Hill Farmstead's delicate, light, and aromatic IPAs

[Gentlemans_Ale]

I recently had some growlers of Hill Farmstead's IPAs and pale ales - Susan, What is Enlightenment?, Society & Solitude #5, and Double Nelson.

I have scoured the other threads about NE IPAs and HF's pillowy character and I feel like there is something more. I feel like they are in a league of their own.

These beers were completely balanced, delicate, and burst with aroma. They weren't heavy or juicy or overbearing...I felt like I was sipping a delicate wine to be honest. They were different from Heady Topper, Trillium beers, and Julius.

So I want to stir up some discussion about what might contribute to these delicate, hoppy beers. I know from the HF website that most of the beers are pale and caramel malts, so I don't think it is all the adjuncts that dominate NE style IPAs. Maybe a lot of it is water chemistry? But Shaun talks about years of refining and learning from mistakes that made the beers we have today - so I don't think it's just something like having access to well water.

Maybe this is a dumb question and the answer is having over18 years of practice and experience like Shaun to perfect his beers.

 

[day_trippr]

Check out this long running thread...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=517721

Cheers!

 

[Callacave]

Your description is spot on. People are so wrapped up in the haze and full mouthfeel. I think Shaun is still doing his own thing that other people haven't truly replicated yet.

All of his beers are so well balanced. You can get something delicious like Trillium, and be blown away by the aroma and flavor, but sometimes it's almost too intense and can be palette fatiguing to me at times.

Shaun seems to be able to give you just enough of everything that you want to come back for more.

A while back he had a tweet showing a spunding valve, and I commented on it. He was fermenting under some pressure, and then he said he was turning up the pressure which leads me to believe he was naturally carbonating, or at least getting a head start on carbonating.

There are so many factors in play, but maybe this is one small piece to the puzzle. Some yeast can produce more glycerol at a higher temp, and when you add pressure it can suppress ester production, so maybe he's able to express more of that from the yeast, and still ferment clean? Maybe naturally carbing is helping to add some of that pillowy mouthfeel.

Maybe his beers have the right amount of protein and long chain dextrins to produce that unique mouthfeel?

I always describe the mouthfeel of his beers as being full, but light and airy. It's a contradiction, but somehow he's able to pull this off. I think there's a really fine line between what he's doing, and what the other New England breweries are doing for this style.

At any rate, he's got it so dialed in, and I love making a trip up there to get some of his amazing beers!