My New England IPA is never hazy enough.

[Mer-man]

I will step up and be the big jerk in this thread and say IT IS WRONG to say appearance is the most important element. This type of thinking always sends me on a tirade about how our community is really starting to go off the deep end with certain hipster ways of thinking. Please excuse the following rant as I don't mean to target anyone and just want to shout at the world.

I wasn't there when the NEIPA style was made, nor have I researched how every style was made (too lazy), but I will bet $1 right now that in the entire history of brewing that not one successful brewer ever put appearance as their number one priority when trying to create a new recipe. To me this is like saying that when it comes to dining out, plating is the most important factor of a meal. You know when visuals are the most important factor? When the product is consumed visually like with cameras or televisions.

If consumers are actually going to a pub loaded with NEIPAs and rating them based on appearance FIRST then it might be that I've finally gotten old enough where the world doesn't make any sense to me anymore. Does this mean that if I can brew a beer that looks just like a stout with black rice (I have no idea if this would work) and I nail the perfect appearance that I have a chance to win consumers to my beer because of that appearance? How in the heck have we as brewers gotten so far off the map that we obsess over appearance over taste. Appearance is almost always (maybe always) the byproduct of process that you had to undergo to get the taste you wanted. The goal isn't the haze, it's the taste. If you happen to get haze along the way it is allowed because the process and ingredients can often lead to haze.

If you're trying to win contests and the judges are critical of the appearance then I can see why you might try to alter your recipe or steps. But if it is true that appearance is only 3 points out of 50 then I'd really like to question why anyone thinks appearance is the most important element in just about any style.

Again, sorry for the rant and I don't mean to target anyone specifically in this rant.

Sinamar, mate

 

[wepeeler]

The goal isn't the haze, it's the taste. If you happen to get haze along the way it is allowed because the process and ingredients can often lead to haze.

If you're trying to win contests and the judges are critical of the appearance then I can see why you might try to alter your recipe or steps. But if it is true that appearance is only 3 points out of 50 then I'd really like to question why anyone thinks appearance is the most important element in just about any style.

Appearance is what sells to masses at this point in time. New England has become fascinated with the haze craze the past 5 years, and I see it in every brewery I go to. Haze sells. Trust me, I've had my share of crappy hazy beers, but people often taste with their eyes. Is it "correct"? No. But brewers are being forced to make these haze bombs as it's what the people want. If you lined up 2 ipas nowadays in a brewery, 10/10 people would buy the hazy beer vs the clear beer. Haze may be a byproduct, but it doesn't mean it's a lazy beer. Not nowadays anyways. If you wait for the beer to clear out, it tastes completely different.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I think the haze is mostly a byproduct of the process, not the goal. And most beer drinkers would agree taste is far, far more important than appearance. But the haze has become synonymous with NEIPAs so I could understand why commercial brewers would care. I remember going to a new brewery in my area over Christmas and had their NEIPA, which wasn't too impressive. I was chatting with the guy next to me and said I wasn't that impressed and he made a comment that it wasn't even very hazy. Taste is by many accounts our weakest sense, so if you're trying to sell a beer to the masses nailing aroma and appearance definitely wouldn't hurt in their drive to win customers.

Off-topic, but to the point of the thread OP I think yeast makes a big difference in haze. I've been trying NEIPAs lately and my first 2 batches I didn't use a lot of flaked stuff or do an early biotrans dry hop. My 2nd batch I actually didn't use any flaked and they both were very hazy. Not orange juice hazy, but a very hazy gold color. The first one was in the keg for about 3 weeks before kicking I think and never dropped clear.

 

[motosapiens]

I'm using WLP067, or some random drags from neipa. Can't get wyeast in this country, so just trying to use the best one in my hands. My usual brewing ipa goes like this.

1.Mash high, lauter and sparge.

2.No bittering hops usually, 4~6oz of hopstand at 160~170F

3.Ferment for 1 week

4.Dry hop at day 3~4, 6~10oz, loose.

5.Cold crash for 3~4 days.

i would recommend putting half the dry hops in after 48 hours if you are pitching a nice healthy yeast, then wait another 5 days for the other half. This in my experience is part of what leads to haze (and delicious juicy flavors which are 198349813 more important than haze).

I would also recommend not cold crashing. That's going to precipitate some of the haze out.

with london esb yeast I ferment at 67 degrees for 2 days, then bump up the temp 1 degree per day to 73 degrees. I believe the fairly warm ferment also causes more haze. Certainly the regular IPA I accidentally heated up to 80 during fermentation was never did get clear.

I have also tried neipa with other yeasts, such as the sam adams strain, and they were quite clear, and tasty, but not really as juicy. So if you are not using the right yeast, you may not get the right results.

In my experience, the process that produces the haze also produces the juicy delicious flavor, so I just try to make it taste right, and let everything else happen.