Hops: throw in the kitchen sink vs less is more

[Djangotet]

I am going to be making my first NEIPA and I’m wondering if others with more experience could guide me? In general is it better to use 2 or 3 well pair hops? Or what about using a bunch of hops that all work together? I am trying to decide between these 2:

Only Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic

Or

Simcoe, Cenntenial, Cascade, Amarillo, Mosaic, and Citra.

In general is it more pleasing to the pallet to have a couple really clear flavor or is it nicer to have a huge range of flavors? Thank you!

Also, how would I know how much of each hop to use? Is the oil content or something gonna tell me what ratio I should use? How do you decided which hops need more presence? Thank you!

 

[mashpaddled]

The answer to most of your questions is "it depends on what you want" because a lot of this just depends on your preference for this beer. Some of your more technical or procedural questions involve lengthy answers for which there are books written and you should read those books if you intend to brew hoppy beers a lot. There are a lot of opinions on these issues and there is no absolute right answer on matters of taste preferences.

Since you might not be in the mood to read several books before brewing a beer, a quicker path would be to look at clone recipes for NEIPAs you like and see what they do. That's going to give you paths to follow for hop combinations, volumes and techniques that fit what you like drinking. Sometimes it's easier to adopt what works as your own process than try to reinvent the wheel. Craft Beer and Brewing has a lot of good clone recipes on their site.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

look at clone recipes for NEIPAs you like and see what they do.

+1 for that above technique. I intentionally buy beers (both packaged and at breweries) where the hops and malts are listed. That way I can learn about what combinations I do/don't like without having to brew as many test batches myself.

 

[Djangotet]

The answer to most of your questions is "it depends on what you want" because a lot of this just depends on your preference for this beer. Some of your more technical or procedural questions involve lengthy answers for which there are books written and you should read those books if you intend to brew hoppy beers a lot. There are a lot of opinions on these issues and there is no absolute right answer on matters of taste preferences.

Since you might not be in the mood to read several books before brewing a beer, a quicker path would be to look at clone recipes for NEIPAs you like and see what they do. That's going to give you paths to follow for hop combinations, volumes and techniques that fit what you like drinking. Sometimes it's easier to adopt what works as your own process than try to reinvent the wheel. Craft Beer and Brewing has a lot of good clone recipes on their site.

I read Scott Janish’s book and he said something about oxygen fractions but I tried to Google it. It is apparently correlated to the flavor strength but when I Google it there isn’t like a chart with all the different hops and their oxygen fractions. I guess I don’t understand enough to even know what to look for. Is total hop oil or oxygen fraction something you use? I look at all the hop oils pretty frequently so maybe I can just compare those to estimate. Maybe if I’m using citrus or tropical hops I can look at those oil contents and try to have a somewhat even ratio. Still, I don’t know if have equal amount of oils would mean equal parts of flavor.

 

[pvtpublic]

https://www.brewerspublications.com...e-to-aroma-bitterness-and-the-culture-of-hops

 

[wepeeler]

Citra/Mosaic is a hard combo to beat in a NEIPA. Simcoe by itself in a NEIPA is wonderful as well. Haven't used Cenntenial or Cascade for the style, but I know I'm not a fan of Amarillo. BUT, I'm definitely in the minority there. People love Amarillo!

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

My short answer is simcoe citra mosaic, tried and true. Especially for your first neipa, you can always play with hop combos once you get the basics down and that hop combo is a great starting point.

 

[scogan]

I wouldn`t chose more than 3 hops maximum ,its overcomplicating it and will make it tricky for you to work out which bits you like.I find reading Scott Janish`s writing too high tech for me .The alpha acids stuff is just used for working out how bitter the recipe will be,not much relation to flavour or aroma.Some would advise brew with only 1 hop to start with ,but there is an opinion out there that 2 or 3 together work synergistically as far as flavour perception goes.Hop additions guidelines are constantly evolving so be prepared for little agreement in what you read.Most importantly ,if you dont minimise oxygen exposure, all your hop aroma and flavour will escape ,I have learnt that the hard way.