ANYTHING by Aslin

[dirty_martini]

I've been dry hopping at 50 for about 6 months now and I don't think I will ever go back. Cool enuf to flocc out the yeast and get a thick slurry, warm enough to extract the oils, and we tend not to see the amount of hop burn or duration in our IPAs.

I dry hop at 55 for only 2-3 days and always have plenty of flavor and aroma. And I always dry hop after fermentation has been done and I’ve dropped the yeast. I’ve also never had an issue with hop creep with the cooler dry hop.

 

[Dgallo]

they churn out a ton of beers. Even before they move facilities, they were releasing 3-4 beers a week. They all have huge hop rates...I’d say minimum 4-5#bbl dry hop and likely upwards of 10# when they get to their triples. The fact they release so many tells me they aren’t taking much time to condition them either. Using the greenness to mean “fresh” when it’s really overhopped and underconditioned. I’ve never gotten the chunky beers from them so I’m sure it’s not trub and yeast. Just young beer

I dryhop at 4lb barrel and I have zero hop burn. Last beer was with Galaxy and Nelson and still no hopburn, so it’s process more than ingredients, as @skibb suggested.

I’d honestly be surprised in their triples if they use 10. I’d call 7lb/bbl the extreme maximum of actual t90/t45 pellets. Otherwise the 30% in volume loss wouldn’t make the beer profitable. If they are claiming higher than that it’s probably with hop products, just as other half does. However that’s Exactly why I’m still suggesting to visit the NE ipa thread on here. Many knowledgeable Homebrewers in that thread. Either way, cheers!

 

[TheHairyHop]

funny you say this as them going downhill. I haven’t lived in DC for 2.5 years. I lived right by Nats stadium when they did the beer garden next door. Their IPAs ALWAYSSSSSSSS had too much hop burn. That was literally the only thing I used to describe their beers. When I drove out to VA I just skipped them and went to Ocelot and Solace. When I moved to Houston and tried Spindletap, I started calling them the Aslin of the South simply because every hazy IPA burned for 6-8 weeks before they were drinkable, yet like Aslin had all the “hype”

I must have caught them in the sweet spot. Fortunately, I never got hop burn from any of their releases. I think that some of these posts are missing something here. There's no need to go over the basics (I guess it depends on your definition) of brewing a NEIPA. Aslin was/are doing something specific to their IPAs to get the flavor profile that I was tasting. That's what I'm trying to achieve. I would assume it's most likely a specific yeast choice, but at this point, who knows. 100+ generations of vermont ale sounds fishy to me, but there could be some truth to it.

 

[dirty_martini]

I dryhop at 4lb barrel and I have zero hop burn. Last beer was with Galaxy and Nelson and still no hopburn, so it’s process more than ingredients, as @skibb suggested.

I’d honestly be surprised in their triples if they use 10. I’d call 7lb/bbl the extreme maximum of actual t90/t45 pellets. Otherwise the 30% in volume loss wouldn’t make the beer profitable. If they are claiming higher than that it’s probably with hop products, just as other half does. However that’s Exactly why I’m still suggesting to visit the NE ipa thread on here. Many knowledgeable Homebrewers in that thread. Either way, cheers! View attachment 712819

I know a couple of brewers down here in Texas that were taking it to the 10#/bbl volume. Hop burn galore and of course even in low cost rural Texas they were charging $24-26/4pk. Bonkers.

I never go above 3# for anything below 8%, maybe up to 4# on doubles but I rarely brew those anyway. If I brew a hoppy beer over 7%, it was a special request. Generally the burn is the combo of huge hops and same day canning. At the brewery I work, they won’t can if any burn is still there, and usually even with a hop notorious for it like galaxy, an extra day or two in the bright tank and it’s fine. Talk to most brewers and they will say the beer hits its stride after 2-3 weeks in the can. The beers just need some time to come together and really homogenize and integrate. Too many breweries are chasing that dollar so they pump them out so quick the beers don’t have a chance to lose that greenness before packaging

 

[dirty_martini]

I must have caught them in the sweet spot. Fortunately, I never got hop burn from any of their releases. I think that some of these posts are missing something here. There's no need to go over the basics (I guess it depends on your definition) of brewing a NEIPA. Aslin was/are doing something specific to their IPAs to get the flavor profile that I was tasting. That's what I'm trying to achieve. I would assume it's most likely a specific yeast choice, but at this point, who knows. 100+ generations of vermont ale sounds fishy to me, but there could be some truth to it.

100 generations sounds fishy to anyone. Sounds like the statement of someone trying to make themselves sound more special than they are...and honestly between podcasts I’ve heard and rumors about ownership, they’ve always come off a bit arrogant so I’m not surprised. If anything I could imagine they work with one of the local yeast banks to culture the yeast from a specific generation they like. I know another VA/DC area brewer that has a specific generation of a couple yeasts that their yeast provider builds up. The benefits of professional volumes.

 

[mashpaddled]

100 generations sounds fishy to anyone. Sounds like the statement of someone trying to make themselves sound more special than they are...and honestly between podcasts I’ve heard and rumors about ownership, they’ve always come off a bit arrogant so I’m not surprised. If anything I could imagine they work with one of the local yeast banks to culture the yeast from a specific generation they like. I know another VA/DC area brewer that has a specific generation of a couple yeasts that their yeast provider builds up. The benefits of professional volumes.

This isn't a brewery I want to carry water for but they may be telling the truth about the yeast. Some strains hold up better to repeat pitching better than others. It's not uncommon for breweries using English strains (e.g. WY1318/London Ale III) for dozens of generations, especially if they are top cropping and getting really healthy yeast every time. A lot of these haze factories are putting out new IPAs or new batches of recipes several times per week which means 1-3 generations in a week. They may well be top cropping from one batch to the next or running a bioreactor constantly building new pitches. If you dump two beers per week that could be 100 generations in one year.

To whatever extent the yeast is evolving in an undesirable way, a lot of that is going to be covered up by massive amounts of hops and the push to drink these beers fresh where fermentation characteristics are more likely to be covered up by hops. One of the problems you get with yeast mutation can be poor flocculation which would be helpful with creating haze in these beers.

 

[MaCheFai]

Looking back on an old instagram post of mine, when I used to bike out to their orig Herndon location (and could actually pull up a stool there), my 4 fav's were: 2x Orange Starfish, Laser Raptors, Bringing Sexy Back, and Stellar Parallax. And what's funny to me is, even 5 years later, those original recipes are still my fav's. Some of their more recent ones they put out are just... too much. IMHO, these days it seems they're pushing the limits of what's enjoyable in an IPA, just because that's become their "thing". The more IBU, the more ABV, the better. And for me, they lost sight of the subtly of their craft. For me, some of the other breweries mentioned above are better because of those subtle nuances of their beer. It's not just a punch in the face, you can actually distinguish subtle flavors. And to me, that's what sets TH, Trillium, Bissell, Triple Crossing, Veil and others apart. Although in all fairness, they're still the best here in NoVa(aside from maybe a few of Ocelot's). So I'm not complaining or bashing, just thought it was an interesting observation on their flagship beers vs their more recent concoctions.

 

[DiscDuffer]

No way you can get that much burn any other way, unless you literally transferring trub through the canner

They have more sediment than any beer I have ever had. Not even my first bottled beers had this much.

 

[Dgallo]

Just saw this posted in one of the beer groups I’m part of..... yes tht came out of the can. Well had to be squeezed out.

 

[GrogNerd]

peanut butter?

Just saw this posted in one of the beer groups I’m part of..... yes tht came out of the can. Well had to be squeezed out. View attachment 714721

 

[Pappers_]

@TheHairyHop Don't let the old-fart stick-in-the-muds get to you LOL. I say that as an old-fart stick-in-the-mud who doesn't particularly enjoy the NEIPAs and hazy IPAs (and don't get me started on pastry stouts or fruited kettle sours). I am definitely old school in my personal brewing and preference for dry and bitter IPAs. That being said, I can appreciate NEIPAs (I especially like it when I come across one that has that velvet, soft, rounded malt character) and there is an entire generation of people who love them. It wasn't that long ago that traditionalists were complaining about the IBU bomb IPAs (that I love). To each their own - you are in good company in loving this style and glad you found a local brewery that makes them the way you like.

 

[TheHairyHop]

Looking back on an old instagram post of mine, when I used to bike out to their orig Herndon location (and could actually pull up a stool there), my 4 fav's were: 2x Orange Starfish, Laser Raptors, Bringing Sexy Back, and Stellar Parallax. And what's funny to me is, even 5 years later, those original recipes are still my fav's. Some of their more recent ones they put out are just... too much. IMHO, these days it seems they're pushing the limits of what's enjoyable in an IPA, just because that's become their "thing". The more IBU, the more ABV, the better. And for me, they lost sight of the subtly of their craft. For me, some of the other breweries mentioned above are better because of those subtle nuances of their beer. It's not just a punch in the face, you can actually distinguish subtle flavors. And to me, that's what sets TH, Trillium, Bissell, Triple Crossing, Veil and others apart. Although in all fairness, they're still the best here in NoVa(aside from maybe a few of Ocelot's). So I'm not complaining or bashing, just thought it was an interesting observation on their flagship beers vs their more recent concoctions.

Sitting at that bar and having Laser Raptors and BSB was just a good time. I had been hesitant to try them out, because about 1/3 reviews was complaining about yeast sludge or hop burn, but I never got anything except great IPAs. I think that, a lot of the time, people can hope that there's just one trick that gets something to attain a particularly good status. However, it's often a bunch of little things, skill, and good ingredients/materials. BSB is just straight mosaic, if I recall. So, maybe I'll just go with VT yeast, 100% mosaic, and a lot of the tricks I've learned to make a decent IPA. It'll probably never taste the same to me, but, since I'm in CO and Aslin seems to be spotty atm, I might be stuck with just the experience of my memories

 

[TheHairyHop]

@TheHairyHop Don't let the old-fart stick-in-the-muds get to you LOL. I say that as an old-fart stick-in-the-mud who doesn't particularly enjoy the NEIPAs and hazy IPAs (and don't get me started on pastry stouts or fruited kettle sours). I am definitely old school in my personal brewing and preference for dry and bitter IPAs. That being said, I can appreciate NEIPAs (I especially like it when I come across one that has that velvet, soft, rounded malt character) and there is an entire generation of people who love them. It wasn't that long ago that traditionalists were complaining about the IBU bomb IPAs (that I love). To each their own - you are in good company in loving this style and glad you found a local brewery that makes them the way you like.

Aha, I appreciate the sentiments. For better or worse, I've grown a bit accustomed to experiencing more opinions than on topic advice at times