Best Yeast Strain for a NEIPA?

[ttuato]

I'm convinced you could brew a NEIPA with almost any strain. There are so many hops in there, whatever the yeast does is totally irrelevant.

Agree that you could brew a NEIPA with but yeast esters definitely make a significant difference. If you have opportunity to go to White Labs breweries - they do split batches a lot to showcase the yeast differences. Sometimes it is subtle - other times it is astounding.

If you want to try yourself - start with clean american vs expressive english. Do it several times then switch to comparing only expressive english yeast. I can identify A05, 1272, WLP644, WLP007, 1318, Conan now with about 80% accuracy. Yeast blends throw me as does marris otter base for some reason. Nevertheless all make great NEIPAs.

 

[wepeeler]

Newbie question here but when you talk about kegging on day 14 is that 14 days after you put wort in carboy or 14 days after first sign of fermentation?

Most people count days from pitching. So day 14 is exactly 2 weeks after I brew it.

For those claiming you can brew a neipa with *any* yeast - sure, you can. But don't expect the finished product to taste the same. The esters thrown off by different yeasts contribute to the final flavor. Certain strains showcase/compliment hops better than others.

 

[couchsending]

I think it all depends on what you’re looking for. I’ve been trending towards using cleaner yeasts for hoppy beers. It’s amazing how the generic “fruity” esters have just gotten old to me. Starting to much prefer the intricacies of the hop varieties. The cleaner American Ale yeasts really let the hop character come through more. If you use fruity hops, don’t worry the beer will still be fruity.

You can still make em hazy, and thick, and sweet if you want to.

Highly highly recommend the Bell’s yeast if you haven’t used it. It’s as clean as any Chico variant and really lets the hop character shine but it floccs and attenuates more like a British yeast. And you can top crop it.