NEIPA recipe advice?

[Djangotet]

Definitely not for a NEIPA. I would use this thought for a Kolsch or Pilsner but definitely not for something like what the OP is looking to brew.

Step 6 - Please don't stir. I would not touch the cooling wort with anything at this point. Get to under 100f as soon as possible to reduce DMS, but you also don't want to risk contamination.

Step 8 - If you don't have a ball valve to transfer beer from kettle to fermenter, I would dump everything (or almost everything) into the fermenter. No need to use siphon and hop spider. Another way to risk unnecessary contamination.

I use this after a few days of primary fermentation, so I can cold crash and not suck in O2 and Star San: Cold Crash Guardian - Oxygen-Reducing Cold Crash Blowoff System

Everything else looks ok, but like @mashpaddled says, you're overthinking it. No need to overcomplicate things as a novice brewer. Heck, I'm 6 years in, and I still feel like a novice. But I've brewed NEIPA more than any other style, and I'd like to think I make a good one. I still remove the lid from my fermenter to dry hop and auto siphon into my keg. Never been a victim of oxidation, but I will be moving to closed transfers soon.

Rather than stirring then, I could always cover the top with sanitized foil while pumping in ice water. Then again foil may retain heat. I noticed that the lower the temp, the faster the wort chills from the ice water anyways.

 

[wepeeler]

I wanna get the Anvil kettle for this reason! I use a standard kettle but I’m saving this. It would be much nicer to just have one of those mesh filters you can add to the bottom of the kettle. I could probably boil the hop spider but yeah the siphon is sketchy, I agree!

Or drill a hole in your existing kettle and add a ball valve. Much cheaper

 

[Djangotet]

Or drill a hole in your existing kettle and add a ball valve. Much cheaper

Thought about this but my current kettle is too small anyways. It’s 5.5 and I’m doing a 4 gallon BIAB full grain mash. I also would like to do 90 minute boils for some beer styles but that means I would get only 2 gallons. But yeah I’ll look into the pricing because maybe that will work for now.

 

[Kickass]

203 is 12 below boiling for me,

Are you brewing deep within a borax mine in Death Valley?

All joking aside, if your boil is at 215*f and you’re not a few hundred feet below sea level, I’d recommend calibrating your thermometers. Something is likely off.

 

[Djangotet]

Are you brewing deep within a borax mine in Death Valley?

All joking aside, if your boil is at 215*f and you’re not a few hundred feet below sea level, I’d recommend calibrating your thermometers. Something is likely off.

Lol nah just had a bad math moment while I was doing something else. I boil at 212 like everyone else in Cali!

 

[SRJHops]

Here's my advice... I spent two years brewing the same NEIPA recipe almost once a month until I got it right. The first few batches were badly oxidized, but by #18 I had a pretty good one. Not as good as the best, but better than most.

Those two years trying to make a good NEIPA were well spent, because I ended up with solid brewing processes for making all beer styles.

I agree with others that this is one of the hardest styles to master. It's also the most expensive because of all the fancy hops.

With that said, I would recommend getting ALL of your IBUs from a hop stand at 180 or so for 20. I think you will find you get plenty that way, plus perhaps a few from the dry hop.

Also, as others have said, there is no need for that sugar. It will dry out your beer, which you don't need for this style.

But the main thing is to avoid cold side oxidation at all costs. Master that and you will be on your way...

 

[YeastFeast]

Here's my advice... I spent two years brewing the same NEIPA recipe almost once a month until I got it right. The first few batches were badly oxidized, but by #18 I had a pretty good one. Not as good as the best, but better than most.

Those two years trying to make a good NEIPA were well spent, because I ended up with solid brewing processes for making all beer styles.

I agree with others that this is one of the hardest styles to master. It's also the most expensive because of all the fancy hops.

With that said, I would recommend getting ALL of your IBUs from a hop stand at 180 or so for 20. I think you will find you get plenty that way, plus perhaps a few from the dry hop.

Also, as others have said, there is no need for that sugar. It will dry out your beer, which you don't need for this style.

But the main thing is to avoid cold side oxidation at all costs. Master that and you will be on your way...

Interesting, I seem to be on the same path, my last 6 of 7 beers have been Hazy IPAs. My last one was the best so far but at between 5-6 weeks it turned on me. Started getting darker and a sickly sweet taste, dumped what was left.
As far as adding hops (5 gal batches), I've gone to adding 2 oz at flameout and ALL other hops after fermentation is complete and a soft crash to 50ºF (dry hop). That gives it plenty of bittering for my taste. Cold side oxidation is a major challenge and one I'm obsessed to get right.

 

[SRJHops]

Interesting, I seem to be on the same path, my last 6 of 7 beers have been Hazy IPAs. My last one was the best so far but at between 5-6 weeks it turned on me. Started getting darker and a sickly sweet taste, dumped what was left.
As far as adding hops (5 gal batches), I've gone to adding 2 oz at flameout and ALL other hops after fermentation is complete and a soft crash to 50ºF (dry hop). That gives it plenty of bittering for my taste. Cold side oxidation is a major challenge and one I'm obsessed to get right.

I'd think 2 oz at FO seems as good as 4 oz at 180. The test would be whether you get any more flavor from the 180 hop stand... There must be a Brulosophy experiment out there somewhere.

Yeah, you need to drink 'em up fast or give them away! But my bet is you are getting some oxidation with the final transfer to the keg. Or there is some other way oxygen is getting to your beer. Though I really think most NEIPA's are going to start to fade at 2 months anyway...

I spent most of those two years trying to figure out how not to oxidize the darn beer!

I put my NEIPA's into bottles, even though people often say it can't be done. BUT it can! The bottling sugar actually scavenges for oxygen. The key is to drop the sugar into the bottles, then bottle right from the fermenter. The first and last few bottles are for ME, because they often have some trub, and the middle bottles are for everyone else. :0)

I wonder if adding sugar to the keg for carbonation would also have this same advantage? Now there MUST be an experiment for that too!

The other key is to get a Tilt to monitor fermentation so you don't need to open the fermenter. I do open the fermenter once for late dry hopping. (I don't worry about opening it during active fermentation.) I have some Co2 gas in a can that I spray in after that, though I am not sure how much it really works. Still, the beer does not oxidize from that late dry hop. (I am sure it does oxidize a little, but it's not noticeable.)

My bottled NEIPA's last for quite a long time and don't oxidize, though the hop flavor will start to fade after 2 months for sure. They are usually long gone by then, though!

 

[YeastFeast]

I'd think 2 oz at FO seems as good as 4 oz at 180. The test would be whether you get any more flavor from the 180 hop stand... There must be a Brulosophy experiment out there somewhere.

Yeah, you need to drink 'em up fast or give them away! But my bet is you are getting some oxidation with the final transfer to the keg. Or there is some other way oxygen is getting to your beer. Though I really think most NEIPA's are going to start to fade at 2 months anyway...

I spent most of those two years trying to figure out how not to oxidize the darn beer!

I put my NEIPA's into bottles, even though people often say it can't be done. BUT it can! The bottling sugar actually scavenges for oxygen. The key is to drop the sugar into the bottles, then bottle right from the fermenter. The first and last few bottles are for ME, because they often have some trub, and the middle bottles are for everyone else. :0)

I wonder if adding sugar to the keg for carbonation would also have this same advantage? Now there MUST be an experiment for that too!

The other key is to get a Tilt to monitor fermentation so you don't need to open the fermenter. I do open the fermenter once for late dry hopping. (I don't worry about opening it during active fermentation.) I have some Co2 gas in a can that I spray in after that, though I am not sure how much it really works. Still, the beer does not oxidize from that late dry hop. (I am sure it does oxidize a little, but it's not noticeable.)

My bottled NEIPA's last for quite a long time and don't oxidize, though the hop flavor will start to fade after 2 months for sure. They are usually long gone by then, though!

If you made 18+ of these in a row, I'm guessing you determined that you liked the "bittering" hops at 180ºF vs during the boil or at flameout?
I built a dry hopper for my conical (only 1 batch so far in it, still getting familiar with the conical) so should be oxygen free there. Push a full keg of water/starsan out of keg so should be good there. I do closed transfer from conical to keg too but oxygen is getting in somehow/somewhere!
I need to analyze everything including purging hoses, valves, etc. ...the journey continues...

 

[SRJHops]

If you made 18+ of these in a row, I'm guessing you determined that you liked the "bittering" hops at 180ºF vs during the boil or at flameout?
I built a dry hopper for my conical (only 1 batch so far in it, still getting familiar with the conical) so should be oxygen free there. Push a full keg of water/starsan out of keg so should be good there. I do closed transfer from conical to keg too but oxygen is getting in somehow/somewhere!
I need to analyze everything including purging hoses, valves, etc. ...the journey continues...

The honest answer is there are SO many variables with NEIPA's.... It would take years to test them all... But I have settled on adding 4 ounces of something like Idaho-7 at 180 and letting the temp drop naturally for 20 mins. Then I finish cooling. Gives me the IBU's I need for the style. But would I get the same IBU's and flavor with 2 ounces at flameout? Probably?