Making hazy IPA perceptibly sweet

[11thStBrewing]

I’ve been brewing hazy IPA for a year now. My latest one is the best I’ve made yet, but seems dry.

OG 1.063
FG 1.012

Sierra Nevada has a newer beer called “Juicy Little Thing.” It’s in my top 3 of all time. It’s very tropical like mine, but is perceptibly sweet. Just enough to make to really make the tropical flavors and aromas pop. I didn’t realize until now that my favorite ones are all like that.

I degassed a sample of JLT overnight and checked the gravity.

6.5% ABV
FG 1.012
OG ~1.060

Very similar vitals, but mine seems much more dry. Any idea why or how I can make mine perceptibly sweet like that?

Hazy IPA -
Brewfather

 

[HM-2]

You need to up your OG and FG. IMO, a good standard strength (6.5ish) hazy needs to finish around 1.017-8, and a good double probably wants to be in the low 20s. Mash on the hotter side (I default to 68°C) and ignore the BJCP guidelines that tell you to finish between 1.010-15.

 

[11thStBrewing]

You need to up your OG and FG. IMO, a good standard strength (6.5ish) hazy needs to finish around 1.017-8, and a good double probably wants to be in the low 20s. Mash on the hotter side (I default to 68°C) and ignore the BJCP guidelines that tell you to finish between 1.010-15.

I’m going to try to mash high and increase OG, but the point is these two beers have roughly the same OG and FG. One is perceptibly sweet and one is dry.

 

[Dog House Brew]

What is your water build like? What does your Chloride/Sulfate look loo like? What yeast are you using?

 

[HM-2]

I’m going to try to mash high and increase OG, but the point is these two beers have roughly the same OG and FG. One is perceptibly sweet and one is dry.

Hmm, somehow missed that in the initial post. Assuming that's correct, then I can only assume that they might have something like golden naked oats in their grain bill which always promote sweetness well above and beyond the additional FG they add. The comment above on water chemistry is a good one to consider too.

 

[11thStBrewing]

What is your water build like? What does your Chloride/Sulfate look loo like? What yeast are you using?

Here’s the recipe:

Hazy IPA - Mark Mathis
Brewfather

I highly recommend trying Helio Gazer

 

[11thStBrewing]

Hmm, somehow missed that in the initial post. Assuming that's correct, then I can only assume that they might have something like golden naked oats in their grain bill which always promote sweetness well above and beyond the additional FG they add. The comment above on water chemistry is a good one to consider too.

maybe so. I used some golden naked oats in the last one, but at 10% it still seemed dry. FG was a little higher, too.

 

[day_trippr]

I highly recommend trying Helio Gazer

Have you ever brewed a hazy using 1318 or A38 or any other straight London III strain?

Cheers!

 

[11thStBrewing]

Have you ever brewed a hazy using 1318 or A38 or any other straight London III strain?

Cheers!

Cheers! Yes, so far I've used:
A38 Juice
Verdant IPA
Dry Voss
Helio Gazer

 

[day_trippr]

Excellent! If your recipe was the same save for the differing yeasts, aside from the kveik would you say this version is notably different from the rest?

Cheers!

 

[11thStBrewing]

Excellent! If your recipe was the same save for the differing yeasts, aside from the kveik would you say this version is notably different from the rest?

Cheers!

I've changed up the recipes quite a bit. I don't remember any being perceptibly sweet even if they had higher FG. My previous ones were rough, though. The most difficult thing was dry hopping. I followed internet advice and either ended up with undesirable hop character(dry hopping too early) or oxidation. No amount of purging, having CO2 running, being quick, 8-10 SG points left to go etc. worked. I got one of those hop bongs and it changed the game for me. I only dry hop after fermentation is complete and after a soft crash. Highly recommend.

This Helio gazer one is on par with commercial examples! 9/10. The only thing it's missing is a little residual sweetness. This is the first one I'll brew again and try to perfect it.

Cheers!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Very similar vitals, but mine seems much more dry. Any idea why or how I can make mine perceptibly sweet like that?

Have you brewed with Helio Gazer before? I have been working over iterations of an NEIPA using Verdant for the last several batches. I found that I had to work to lower the sweetness to where I wanted. I just brewed a batch with Helio Gazer, and I find that it could use a bit more sweetness.

It is not an apples to apples comparison though. The Helio Gazer recipe used the same based malt bill, but lowered to 1.058 OG from 1.068. Also, I think the 4 oz of Cascade I added to the mash pumped up the bitterness of the Helio Gazer batch.

A higher OG, and a malt like Honey malt might help you boost the sweetness to where you want. I have not played around enough with Golden Naked Oats to understand their impact, but that seem like an option. A little bit of Crystal malt might work. You could also throw some lactose.

 

[11thStBrewing]

I haven't used Helio Gazer before. Thanks for the info! Going to try mashing super high and increasing OG on the next one.

 

[z-bob]

Are there any neutral or British ale yeasts that attenuate well but throw off a lot a glycerin? "Jovaru" does that and the beers end up very well attenuated but still taste sweet -- but it's not neutral at all, it's very... what's the word... expressive. (I've used it a couple of times and not sure if I like it)

 

[Dog House Brew]

I haven’t had a thread actually make me go find a beer. SN locator put me on a grocery I never visit, nice. Perceptions are very different. I don’t get this beer as sweet. This beer is ultra smooth because of the lower carbonation and water composition IMO. I think if you get on the lower carb end, your beer will have that smooth sweetness. What did you target for carb level. Carbonation can add to a beers dryness. Really liked that quality in this beer. This beer has me thinking..

 

[11thStBrewing]

I haven’t had a thread actually make me go find a beer. SN locator put me on a grocery I never visit, nice. Perceptions are very different. I don’t get this beer as sweet. This beer is ultra smooth because of the lower carbonation and water composition IMO. I think if you get on the lower carb end, your beer will have that smooth sweetness. What did you target for carb level. Carbonation can add to a beers dryness. Really liked that quality in this beer. This beer has me thinking..

It’s weird how people perceive things differently.

This beer has been conditioning for a bit now and I think it seems more dry due to being a lil’ more bitter. It was my first time using an immersion chiller and I overshot the hopstand temp. Adjusted time / temp on the fly.

 

[11thStBrewing]

Are there any neutral or British ale yeasts that attenuate well but throw off a lot a glycerin? "Jovaru" does that and the beers end up very well attenuated but still taste sweet -- but it's not neutral at all, it's very... what's the word... expressive. (I've used it a couple of times and not sure if I like it)

I’m not familiar with these. Any more info?

 

[Dog House Brew]

I generally do larger batches. All of my beers tend to be more bitter than I expect. I use a CFC and now pump with ice water. I had to speed up my chilling. I chill and recirculate back to the kettle. My first stand took me so long to cool that it was a Hazy WC IPA. I’ve tried virtually every yeast out there for making an IPA. I think I like one hazy better than the others. Then change and like it better. So perceptions/preferences for me can change by the batch. I still brew more IPA batches with 007 than any other. Hazy/NEIPA yeasts change for me. I find I get Hazy burnout vs my 007 batches. Consistency is harder for me with the Hazy batches. I always like what I’m making, but never as repeatable as I’d like. I did learn a little by searching out JLT. I never quite nail that slick mouthfeel. Maybe I’m carbing too high. I’m going to reduce that the next time I make one of these.

 

[z-bob]

I’m not familiar with these. Any more info?

Jovaru (OYL-033) is a diastaticus yeast that attenuates 90% or higher, but the beer still tastes full-bodied and a little bit sweet. I think the yeast must be making glycerin. The flavor profile of Jovaru would probably clash with an IPA, but I thought there might be other yeasts that do the same thing.

 

[Miraculix]

Some yeasts produce glycerine during fermentation, which tastes sweet.

Edit: z-bob was first.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Learn something new everyday.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Crystal malt.

 

[DonT]

I use honey malt to add a bit of sweetness...

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Honey malt at about 2% of the grain bill, no crystal malt. To get a "bright haze" I wouldn't got much more then 2% as it will increase your srm.