Best way to showcase Nectaron?

[palmtrees]

I picked up some Nectaron from YVH last week. I grabbed it without any recipe planned because I figured it would sell out soon, which it did. So now I'm trying to design something to showcase Nectaron, but I've never brewed with it, so I am hoping that you all could help me narrow things down. I'm considering these options:

1) Standard NEIPA - I have a house NEIPA recipe that I based on advice in this forum, and I usually just swap out the hops and keep the grains the same. I could do mostly Nectaron with a little Citra or El Dorado in there to balance things out.

2) Cold IPA or NZ Pils - I know these are different styles, but they have similar vibes. Anyone have thoughts on whether Nectaron work with a crisper, cleaner beer? I'd probably do this as a single hop.

3) Modern WCIPA - I have another house IPA recipe that has a grain bill that's closer to a classic West Coast IPA (85% 2-row, 7.5% crystal 40, 7.5% carapils), but it's hopped more like a NEIPA. Would Nectaron shine with a grain bill like this? I usually do this with some combo of Amarillo, Citra, Idaho 7, & Waimea, and it always comes out really nice.

Between these three, what's going to make Nectaron pop the most? Or should I do something I'm not thinking about at all?

 

[AlexKay]

I'd do NZ Pils or American Blonde Ale. The NEIPA would also be good, with 2:1 or 3:1 Nectaron:Citra. I wouldn't load it into an IPA with a ton of other different hops.

 

[RCope]

I've done all of the above...my recent favorite is the Cold IPA. My first, though, was a simple single hop pale ale ( @Dgallo has a great recipe and thread on that). If you bought a pound, you should have enough for two batches. I'd go single hop, then NZ Pils. The Cold IPA requires a lot of hops. But you really can't lose... Cheers!

 

[Dgallo]

I've done all of the above...my recent favorite is the Cold IPA. My first, though, was a simple single hop pale ale ( @Dgallo has a great recipe and thread on that). If you bought a pound, you should have enough for two batches. I'd go single hop, then NZ Pils. The Cold IPA requires a lot of hops. But you really can't lose... Cheers!

Thanks for the love brother. @palmtrees My pale ale recipe would be a good option for sure. I plan on doing a NZ Pilsner with it as well. If you go NZ Pilsner route a very simple grain bill and hop schedule would be advised. Something like 100% pils or 95% pils 5% Vienna. Then I’d go 35-40 ibus and then some nectaron at 20, 5, WP (3-4 oz in total while keeping in ibu range). Then dryhop with an oz or 2.

I’m collabing on a Double NEIPA with a local brewery and we are doing Citra, Nelson, & Nectron. A pretty excited for that

 

[palmtrees]

Base pale ale it is! I only got a half pound of Nectaron, but I brew 2.5 gallon batches, so that should still be enough to try it out in a single hop beer and then use it in something else in combo with other hops.

That Double NEIPA sounds great, @Dgallo. I hope you update the NEIPA thread about it when you're done!

 

[D-Max]

I picked up some Nectaron from YVH last week. I grabbed it without any recipe planned because I figured it would sell out soon, which it did. So now I'm trying to design something to showcase Nectaron, but I've never brewed with it, so I am hoping that you all could help me narrow things down. I'm considering these options:

1) Standard NEIPA - I have a house NEIPA recipe that I based on advice in this forum, and I usually just swap out the hops and keep the grains the same. I could do mostly Nectaron with a little Citra or El Dorado in there to balance things out.

2) Cold IPA or NZ Pils - I know these are different styles, but they have similar vibes. Anyone have thoughts on whether Nectaron work with a crisper, cleaner beer? I'd probably do this as a single hop.

3) Modern WCIPA - I have another house IPA recipe that has a grain bill that's closer to a classic West Coast IPA (85% 2-row, 7.5% crystal 40, 7.5% carapils), but it's hopped more like a NEIPA. Would Nectaron shine with a grain bill like this? I usually do this with some combo of Amarillo, Citra, Idaho 7, & Waimea, and it always comes out really nice.

Between these three, what's going to make Nectaron pop the most? Or should I do something I'm not thinking about at all?

. "I could do mostly Nectaron with a little Citra or El Dorado in there to balance things out"
Yes do it.
Nectaron is the full orchard with a hint of lychee.
I'd drop the El Dorado because I haven't used it. I used Citra as 5 min boil. Experiment but Wow it's a great hop.
I used Pilsener malt.
Enjoy
Cheers, Dave from Nelson NZ.
Home of Nectaron

 

[palmtrees]

. "I could do mostly Nectaron with a little Citra or El Dorado in there to balance things out"
Yes do it.
Nectaron is the full orchard with a hint of lychee.
I'd drop the El Dorado because I haven't used it. I used Citra as 5 min boil. Experiment but Wow it's a great hop.
I used Pilsener malt.
Enjoy
Cheers, Dave from Nelson NZ.
Home of Nectaron

El Dorado always gives me lots of pineapple and stone fruit, so I thought it might balance well. But yeah, Citra is so wonderful. Goes with everything!

Jealous of you being in New Zealand! I would not mind living where all my favorite hops are grown.

 

[RyPA]

For showcasing a single hop in a NEIPA, how much hops would you use in whirlpool(s) and DH for a 5-6g batch?

I made a few NEIPA's using all galaxy (no bittering addition) and they are great, but they have a tiny bit of hop bite and I'm wondering if I should dial back the hops a bit in the WP or DH. I usually use 4-6 oz in WP (170F) and 4 oz in DH for 2 days before going in the fridge. Voss Kveik has been my goto yeast.

 

[RCope]

@RyPA If I was going to do a single hop NEIPA, assuming expected 5-6.5 abv, I'd add a small bittering addition at 60 (10-20ibus) with a neutral bittering hop such as Warrior or Magnum (or a small amount of your single hop if you want to keep it to just that). Then a 5 or 10 min addition to add another 5-10ish ibus and get more hop "depth", then 3-6 ounces in the whirlpool below 170 degrees.

Or skip the boil additions and just do a WP addition to get your desired flavor and a bit of bitterness for balance. I've done it both ways multiple times and prefer the boil additions...YMMV.

Then 6-8 oz in the dry hop. Hop burn is (usually) more process related as opposed to quantity related...my process is to soft crash to 50 after fermentation is complete for a day, then dry hop and let free rise to 58 for a day, then cold crash for two days, then keg. Most do something similar. Serve 2-3 weeks later. Usually no hop burn, but Galaxy is notorious for being harsh at times...Cheers!

PS: Full disclosure...I've never been happy with any Kveik strain for NEIPAs. I use 1318, A24, Verdant, even SO4. My favorite is A24.

 

[RyPA]

@RyPA If I was going to do a single hop NEIPA, assuming expected 5-6.5 abv, I'd add a small bittering addition at 60 (10-20ibus) with a neutral bittering hop such as Warrior or Magnum (or a small amount of your single hop if you want to keep it to just that). Then a 5 or 10 min addition to add another 5-10ish ibus and get more hop "depth", then 3-6 ounces in the whirlpool below 170 degrees.

Or skip the boil additions and just do a WP addition to get your desired flavor and a bit of bitterness for balance. I've done it both ways multiple times and prefer the boil additions...YMMV.

Then 6-8 oz in the dry hop. Hop burn is (usually) more process related as opposed to quantity related...my process is to soft crash to 50 after fermentation is complete for a day, then dry hop and let free rise to 58 for a day, then cold crash for two days, then keg. Most do something similar. Serve 2-3 weeks later. Usually no hop burn, but Galaxy is notorious for being harsh at times...Cheers!

PS: Full disclosure...I've never been happy with any Kveik strain for NEIPAs. I use 1318, A24, Verdant, even SO4. My favorite is A24.

I prefer no bittering in NEIPA's, I find I already get more than I want with just whirlpooling and dry hopping, or that may be the nature of galaxy as my past few have had decent charges of galaxy in them, while a few batches were all galaxy.

I've never soft crashed before, with Kveik I typically let my fermenter cool down from 95 to room temp (68F ish) and then do my DH charge(s), and let that rest for ~2 days then into the fridge it goes. What is the expected result/benefit of soft crashing?

My overall goal is to find a nice juicy NEIPA recipe that I can make my house NEIPA and always have that on hand. My all galaxy NEIPA is close, but I am trying to tone down the subtle harshness I get with it. As the keg ages it does mellow out.

I've tried water profiles, different hop varieties, different yeasts, but can't seem to nail something I'm really 100% happy with. I do not have solid fermentation temp control, yet, but that is coming.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

@palmtrees Ive brewed with Nectaron many times. Ive done it single hop as well as with other hop combos. My single hop was an NEIPA with my standardish grain bill and all nectaron. But I do agree with the above comments that if you truly want to just get a feel for what nectaron brings to the table, @dgallos base pale ale recipe is best because with the lower overall hop rates you will get a feel for what nectaron brings to the table from hot/cold sides. If you are looking for just some damn good hop combos with nectaron, my personal two favorites were (they were both NEIPAs):

Moutere & Nectaron: moutere dominant on hot side and nectaron dominant on cold side (both hops used throughout though)
Waimea, Citra, Nelson & Nectaron: For this one I used Waimea on hot side only and DH with just Citra, Nelson, and Nectaron. Waimea added a nice background depth of pine to add complexity but the DH combo is outstanding. Not sure on what @Dgallo did with his collab with this but I DHd with 5oz Nectaron, 3oz Nelson, and 2oz citra lupomax. I loved this one. Havent brewed this one in over a year so might have to revisit this one and make some tweaks.

In closing, yep I was one of those morons who jumped on the most recent YVH offering and took home a pound of nectaron (8 2oz packs) for a whopping ~$48?

 

[Dgallo]

@palmtrees Ive brewed with Nectaron many times. Ive done it single hop as well as with other hop combos. My single hop was an NEIPA with my standardish grain bill and all nectaron. But I do agree with the above comments that if you truly want to just get a feel for what nectaron brings to the table, @dgallos base pale ale recipe is best because with the lower overall hop rates you will get a feel for what nectaron brings to the table from hot/cold sides. If you are looking for just some damn good hop combos with nectaron, my personal two favorites were (they were both NEIPAs):

Moutere & Nectaron: moutere dominant on hot side and nectaron dominant on cold side (both hops used throughout though)
Waimea, Citra, Nelson & Nectaron: For this one I used Waimea on hot side only and DH with just Citra, Nelson, and Nectaron. Waimea added a nice background depth of pine to add complexity but the DH combo is outstanding. Not sure on what @Dgallo did with his collab with this but I DHd with 5oz Nectaron, 3oz Nelson, and 2oz citra lupomax. I loved this one. Havent brewed this one in over a year so might have to revisit this one and make some tweaks.

In closing, yep I was one of those morons who jumped on the most recent YVH offering and took home a pound of nectaron (8 2oz packs) for a whopping ~$48?

It’s going to be similar to your ratio of Nectaron ton nelson but differnt ratio for Citra and different Citra products. We will be using a blend of spectrum, t90, and Cryo. Brew day is still about 2 mouths out

 

[DrGMG]

Thanks for the love brother. @palmtrees My pale ale recipe would be a good option for sure. I plan on doing a NZ Pilsner with it as well. If you go NZ Pilsner route a very simple grain bill and hop schedule would be advised. Something like 100% pils or 95% pils 5% Vienna. Then I’d go 35-40 ibus and then some nectaron at 20, 5, WP (3-4 oz in total while keeping in ibu range). Then dryhop with an oz or 2.

I’m collabing on a Double NEIPA with a local brewery and we are doing Citra, Nelson, & Nectron. A pretty excited for that

How did this turn out?

 

[Dgallo]

How did this turn out?

The collab or the nz Pilsner?

The collab worked out well. I believe it landed around 4.2 on untapped with almost 100 reviews/check ins.

I never got around to doing the Pilsner. We had are baby girl actually less than 24 hours after I posted that lol (Josephine was born 1/30/23 lol). I still plan on getting around to it but brew days are limited now unfortunately

 

[DrGMG]

I would think that Nelson would overpower nectaron.

 

[Dgallo]

I would think that Nelson would overpower nectaron.

I can’t recall the specific ratio we used anymore. I have it on my computer though, I believe the dryhop was something along the lines of 12 lbs of nectaron, 8 lbs of citra t90, and 6 lbs of Nelson. For right around 5 lbs per bbl. Def not exactly that but plus or minus a lb or 2.

The Nelson really played nice with ut and didn’t over power it. Early on we got the diesel thing but after a few weeks it was just a juicy tropical character that came across sweet but not in a cloying way