New England IPA "Northeast" style IPA

[smalloy88]

Is everybody transferring to a new vessel to dry hop now instead or dropping yeast from fv and dry hopping?

Always a pain in the ass to drop yeast out of my 7 gallon ss brewtech conical so I'm thinking going to a secondary vessel may be beneficial

I'm planning on getting a conical to not have to deal with the intermediate keg. I lose so much volume by going over to a corny for the dry hop. I usually brew 6.5 gallons into the ferm and would love to just dump and dry hop in there, but my coldside equipment stinks. Like Dgallo said, prepare to use a ton of CO2 to make sure air doesn't touch the beer. I even got the evabarrier tubing and stainless disconnects for my transfers, because I was so paranoid about o2 ingress.

Handy chart when purging different pieces of equipment:

 

[Dgallo]

I'm planning on getting a conical to not have to deal with the intermediate keg. I lose so much volume by going over to a corny for the dry hop. I usually brew 6.5 gallons into the ferm and would love to just dump and dry hop in there, but my coldside equipment stinks. Like Dgallo said, prepare to use a ton of CO2 to make sure air doesn't touch the beer. I even got the evabarrier tubing and stainless disconnects for my transfers, because I was so paranoid about o2 ingress.

Handy chart when purging different pieces of equipment:
View attachment 840995

Those are dry purges and absolutely silly to perform with how much gas is wasted. You need to preform liquid purges. Where your kegs are filled with water or solution. So then you just push it out with co2. To save even more co2 you can utilize fermentation and connect to fv gas post to a liquid filled keg where the kegs liquid post is connected to an open hose is a bucket. Then you can let the co2 produce in fermentation purge your keg for you

 

[smalloy88]

Those are dry purges and absolutely silly to perform with how much gas is wasted. You need to preform liquid purges. Where your kegs are filled with water or solution. So then you just push it out with co2. To save even more co2 you can utilize fermentation and connect to fv gas post to a liquid filled keg where the kegs liquid post is connected to an open hose is a bucket. Then you can let the co2 produce in fermentation purge your keg for you

I liquid purge kegs. I use this chart
on dry hop chambers and other pieces of equipment that can’t be liquid purged. It’s more to show that a few blips of co2 won’t remove enough o2 for these beers.

 

[Dgallo]

I liquid purge kegs. I use this chart
on dry hop chambers and other pieces of equipment that can’t be liquid purged. It’s more to show that a few blips of co2 won’t remove enough o2 for these beers.

That makes sense. That said , you can can still liquid purge purge that vessel to start. then if that vessel has a diptube of some sort, you can either set up quick disconnects or just swap out a liquid balllock onto you co2 line and then run co2 down the post while your dryhoping to keep prevent much(if any) outside air from entering.

 

[smalloy88]

That makes sense. That said , you can can still liquid purge purge that vessel to start. then if that vessel has a diptube of some sort, you can either set up quick disconnects or just swap out a liquid balllock onto you co2 line and then run co2 down the post while your dryhoping to keep prevent much(if any) outside air from entering.

good call. I'm working with the fermzilla where the dry hopper is either the collection jar underneath or the hop bong above. I've had some poor results when using the bottom jar, so I abandoned that idea. The hop bong works well, but I get better results when transferring off of the yeast to a secondary keg. I've been eyeing up conicals and decided to wait for spike's upcoming model that has a jacketed cone since I bounce back and forth between 5/10/15 gallon batches.

 

[aaronm13]

I have 8oz of Riwaka that I want to use in my next brew. What would be some good hops to pair it with? Thinking Citra for one but looking for possibly another. Kinda burned out on Nelson which is a pity as I've just bought a load of the 23 crop from Yakima, reckon I'm going to give it a miss for this brew.

I have 8oz of 23 Mosaic which I know will work with Citra but not sure about it working with Riwaka. Also have a good bit of Nectaron but I find it very similar to Nelson. This will be for the National homebrew competition in May so want to try and better my bronze from last year.

 

[YeastFeast]

Are you replacing the volume with co2 on the dumps? And where do you have your gas port on your conical?

Just curious, how much loss do you think you get

Seems like I lose about 1 psi per dump. I know I dumped 3 times on my last brew and it was at 2 psi (from 5 psi) when it was time to transfer to keg.
I haven't been replacing the lost co2. My usual routine is to naturally build up to 5 psi (set by PRV) during fermentation (PRV is also my "blowoff") and then releasing as needed (after fermentation is completely finished) to do the dumps / dry hopping.
I've been setting my "dry hopper" at 1 psi over the pressure in the conical to dump the hops.
I'll reset psi as needed when time to do a closed transfer to keg if needed.

 

[Dgallo]

I have 8oz of Riwaka that I want to use in my next brew. What would be some good hops to pair it with? Thinking Citra for one but looking for possibly another. Kinda burned out on Nelson which is a pity as I've just bought a load of the 23 crop from Yakima, reckon I'm going to give it a miss for this brew.

I have 8oz of 23 Mosaic which I know will work with Citra but not sure about it working with Riwaka. Also have a good bit of Nectaron but I find it very similar to Nelson. This will be for the National homebrew competition in May so want to try and better my bronze from last year.

good luck man. You knocked me out last year. I’ve made the final table 2 of 3 years and yet to medal. Made the final table with my nz Pilsner too just can’t get it done lol

I would say go with citra or citra mosaic with the riwaka especially if it’s for nationals. That whole by the book style thing matters as you know so give them the flavors the expect to get. One of my score sheets actually mentioned “strange wine ester” in a hazy that I brewed with Nelson lol

 

[aaronm13]

good luck man. You knocked me out last year. I’ve made the final table 2 of 3 years and yet to medal. Made the final table with my nz Pilsner too just can’t get it done lol

I would say go with citra or citra mosaic with the riwaka especially if it’s for nationals. That whole by the book style thing matters as you know so give them the flavors the expect to get. One of my score sheets actually mentioned “strange wine ester” in a hazy that I brewed with Nelson lol

Mine was in the nationals in Ireland, I wouldn't fancy my chances against any of your beers. I know what you mean about the by the book thing. Going for my BJCP in April, did the online exam over Christmas and passed, so tasting exam next. There's so much with the guidelines that don't make sense, especially with hazy ipas.

So if you went with Citra, Mosaic and Riwaka what ratio would you go with. I did Riwaka, Citra and Nelson before and went a bit too heavy with the Riwaka, it totally overpowered the other hops.

 

[beervoid]

Mine was in the nationals in Ireland, I wouldn't fancy my chances against any of your beers. I know what you mean about the by the book thing. Going for my BJCP in April, did the online exam over Christmas and passed, so tasting exam next. There's so much with the guidelines that don't make sense, especially with hazy ipas.

So if you went with Citra, Mosaic and Riwaka what ratio would you go with. I did Riwaka, Citra and Nelson before and went a bit too heavy with the Riwaka, it totally overpowered the other hops.

I would steer clear of Mosaic it's a pretty divisive hop. Citra is always good. Riwaka colder dryhopping helps keep the diesel away if you have a bad lot.

 

[Dgallo]

I would steer clear of Mosaic it's a pretty divisive hop. Citra is always good. Riwaka colder dryhopping helps keep the diesel away if you have a bad lot.

Mosaic has been better lately (atleast in my personal experience, so I do understand I could have been lucky with my lots) and the only time I’d call it divisive is when it’s a single hop or at a really rate in a combo.

If you are competing, I’d argue that the style guidelines are really written with the combo citra/mosaic/galaxy in mind, so it’s definitely safe to use 2 or all of those in that instance.

This is purely anecdotal of course but my experience competing in this category is that the way we currently approach the style (fidens, green cheek, north park, etc) isn’t quite within the style guidelines as the body is too viscus/creamy and the finish is too full and not dry enough. And i seem to so far better in northeast and west coast competitions. But anywhere from like Ohio to California (exception Colorado) i typically get dinged for my mouthfeel as too “thick” or “creamy, not to style”. I’ve also had better luck in the northeast/wc with unique hop combos. My assumption is that judges in their area perceive the style based on what they are used to in their local markets and judge based off that.

 

[aaronm13]

Mosaic has been better lately (atleast in my personal experience, so I do understand I could have been lucky with my lots) and the only time I’d call it divisive is when it’s a single hop or at a really rate in a combo.

If you are competing, I’d argue that the style guidelines are really written with the combo citra/mosaic/galaxy in mind, so it’s definitely safe to use 2 or all of those in that instance.

This is purely anecdotal of course but my experience competing in this category is that the way we currently approach the style (fidens, green cheek, north park, etc) isn’t quite within the style guidelines as the body is too viscus/creamy and the finish is too full and not dry enough. And i seem to so far better in northeast and west coast competitions. But anywhere from like Ohio to California (exception Colorado) i typically get dinged for my mouthfeel as too “thick” or “creamy, not to style”. I’ve also had better luck in the northeast/wc with unique hop combos. My assumption is that judges in their area perceive the style based on what they are used to in their local markets and judge based off that.

Ive those issues too with the guidelines as they don't match up with what we would consider perfect examples of the style, especially in the body as you mentioned. There's a guy from New York in my homebrew club who is also a BJCP judge and he's spoken to Gordon Strong about the obvious discrepancies in the guidelines. I never payed too much attention to them still I started going for my BJCP qualification. I definitely notice with the top European hazy ipas brewery's that their body's have all gotten thinner over the last few years. Mostly links up with brewery expansion so think they're over attenuating the beers now for financial reasons.

Think I might just go with Citra and Riwaka then for this one. Would a ratio of 2:1 Citra: Riwaka sound ok to you?

 

[FringeDweller]

good call. I'm working with the fermzilla where the dry hopper is either the collection jar underneath or the hop bong above. I've had some poor results when using the bottom jar, so I abandoned that idea. The hop bong works well, but I get better results when transferring off of the yeast to a secondary keg. I've been eyeing up conicals and decided to wait for spike's upcoming model that has a jacketed cone since I bounce back and forth between 5/10/15 gallon batches.

Smalloy88, what version Fermzilla do you have. From what I understand the new 3.2 version has an upgraded 3" butterfly valve, do you think that will make a difference? I was definitely considering getting one to not have to do multiple transfers.

 

[LumberZach]

I stopped entering my hazies into comps. I brew them how I like them and my friends and family like them as well. I'm not going to brew a batch to appease judges because of how it's written in the BJCP guidelines. The guidelines need to be expanded if you ask me.

 

[Dgallo]

I stopped entering my hazies into comps. I brew them how I like them and my friends and family like them as well. I'm not going to brew a batch to appease judges because of how it's written in the BJCP guidelines. The guidelines need to be expanded if you ask me.

I don’t disagree at all with your sentiment by anymeans. Unfortunately, by nature I’m extremely competitive and once I entered my first comp, I was hooked.

I will say I have become more technically sound and brew far more styles than I once did. My goals are to medal in every state and medal in every style category (not sub category). It’s just what makes me tick

 

[LumberZach]

I don’t disagree at all with your sentiment by anymeans. Unfortunately, by nature I’m extremely competitive and once I entered my first comp, I was hooked.

I will say I have become more technically sound and brew far more styles than I once did. My goals are to medal in every state and medal in every style category (not sub category). It’s just what makes me tick

I've won multiple medals as well before the BJCP Hazy IPA category existed. I always entered my hazies into the Specialty IPA category. That may be an option again now that I think about it.

 

[smalloy88]

Smalloy88, what version Fermzilla do you have. From what I understand the new 3.2 version has an upgraded 3" butterfly valve, do you think that will make a difference? I was definitely considering getting one to not have to do multiple transfers.

I have the first one that introduced the tri-clamps. I thought it was the newest one, but I just saw the 3.2 that has an improved bottom opening and collection chamber. I think it's great for the cost, but I definitely need to upgrade eventually. I find that one dump of the collection container doesn't really get all of the trub/yeast out, and I don't want to risk filling it again in fear that it contains some o2. I guess I could replace the container with some sort of elbow and just treat it like a conical with a bottom valve. My other gripe is temperature control. I can't fit it in my chest freezer (no time to build a collar), and my keezer is maxed out with serving kegs. I pretty much manually control temp during primary, d rest, and soft crash using their insulated jacket and ice packs/heating pad. It works relatively well, but I'd really like to just set it and forget it. I can get down 10-15 degF from ambient temp with a bunch of ice packs, but I need to replace them about every 12 hours. This process made me just rack to a dry hop keg and put it in my chest freezer. An additional transfer, but lets me relax during the dry hop instead of constantly replace ice packs.

 

[smalloy88]

Does anyone here adjust pH post dry hop with citric acid? If so, what is the usual amount required per 0.1 pH drop in 5 gallons. Going to do some math in the morning but figured I’d ask for anecdotal experience, first.

 

[wepeeler]

Latest NEIPA. Got some pro grade hand selected Simcoe from a local brewery. Absolute game changer (Terrible picture. It's 1am here. Need some natural light!)

 

[Cornelder]

Latest NEIPA. Got some pro grade hand selected Simcoe from a local brewery. Absolute game changer (Terrible picture. It's 1am here. Need some natural light!)



View attachment 841171

If that’s a bad picture, I can’t imagine how excellent it looks in person . Incredible yellow haze!

 

[Dgallo]

I've won multiple medals as well before the BJCP Hazy IPA category existed. I always entered my hazies into the Specialty IPA category. That may be an option again now that I think about it.

I never entered one until 21.d New England ipa was added (I think 2017/2018) but now it’s 21. C hazy ipa

 

[Dgallo]

If that’s a bad picture, I can’t imagine how excellent it looks in person . Incredible yellow haze!

My man @wepeeler is saying that even though his picture looks good now, when the sun goes through it it looks much better.

Here’s an example of the same beer, one at night in bulb light, the other in natural light. Lighting plays a huge role in how good a beer looks in a picture

 

[beervoid]

Mosaic has been better lately (atleast in my personal experience, so I do understand I could have been lucky with my lots) and the only time I’d call it divisive is when it’s a single hop or at a really rate in a combo.

If you are competing, I’d argue that the style guidelines are really written with the combo citra/mosaic/galaxy in mind, so it’s definitely safe to use 2 or all of those in that instance.

This is purely anecdotal of course but my experience competing in this category is that the way we currently approach the style (fidens, green cheek, north park, etc) isn’t quite within the style guidelines as the body is too viscus/creamy and the finish is too full and not dry enough. And i seem to so far better in northeast and west coast competitions. But anywhere from like Ohio to California (exception Colorado) i typically get dinged for my mouthfeel as too “thick” or “creamy, not to style”. I’ve also had better luck in the northeast/wc with unique hop combos. My assumption is that judges in their area perceive the style based on what they are used to in their local markets and judge based off that.

I think I developed a bad taste for mosaic, still love it in a westcoast but in the hazy style it just comes across as rotten fruit to me.

 

[aaronm13]

I've won multiple medals as well before the BJCP Hazy IPA category existed. I always entered my hazies into the Specialty IPA category. That may be an option again now that I think about it.

The old Speciality IPA category made way more sense to the style of hazy ipas we're brewing today, 21C is a joke.

 

[aaronm13]

Has anyone brewed with Superdelic yet? Picked up 10oz of it and wondering what to pair it with. Reading the descriptions it should go perfectly with the Citra and Riwaka DIPA I'm planning.

 

[wepeeler]

I think I developed a bad taste for mosaic, still love it in a westcoast but in the hazy style it just comes across as rotten fruit to me.

I get onion, garlic and BO from Mosaic. I like it mixed with Citra, but the past few seasons of Mosaic have been a little harsh for my liking.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I’ve written Galaxy and Mosaic right out of my recipes. Simcoe is getting there too. Got on a good run with all of them. Something changed, maybe I changed, but I’m not brewing with them. Give me Citra and Nelson all day. Citra plays well with most.

 

[wepeeler]

I’ve written Galaxy and Mosaic right out of my recipes. Simcoe is getting there too. Got on a good run with all of them. Something changed, maybe I changed, but I’m not brewing with them. Give me Citra and Nelson all day. Citra plays well with most.

I don't do Galaxy anymore either. But I've had really good luck the past few years with Simcoe. Especially Yakima Chief!

 

[Dog House Brew]

Maybe it’s where I bought it. I used to put in almost every IPA I made. Bought a new pound when I bought new Citra. I’ve learned my lesson on bulk ordering certain hops. Get a bad lot and 4# to the landfill. I’ve not ordered from YC. Thanks

 

[Dwaynehaze]

Maybe it’s where I bought it. I used to put in almost every IPA I made. Bought a new pound when I bought new Citra. I’ve learned my lesson on bulk ordering certain hops. Get a bad lot and 4# to the landfill. I’ve not ordered from YC. Thanks

Yakima valley is usually real good with replacing hips for me if I get a bad bag here or there