with little to no dankness...
> Sadly, I am one of the small percentage of folks that can taste onion/garlic in Mosaic so the "primo" hop combo of Citra / Galaxy / Mosaic doesnt work for me...
> In combo with Citra / Galaxy I have tried - Mosiac, Azacca, Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial, Denali, and Citra/Galaxy 1:1. ----- Nothing comes close to Citra / Denali / Galaxy.....TRY IT. My hop schedule is now 1:1:2 on the two dryhops with the double dose going to the “feature” hops.
> With the upped dry hops I am at ~16oz hops per batch. According to Brewcipher - 1oz of hops = 0.025 gal of loss….do the math 16oz = ~50oz of volume loss. Now that I account for this I am finally getting full 5 gal kegs.
> I adjusted the grain bill to shoot for a ABV to 7%, seems like the best balance of malt hops (considering the extra doses in the dryhops). Also once I upped the hops - the head gained stability
PROCESS
> Dryhopping both rounds in the primary = more drinkable beer in keg with no appreciable loss in flavor / aroma --- assuming drink whole keg in under a month. Plus less risk for oxidation off flavors
> I have been on a "witch hunt" for a "off-flavor" in the recipe - tried everything, finally figured it out today - oxidation in draft lines. Happens literally overnight. Have 8ft lines of the barrier stuff and still get it. I toss the first 2-3 oz of the pour at beginning of nightly session - no more wet cardboard flavor.
> I use Seidel fermentor with a spout mounted to the top as well. I attach a blow off tube to that spout until day 3 (fermentation almost finished). Add dry hop #1 through the top, remove blow off and seal top spout. (This is my first step of avoiding oxygen exposure).
> At day 3 the SG is almost always 1.018-1.020. I don’t bother checking before then.
> Stalled fermentation? - skip all the “tricks” - go straight to amylase powder (NOT Beano). Amylase works every time without fail, takes 5-7 days to work its magic though. I kept getting crappy attenuation with 1318 (60-65%). Amylase got it to 70-75% every time. Since switching to Conan yeast, I haven’t had the need to use this though.
> On day 10 I add dry hop #2. I have a open hose attached to my CO2 tank, set pressure around 10lbs. As I remove the top spout, I place that hose in the top of the fermentor and leave it there as I quickly pour in the hops. (Got this idea from growler filling stations). I reseal the top then attach the hose to the BOTTOM spout open it up and bubble in some CO2 from the bottom to pressurize the fermentor back. (step 2 of avoiding oxygen)
> After two days dry hop # 2, I cold crash at 40 degree. The pressure that was introduced in the previous step stabilizes the air pressure after cooling. .
> To purge keg I fill completely with sanitized water and then pour out entire keg through draft line (simultaneously cleaning draft lines). I do use a lot of CO2 but no oxygen hits my beer. Once the keg “blows”, I detach it from the lines and set it upside down for about 30min to allow the sanitizer foam to settle. I pick it up, leaving it upside down and pull the pressure release valve. This blows all of the remaining sanitizer liquid out of the PRV. I hold open until nothing but gas escapes (step 3 of avoiding oxygen)
> Closed transfer to keg, attach CO2 hose to top spout turn on the gas then open top spout, attach transfer line from bottom spout to “out” line of keg then open bottom spout (step 4 of avoiding oxygen)
EQUIPMENT
> I use the clear draught system and love it. By the time the beer is chilled and carbed up I am pouring “clear” beer from first pint to the last
> I brew with the Grainfather system. I use an aluminum heat wand to warm sparge water and then drop it in the boil to make it more vigorous. I use a large diameter (8”
hop spider. I stuff stainless steel scrubber inside the pump filter because the black stopper always pops off.