Best NEIPA hop combos

[Barrelagedvinyl]

Going by some recent hazy's i've had that really impressed me. i really want to explore these combos.
Cashmere, Mosaic, Calypso
Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra featured in Off shoot's Relax which is my favorite of the year. (so far i've gathered that centennial is only a bittering edition for a few ibu)
Galaxy, Nelson, Simcoe

 

[jturman35]

The Sabro/Motueka combo was a serious bummer for me. Both lots of each hop I had were decent but together they were not that awesome. Incredibly earthy... which I really can’t explain. It was rather odd

Did you use more than 15-20% Sabro? If so, do you think that is what through you off?

 

[Jag75]

@Dgallo - I got an oz of that Mandarina Bavaria . I looked at the profile . Gonna do my last dry hop addition with 1oz of that and 1 oz of Amarillo. The tincture of orange peel and vanilla beans smells amazing . I think with those 2 dry hop additions it will turn out really good.

 

[Dgallo]

@Dgallo - I got an oz of that Mandarina Bavaria . I looked at the profile . Gonna do my last dry hop addition with 1oz of that and 1 oz of Amarillo. The tincture of orange peel and vanilla beans smells amazing . I think with those 2 dry hop additions it will turn out really good.

It’s a great combo for orange leaning citrus. What’s your total dh amount?

 

[Jag75]

It’s a great combo for orange leaning citrus. What’s your total dh amount?

I believe it's about 4.5 oz total of dh

 

[Dgallo]

I believe it's about 4.5 oz total of dh

I think that’s a good amount so it doesn’t overshadow the tincture. Going to be a good beer

 

[ttuato]

I think that’s a good amount so it doesn’t overshadow the tincture. Going to be a good beer

please report back @Jag75 this sounds like a great combo

 

[ba-brewer]

My favorites so far are Azacca/Bravo/Citra; and Azacca/Citra/Galaxy.

Azacca/Bravo/Citra was uber tropical heavy on the pineapple, zero dankness (a good thing to me).

Azacca/Citra/Galaxy was very nice, but the Galaxy brought some dankness, which I don't really care for.

So I have hops to brew either one of these beers, but I have some 2018 denali hops I would to like to use. I will be using 1318 to ferment it.

Kind of thinking Denali/Bravo/Galaxy or maybe Denali/Azacca/Citra, any thoughts?

 

[Dgallo]

So I have hops to brew either one of these beers, but I have some 2018 denali hops I would to like to use. I will be using 1318 to ferment it.

Kind of thinking Denali/Bravo/Galaxy or maybe Denali/Azacca/Citra, any thoughts?

I like the second combo a lot. Sounds like it will work great. Maybe even throw some bravo in the whirlpool too.

 

[MrPowers]

I like the second combo a lot. Sounds like it will work great. Maybe even throw some bravo in the whirlpool too.

Seconded. Just straight Denali/Citra would be a good combo too.

 

[ba-brewer]

I use citra quite a bit so was thinking I wanted to used something else but I went with azacca/denali/citra with bravo as the bitter hop and some at flame out.

I was thinking about victory secret in the mix too, but that seemed a bit busy. Or in place of citra but think it needs a strong player in there somewhere.

Still have enough hops to do another version so will see how this one goes.

 

[ba-brewer]

Sort as a joke I made a Zappa Amarillo Bravo IPA not too long ago, if only there was a hop that rhymed with brillo. I did it as a west coast IPA but I think it could work as a NE IPA too.

 

[ttuato]

So I have hops to brew either one of these beers, but I have some 2018 denali hops I would to like to use. I will be using 1318 to ferment it.

Kind of thinking Denali/Bravo/Galaxy or maybe Denali/Azacca/Citra, any thoughts?

In my experience Denali & Galaxy dont compliment each other well. My vote goes to the later.

Also, FYI: Denali, Citra, Strata w/ Conan yeast is my fave combo ever. Use equal parts whirlpool & dryhop.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

What's the best way to not get that galaxy astringency? Use less, condition longer, both? I get the astringency in a decent amount in commercial beers using galaxy and I don't like it. Whenever I open an 8oz or pound bag of hops I really want to go through it as quickly as possible for freshness sake, so a lot of times I'm just using 2 hops, 4oz each on my batches(4.25 gal). Have you guys used that much galaxy and avoided the astringent bite? I have an 8 oz bag of galaxy from YVH that I'll be opening soon.

 

[Dgallo]

What's the best way to not get that galaxy astringency? Use less, condition longer, both? I get the astringency in a decent amount in commercial beers using galaxy and I don't like it. Whenever I open an 8oz or pound bag of hops I really want to go through it as quickly as possible for freshness sake, so a lot of times I'm just using 2 hops, 4oz each on my batches(4.25 gal). Have you guys used that much galaxy and avoided the astringent bite? I have an 8 oz bag of galaxy from YVH that I'll be opening soon.

I’ve had the best experience not getting hop bite from Galaxy by never using it during fermentation Dryhoping and by soft crashing yeast out before dryhoping with it.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I’ve had the best experience not getting hop bite from Galaxy by never using it during fermentation Dryhoping and by soft crashing yeast out before dryhoping with it.

Cool, on my big hazy IPAs I don't dry hop during fermentation and I cold crash before moving to dry hop keg. Have you gone as high as 1oz or more of galaxy per gallon and kept it pretty smooth? I don't know if commercial beers issue is too high of hopping rate or just turning it around too fast which I'm sure a lot of them do.

 

[Dgallo]

Cool, on my big hazy IPAs I don't dry hop during fermentation and I cold crash before moving to dry hop keg. Have you gone as high as 1oz or more of galaxy per gallon and kept it pretty smooth? I don't know if commercial beers issue is too high of hopping rate or just turning it around too fast which I'm sure a lot of them do.

As a HB we actually have a little bit of an easier time managing o2 than most commercial breweries(the big guys that can afford the top of the line equipment can manage o2 pick up) and because of that, many of them are deyhoping during fermentation to minimize oxidation. As you mentioned turn around time has a lot to do with it as well.

I don’t cross the 1oz/gallon threashold dryhoping with Galaxy or any Southern Hemisphere hop for that matter. They all are pretty potent and loaded with polyphenols(become hopburn at high levels). In a 6-8 oz dryhop Galaxy is typically only 2-4oz for me

 

[Rob2010SS]

Putting together a NEIPA recipe and thinking of using either...
Citra, apollo, strata
Citra, apollo, vic secret

My only concern with apollo and strata together is would it be too much grapefruit as that appears to be a strong characteristic of both

Thoughts on those combos together?

 

[Dgallo]

Putting together a NEIPA recipe and thinking of using either...
Citra, apollo, strata
Citra, apollo, vic secret

My only concern with apollo and strata together is would it be too much grapefruit as that appears to be a strong characteristic of both

Thoughts on those combos together?

I love Apollo. I get more of a dank orange profile from it than a grapefruit. Strata I do get dank grapefruit. If you’re really looking for a beer with a nice dank character than I think the first one is perfect. That being said, just strata and citra work great together and if you use Apollo predominately in the whirlpool and not in the dryhop I think it would be great.
I’d go 2:1:1 hotside (Apollo, citra, strata) and then 2:1 (citra, strata) dryhop

I’m not a Vic secret fan at all so someone else who enjoys its profile may have a good ratio for you.

 

[jturman35]

I’m going to change up my dry hop routine on my next batch and report back. Going to skip the whole bio trans hop part and just add hops 2-3 days before kegging. Im also going to try soft crashing for the first time. I have a conical with glycol chiller so this is a breeze. I also started fermenting Imperial juice under pressure 2-3psi just to try and keep as much of the aroma as possible.

My best made NEIPA was dry hopped 2oz each on day 3, 10, and then keg hopped. I seem to have better NEIPA’s when using keg hops. Beer is usually gone in a month anyway.

How do you guys feel about keg hops?

 

[Rob2010SS]

I love Apollo. I get more of a dank orange profile from it than a grapefruit. Strata I do get dank grapefruit. If you’re really looking for a beer with a nice dank character than I think the first one is perfect. That being said, just strata and citra work great together and if you use Apollo predominately in the whirlpool and not in the dryhop I think it would be great.
I’d go 2:1:1 hotside (Apollo, citra, strata) and then 2:1 (citra, strata) dryhop

I’m not a Vic secret fan at all so someone else who enjoys its profile may have a good ratio for you.

Thanks man!

What about apollo made you say to use it in that ratio? Just your experience with it?

 

[Dgallo]

Thanks man!

What about apollo made you say to use it in that ratio? Just your experience with it?

I’ve used a handful of times and whirlpool has always shown to be the best, in the dryhop it’s doesn’t come across bright enough for me. In whirlpool I get a nice dank and orange pith. It’s a great base hop to build upon and the citra should brighten it and the strata should round out the gaps

 

[Rob2010SS]

I’ve used a handful of times and whirlpool has always shown to be the best, in the dryhop it’s doesn’t come across bright enough for me. In whirlpool I get a nice dank and orange pith. It’s a great base hop to build upon and the citra should brighten it and the strata should round out the gaps

Gotcha. Awesome info man. Appreciate it! I think im going to take your advice and go the 2:1:1 ratio in whirlpool and go citra/strata in dry hop

 

[Dgallo]

Gotcha. Awesome info man. Appreciate it! I think im going to take your advice and go the 2:1:1 ratio in whirlpool and go citra/strata in dry hop

Let me know how it goes for you. And as always, limit your oxygen exposer to the bare minimum, its crucial if you really want those hopS to pop

 

[Rob2010SS]

Let me know how it goes for you. And as always, limit your oxygen exposer to the bare minimum, its crucial if you really want those hopS to pop

Yeah absolutely. I always try to limit as much as possible on the cold side but I'l be implementing some of the LODO techniques on the hot side with this one.

 

[ba-brewer]

Thought I would report back that Citra, Denali and Azacca seemed to work out well. Citra comes thru strong in the aroma, but not so much in the flavor, the flavor is something close to pineapple.

 

[sicktght311]

I've been having luck randomly with "Kitchen Sink" hop combinations in my NEIPAs. I've found myself with under 8oz of hops in my freezer that i put together in random combinations and they've ended up being some of my best NEIPAs to date.

So far this was the best one i did (5gal Batches).
Kitchen Sink #2 - .5oz Tahoma FWH, 2.5oz Citra 2.5oz Mandarina in whirlpool, 2oz Citra, 2oz Cascade, 1oz Simcoe in Dryhop 1, 2.5 Citra 3oz Azacca in Dryhop 2

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Looking for my next hop combo for next brew: thinking citra/idaho 7/strata OR citra/azacca/strata. Most interested in bringing out strata dankness. I know what to expect from citra, azacca, and I7 but not as much strata but want the mix of tropical/citrus dankness. I have strata 2019 batch. Anyone use strata lately? What were your impressions? I am thinking equal parts of each of the three hops on both the hot and cold side.

 

[sicktght311]

Looking for my next hop combo for next brew: thinking citra/idaho 7/strata OR citra/azacca/strata. Most interested in bringing out strata dankness. I know what to expect from citra, azacca, and I7 but not as much strata but want the mix of tropical/citrus dankness. I have strata 2019 batch. Anyone use strata lately? What were your impressions? I am thinking equal parts of each of the three hops on both the hot and cold side.

Strata is POTENT, so you need like half of what you would use with something like citra to bring out its characteristics. Dont overdo it with Strata

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Strata is POTENT, so you need like half of what you would use with something like citra to bring out its characteristics. Dont overdo it with Strata

Thanks! Thats very helpful. Hmm...makes me think that using citra/azacca/strata would be better than citra/idaho7/strata as I wouldn't want tooo much of the herbal tea that comes with idaho 7 to make this a dank bomb when you add the strata. So having both citra and azacca that carry intense citrus/tropics would carry this better with the dankness from strata in more of the background.

 

[echoALEia]

Thanks! Thats very helpful. Hmm...makes me think that using citra/azacca/strata would be better than citra/idaho7/strata as I wouldn't want tooo much of the herbal tea that comes with idaho 7 to make this a dank bomb when you add the strata. So having both citra and azacca that carry intense citrus/tropics would carry this better with the dankness from strata in more of the background.

Funny, my latest is a Strata/Citra/Idaho7 2:1:0.5 ratio. The beer in the back is a single dry hop and the one in the front is freshly DDH, so I’m waiting for the hops to drop out. Fermented with a blend of s-33, wb-06, and k-97. So far it smells pretty dank, but I will update you when it’s finished and let you know the aromas and flavors I get

 

[jturman35]

Planing my next batch next weekend. Going to try the largest hop bill I have attempted and also layer the hops throughout the whirlpool.

 

[downzero]

Thanks! Thats very helpful. Hmm...makes me think that using citra/azacca/strata would be better than citra/idaho7/strata as I wouldn't want tooo much of the herbal tea that comes with idaho 7 to make this a dank bomb when you add the strata. So having both citra and azacca that carry intense citrus/tropics would carry this better with the dankness from strata in more of the background.

I made a beer recently with Columbus in the boil and hopstand, and Citra/Galaxy in the dry hop, and it's really good.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Planing my next batch next weekend. Going to try the largest hop bill I have attempted and also layer the hops throughout the whirlpool.


View attachment 664581

What temp you going for in whirlpool @jturman35 ? How you doing your dry hops? You staying with cooler temps this time around? Love the simcoe/amarillo combo though!

 

[Noob_Brewer]

View attachment 664577

Funny, my latest is a Strata/Citra/Idaho7 2:1:0.5 ratio. The beer in the back is a single dry hop and the one in the front is freshly DDH, so I’m waiting for the hops to drop out. Fermented with a blend of s-33, wb-06, and k-97. So far it smells pretty dank, but I will update you when it’s finished and let you know the aromas and flavors I get

Thanks for the input! I definitely want the dank to come out with either Strata/Citra/I7 or Strata/Azacca/Citra but don't want it to drown out the citrus/tropics either. Let me know how you like this one!

 

[jturman35]

I was thinking of starting the first whirlpool addition at 170 and for each hop addition lower the temp about 10 degrees, hold for 10 mins, etc... I do want a touch of the pine bitterness to come through so I may raise that to 180.

For the dry hops thought about multiple additions. First dry hop at 36 hr and second at day 12. May add keg hops also. I do have one oz of Amarillio cryo hops, but not sure where to put that in the mix. May work well in the keg. I usually do 6oz whirlpool with 6oz dry hop but on this batch I want to push the envelope with this one.

My only attempt at soft crashing and doing a short 36hr dry hop failed miserably. Absolutely no hop aroma whatsoever. The flavor and bitterness is there but just no aroma. I do want to go back and rebrew this beer as it has real potential.


Has anyone had Hood Hearted “Did we just become best friends?” Simcoe/Amarillo This beer blew me away and hope to somewhat recreate.

 

[jturman35]

Looking for my next hop combo for next brew: thinking citra/idaho 7/strata OR citra/azacca/strata. Most interested in bringing out strata dankness. I know what to expect from citra, azacca, and I7 but not as much strata but want the mix of tropical/citrus dankness. I have strata 2019 batch. Anyone use strata lately? What were your impressions? I am thinking equal parts of each of the three hops on both the hot and cold side.

I am dialing my NEIPA’s back to just two hops variations . I feel like the beers I have made with three different hops just didn’t pop. It’s probably because I’m not using the right amount of each addition although I typically borrow other people’s recipe. I have only brewed about 9 NEIPA’s and to me this has really been a hard style to nail down. I will say I have high expectations. Really trying to brew a NEIPA that’s as good if not better than the top 10% commercial examples that’s out there. Basically trying to recreate these $17-20 (4 pack cans).

I personally would brew Citra / Idaho-7. After only 2 years of home brewing I’m starting to learn that most of the time less is more!

 

[ttuato]

Looking for my next hop combo for next brew: thinking citra/idaho 7/strata OR citra/azacca/strata. Most interested in bringing out strata dankness. I know what to expect from citra, azacca, and I7 but not as much strata but want the mix of tropical/citrus dankness. I have strata 2019 batch. Anyone use strata lately? What were your impressions? I am thinking equal parts of each of the three hops on both the hot and cold side.

I have been using Strata since it was X331 - killer hop! In the same category as Citra, Mosaic, & Galaxy IMHO. I go through 2-3lbs a year of it. Citra & Strata are a match made in heaven. I strongly recommend the Citra/I7/Strata --- but I hate azacca. Use all three equal parts in the whirlpool, then dial the I7 back a bit in the dryhop - 2:2:1 Citra, Strata, I7

 

[sniak]

With the recipe that took shape HERE, i am trying to get a tropical yet not too bitter profile, similar to the Thornbridge AM : PM Session IPA.

i thought about, for an 11 Liter batch doing a:
Hops:
Warrior - 5 gram - 60 min

20 min flameout of
- Amarillo - 5 gram
- Citra - 10 gram
- Nelson Sauvin (or Hallertau Blanc) - 10 gram

and another 10 gram of each for 7 days of dry hopping:
Citra & Nelson Sauvin (or Hallertau Blanc)

does this make sense ? or am i missing something that will lead me to an awful taste ?

Thanks

 

[echoALEia]

My Strata/Citra/Idaho7 combo (2/1/0.5 ratio) is killer after conditioning. I’d highly recommend this to everyone. It’s extremely aromatic and the haze is glowing and beautiful. Cheers!