NEEPAH IPA Blend - Bootleg Biology

[isomerization]

Mine's still in the fermenter but I wonder what temps you guys used during fermentation and how long you kept it in the fermenter. I usually go 3 weeks but with my NEIPA's, I've only be doing 2.

I fermented at 68F (internal) for 3 days and bumped to 71F for 2 more days before cold crashing at 32F for 1.5 days, then kegged.

 

[jnxbrews]

I fermented a 30ibu English-style pale with this yeast a couple of weeks ago. I've brewed the same recipe about a dozen times with LAIII, this is the first time making a change using NEEPAH and there is a tannic bitterness on the mid palate at about 12 days coming out of the fermenter. I kegged the pale today and just harvested the yeast to pitch directly into an NEIPA that is knocking out as I type this. Will report results of both beers.

(i too bought the Saison Parfait. Today's NEIPA ^ is 10 gallons, half NEEPAH, half Saison Parfait/Funk Weapon 3)

Update on both the NEIPA and the English-style pale with NEEPAH:

The English-style pale rounded out nicely and the mid palate bitterness is gone. I think I still prefer LAIII for this style to NEEPAH as I get a bit more English style esters out of LAIII. Hard to tell without side by side comparison. The difference between the two is subtle in such a low hopped beer.

I kegged the DDH NEIPA yesterday. 80%AA, degassed sample, second gen pitch, reached FG in 6 days. Sample had none of the mid-palate bitterness experienced in a few posts above and tasted incredible. Big juicy hop saturation and a hint of sweetness despite finishing at 1.012 that i'm going to attribute to the yeast. I'm going to repitch this for a few more generations, will report the performance going forward.

 

[Beer-lord]

Mine is kegged and the taste out the fermenter (which I only try to make sure things didn't go south) was hard to tell. At this point, I get very little mouthfeel but the taste was somewhat juicy. I'll wait till it's carbed for 5 days to pull out some settled matter and give it another taste but I expect it'll be another 10 days before I can get a good feel for this year though, with all those hops, it's bound to smell good.

I had 1/2 oz each of Citra and Mosaic cryo left over so I decided to keg hop with it. The aroma was immediately noticed!

 

[TheBrewBrotha]

I loved the brulosophy blend in one of my last NEIPA's. I re-ordered that strain plus the NEEPAH but I am worried about using it because when it arrived it was swoller than Stallone in Rambo. Like if I shake it or grab it too hard it'll pop so I haven't been in a rush to use it as it also feels like there's barely any yeast in it. Unfortunately until this day the team at Bootleg has yet to respond to my inquiries

 

[Beer-lord]

I think I'd take a picture of it first then open and make a starter and see how it acts.
The few times I emailed them, I got a reply the next day. They are a small office, not that it means you should get no reply but maybe I'd try again.

 

[TheBrewBrotha]

I think I'd take a picture of it first then open and make a starter and see how it acts.
The few times I emailed them, I got a reply the next day. They are a small office, not that it means you should get no reply but maybe I'd try again.

I'll reach out again but it'll be my third attempt since receiving the yeasts. Figured they're out by now so nothing more they could do besides a sorry but I am shocked that I have yet to receive a response. Even hit them up on instagram...

 

[Beer-lord]

I'll reach out again but it'll be my third attempt since receiving the yeasts. Figured they're out by now so nothing more they could do besides a sorry but I am shocked that I have yet to receive a response. Even hit them up on instagram...

Check your messages!

 

[isomerization]

When I emailed asking about the NEEPAH blend, they responded (with actual answers) within a few days.

My pouch swelled in the fridge, but everything went fine after that.

 

[isomerization]

The NE IPA I made with this yeast blend scored a 35.5 and was awarded 3rd place (out of 19) in the Specialty IPA category at a recent homebrew comp.

Kinda funny considering I thought I was going to dump it after a few days in the kegerator!

 

[Dog House Brew]

The NE IPA I made with this yeast blend scored a 35.5 and was awarded 3rd place (out of 19) in the Specialty IPA category at a recent homebrew comp.

Kinda funny considering I thought I was going to dump it after a few days in the kegerator!

Does that mean you like this blend?
Will you use it again?

 

[isomerization]

Does that mean you like this blend?
Will you use it again?

I would use it again. Next time I’m going to add in some 1318 (maybe 33% total pitch) and ferment at 72.

 

[sweetcell]

i can't tell if the after-taste weirdness is the yeast or not so the yeast gets a pass on this batch - need to try it again. i might prop up the dregs at the bottom of my keg, once it's emptied, and try again. i've done NEIPAs for my last 3 batches so i'm ready to move on, but i would really like to get a handle on this yeast so maybe, just maybe...

final wrap-up: the weirdness completely faded away and the beer tasted like a great NEIPA. big hit with everyone who had a taste, including many non-IPA drinkers (a good NEIPA will do that!). seemed to me this beer held up longer than my 1318-driven hazies. at 2 months in the keg it still had tons of hop character and juiciness.

this is a solid NEIPA yeast, and folks looking for a change of pace should give these bugs a try. that being said, i don't think i'm going to give this yeast another go, at least not this time. i'm brewing every 2 months or so, if that, and i really need to brew something other than another NEIPA.

aside: it's an english yeast so i wonder how it would do in other styles.

update: i was gifted a brew day this weekend, and in accordance with change of seasons i went dark (stouts) and didn't re-use the NEEPAH. maybe i'll order some again next time it's available.

 

[Dog House Brew]

final wrap-up:
update: i was gifted a brew day this weekend, and in accordance with change of seasons i went dark (stouts) and didn't re-use the NEEPAH. maybe i'll order some again next time it's available.

Glad to hear, I’m a month away from using it. Hmmmmm maybe find something else to use it in. Using their Parfait tomorrow.

 

[isomerization]

final wrap-up: the weirdness completely faded away and the beer tasted like a great NEIPA. big hit with everyone who had a taste, including many non-IPA drinkers (a good NEIPA will do that!). seemed to me this beer held up longer than my 1318-driven hazies. at 2 months in the keg it still had tons of hop character and juiciness.

this is a solid NEIPA yeast, and folks looking for a change of pace should give these bugs a try. that being said, i don't think i'm going to give this yeast another go, at least not this time. i'm brewing every 2 months or so, if that, and i really need to brew something other than another NEIPA.

aside: it's an english yeast so i wonder how it would do in other styles.

update: i was gifted a brew day this weekend, and in accordance with change of seasons i went dark (stouts) and didn't re-use the NEEPAH. maybe i'll order some again next time it's available.

I actually enjoy using 1318 in my dark beers, fermented in mid-60s. Also the NEEPAH IPA is a blend, just FYI for re-use purposes.

 

[isomerization]

Interesting (to me at least) update, beer was brewed back in Sep 18 (same one from beginning of thread). Bottled up (straight from the tap, cap on foam) one extra for the competition I entered (early Oct 18 I think). It sat in my pantry since then, chilled it last night and poured today (2nd pic in the hallway). Looks almost identical! Still has a great juicy flavor and maybe 60% of the aroma. Makes me wish I had more left

 

[isomerization]

Brewing up a repeat of the previous iteration with an even blend of 1318 and NEEPAH blend.

Trying something different with my hop additions:

Citra and El dorado in the BK/whirlpool
Galaxy and Mosaic in the dry hop

On day 3, will update with observations once I can taste.

 

[sweetcell]

Brewing up a repeat of the previous iteration with an even blend of 1318 and NEEPAH blend.

Trying something different with my hop additions:

Citra and El dorado in the BK/whirlpool
Galaxy and Mosaic in the dry hop

On day 3, will update with observations once I can taste.

... aaaaaaaaaaaaand?

 

[sweetcell]

FYI the Bootleg shop is currently accepting orders - go!
https://bootlegbiology.com/product-tag/homebrew/

i've been thinking that i what previously perceived as a drawback of this yeast could in fact be turned into a positive. i noted that the yeast needs some time in the keg to clean up (a negative), and that hop aroma seems to last for a longer time than some other beers (a positive) - putting two and two together, if i make a multi-batch of NEIPA wort i can have one beer available quickly (1318, for example) and another that will come online in a few weeks (NEEPAH). this solves my problem of having two kegs of NEIPA, and the second one tasting less than ideal by the time i'm well into it. win!

my experience is based on a single instance of use, let's see how N=2 goes.

 

[isomerization]

... aaaaaaaaaaaaand?

Thanks for the reminder!

So, the beer either turned out darker than expected because of the DME priming (strangely took 10 days), oxidation (don’t think it’s this, more in a sec) or an unknown factor.

The beer is very enjoyable, scored a 35 last month but wasn’t fully carbed yet, just submitted to a new comp last week. I like this version better than the NEEPAH alone, but I did change a few things, so hard to say.

I used the 1318/NEEPAH blend again in the Julius TH genetic thread as my “control”, so will be cool to compare to the S-04 and variants.

 

[user 205607]

HB Red, night cap.

 

[user 205607]

Sorry wrong thread, explains why it’s a night cap.