New England IPA "Northeast" style IPA

[leesmith]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/keg-purging-with-active-fermentation.628658/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/pressurized-closed-loop-corny-keg-fermenting.600563/

Two good threads on the process he’s using.

But it appears he is going into the blow off first and then into the kegs chained together...and venting out the back keg. Interesting. Wonder why?

And I’d like to know what the second keg is for also unless just to purge it because he can....for use with another beer or the fermenting batch pictured.

 

[stickyfinger]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/keg-purging-with-active-fermentation.628658/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/pressurized-closed-loop-corny-keg-fermenting.600563/

Two good threads on the process he’s using.

But it appears he is going into the blow off first and then into the kegs chained together...and venting out the back keg. Interesting. Wonder why?

And I’d like to know what the second keg is for also unless just to purge it because he can....for use with another beer or the fermenting batch pictured.

he’s purging two kegs cuz he can. the trap is usually to catch yeast and hops so they stay out of the spunding valve(if just blowing off co2) or out of the receiving keg if purging one during fermentation.

 

[Hannabrew]

he’s purging two kegs cuz he can. the trap is usually to catch yeast and hops so they stay out of the spunding valve(if just blowing off co2) or out of the receiving keg if purging one during fermentation.

This.

You can purge 3 kegs with one fermentation.

Trap is just to keep nasties out of kegs and also so I can track fermentation by the bubbling pattern

 

[leesmith]

That line you’re using seems like it would clog if you got a significant blow off from fermentation.

1/4”?

See I ferment about 3-3.5 gallons in a five gallon keg so I haven’t had to worry about clogging anything with the headspace I have...so I haven’t had to think about it.

I know there were discussions with Schematix about the problem of blow off and one guy considered a inline filter to catch debris. I like your solution...sort of reminds me of that CO2 harvester Norcal sells.

 

[Hannabrew]

It hasn't clogged yet! I rarely have this much in my fermenter...Usually 6G is the most and the fermonster is 7.7G-ish

 

[stickyfinger]

Just an FYI: I'd ditch all of the silicone tubing in the cold-side brewing processes. Switch over to beer gas line. Check out the oxygen permeability of silicone vs other tubing types:

https://www.coleparmer.com/tech-article/tubing-selection-guide

EDIT: It's on the order of 160X more permeable to oxygen (though you have to account for thickness and exact model of tubing and such but still.)

 

[Hannabrew]

I'm not too concerned about fermenter or transfer tubing as the beer is in the keg well before it's finished fermenting

 

[RTHP99]

If it’s not Sloop I don’t trust him lol

I like sloop, but cmon... Equillbrium all the way . Cool to see some of you guys seem to be pretty local, I’m in New Windsor

 

[Dgallo]

I like sloop, but cmon... Equillbrium all the way . Cool to see some of you guys seem to be pretty local, I’m in New Windsor

Though I like equilibrium, you must not have had Sloop recently because they are completely dialed in on their new system. Absolutely outstanding

 

[RTHP99]

Though I like equilibrium, you must not have had Sloop recently because they are completely dialed in on their new system. Absolutely outstanding

I get sloop on an almost weekly basis, most releases . I’m not taking anything away from them, but Eq is in another league. Obviously taste is subjective, so that’s just my opinion

 

[Dgallo]

I get sloop on an almost weekly basis, most releases . I’m not taking anything away from them, but Eq is in another league. Obviously taste is subjective, so that’s just my opinion

To each their own. Sloop is number one in my book. Above treehouse and trillium. The last citra and Nelson bombs were the best NEIPAS I’ve had

 

[stickyfinger]

To each their own. Sloop is number one in my book. Above treehouse and trillium. The last citra and Nelson bombs were the best NEIPAS I’ve had

I think Equilibrium and Sloop both have made great IPAs. Most of the time I'm not a huge fan of the hop character in the Equilibrium beers though. There has to be something about their process that just disagrees with me some. I'd be willing to bet that they are not doing as much of a biotransformation dry hop and Sloop is, but I'm not sure.

 

[leesmith]

Sloop was rough in the beginning but honestly the brewery was a great visit...it felt like a party at someone’s barn...their beer has improved quite a bit...and I had a few over the holidays.

I haven’t had Eq in a while but had them when they were really new and then a few times after they had been around for a while. Every time I felt like they were too sweet for my pallet.

I remember sitting at Sloop watching my kids play on the play set and this guy was raving about Eq and how they were soo much better than Suarez. I just smiled.

Sometimes I like a brewery not because of the beer but the atmosphere. Fiddlehead...man $6 32 oz growler fills of a decent IPA with chilled glasses and great pizza next door. Who doesn’t like that?

*Edit:

Dgallo,
What’s the Nelson Sloop beer named?

 

[stickyfinger]

Fiddlehead sort of drove me insane. The staff there were so nonchalant and couldn't care less if you were even there the day I was there. Well, actually there were two guys and one woman. The two guys were DBs if you ask me. The woman was doing all of the work. The beers I tried weren't really great when I was there. The pizza place next door was fun though.

I agree that many of the Equilibrium beers I've had have quite a bit of sweetness in the finish. I can handle that if the hopping is amazing, but I'd prefer a little drier most of the time.

The new Sloop down in the iPark is pretty awesome. You should go there if you haven't. The Lupulin Mutant is my favorite of theirs I think. Of course Juice Bomb is always good.

Sloop was rough in the beginning but honestly the brewery was a great visit...it felt like a party at someone’s barn...their beer has improved quite a bit...and I had a few over the holidays.

I haven’t had Eq in a while but had them when they were really new and then a few times after they had been around for a while. Every time I felt like they were too sweet for my pallet.

I remember sitting at Sloop watching my kids play on the play set and this guy was raving about Eq and how they were soo much better than Suarez. I just smiled.

Sometimes I like a brewery not because of the beer but the atmosphere. Fiddlehead...man $6 32 oz growler fills of a decent IPA with chilled glasses and great pizza next door. Who doesn’t like that?

 

[Dgallo]

Dgallo,
What’s the Nelson Sloop beer named?

Nelson bomb

 

[stickyfinger]

Nelson bomb
View attachment 611219

that was a very unique beer. i wasn’t a huge fan of so much Nelson, but that’s just personal preference, and I think they achieved what they were aiming for. Reminds me of Hall Blanc.

 

[leesmith]

Fiddlehead sort of drove me insane. The staff there were so nonchalant and couldn't care less if you were even there the day I was there. Well, actually there were two guys and one woman. The two guys were DBs if you ask me. The woman was doing all of the work. The beers I tried weren't really great when I was there. The pizza place next door was fun though.

I agree that many of the Equilibrium beers I've had have quite a bit of sweetness in the finish. I can handle that if the hopping is amazing, but I'd prefer a little drier most of the time.

The new Sloop down in the iPark is pretty awesome. You should go there if you haven't. The Lupulin Mutant is my favorite of theirs I think. Of course Juice Bomb is always good.

That stinks about Fiddlehead..we had a good experience. Although, when we left and were waiting for a growler fill this (clearly stoned out of his mind) guy was talking music with my 10 year old son. Harmless, but it seemed like he was just bumming free samples and chatting to whoever came through the door. Beer's not amazing but it gets the job done. I can't expect every beer to wow me but they don't suck at all. I thought the pizza was excellent....If my local brewery could up their beer game I'd love it (not even close to Fiddlehead quality). They serve the best burritos and other Mexican food in the area.
I'll have to try the new Sloop...heard nothing but good stuff about it.

 

[Dgallo]

Speaking off sloop..... just picked this up on the way home lol

 

[stickyfinger]

Speaking off sloop..... just picked this up on the way home lol
View attachment 611221

that’s one of my favs too. had a pretty apparent oaty character when I had it last

 

[leesmith]

that was a very unique beer. i wasn’t a huge fan of so much Nelson, but that’s just personal preference, and I think they achieved what they were aiming for. Reminds me of Hall Blanc.

Man, I love Nelson....such a unique hop. Literally just did a diacetyl test on my Nelson Pale Ale (it's not ready)...can't wait for it to be done. And I've got a Saison conditioning on Brett Brux that will get a generous dose after a month or so. I'm gonna have to try Hallertau Blanc.

 

[Dgallo]

Man, I love Nelson....such a unique hop. Literally just did a diacetyl test on my Nelson Pale Ale (it's not ready)...can't wait for it to be done. And I've got a Saison conditioning on Brett Brux that will get a generous dose after a month or so. I'm gonna have to try Hallertau Blanc.

Both blanc and Nelson are great hops. Blanc is more reserved in my experience, slightly cleaner white wine. Where as Nelson is more potent and throws that slight dank character that I love.

 

[troglodytes]

View attachment 611135

That blowoff to keg setup is something I've never thought of before, having never kegged, but now that I have a setup I think I have ll the parts to do this successfully. What a great idea.

Couple questions:

1) Is the purging keg just clean/sanitized and empty (filled with normal air) to get pushed into the other keg and then out.

2) If I wanted to fill my purging keg with star san to the top, would the off gassing of the fermentation provide enough pressure in the head space push the liquid out, like doing a normal star san purge would under pressure (just saving on the CO2)

3) Could you use a spunding valve on the purging keg and essentially to a chain pressurized fermentation all the way back to the carboy under low pressure (3-5psi) and still fully purge the keg

I'm so interested to try this.

 

[stickyfinger]

I'm also interested if people have found any difference between water-purging the Serving Keg first before purging it with CO2 from fermentation vs just sanitizing the SK and purging the air out with fermentation. I think if I did this I'd like to fill the SK up with sanitizer and push it out with fermentation gas somehow. I thought maybe the best way to do this (to avoid a possible siphoning effect?) would be to just elevate the sanitizer final receptacle above the level of the SK (maybe a bucket with the hose from the SK secured into it?) Every time I see my kegs blowing out CO2 to a jar of sanitizer I feel guilty for not using that pure CO2!

That blowoff to keg setup is something I've never thought of before, having never kegged, but now that I have a setup I think I have ll the parts to do this successfully. What a great idea.

Couple questions:

1) Is the purging keg just clean/sanitized and empty (filled with normal air) to get pushed into the other keg and then out.

2) If I wanted to fill my purging keg with star san to the top, would the off gassing of the fermentation provide enough pressure in the head space push the liquid out, like doing a normal star san purge would under pressure (just saving on the CO2)

3) Could you use a spunding valve on the purging keg and essentially to a chain pressurized fermentation all the way back to the carboy under low pressure (3-5psi) and still fully purge the keg

I'm so interested to try this.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

A change of topic. Has anyone tried purple maize in their NEIPAs or wheat beers?

Mexican food is far less of a big deal here than across the pond, so I'd not been aware of the work to maximise polyphenols in tortilla flour etc but purple maize can have up to 12x the phenolic compounds of normal yellow maize (although 2-3x is probably more normal). There's been a lot of work on how processing affects these compounds - it's a messy story as there are so many different chemicals involved, some chemically bound to the grain. The traditional method of making tortilla flour involves cooking/steeping with limestone (nowadays calcium hydroxide at pH~12) which reduces the amount of colour compounds but which releases eg ferulic acid, which is the precursor to the 4-VG clove flavour in wheat beers.

Knowing that ferulic acid is the most common phenolic in maize also suggests why maize was historically used widely in southern England but less so up north - a lot of northern yeasts are POF+ so would go clovey if you used maize.

Anyway, maize, particularly purple maize, seems to be a rich source of polyphenols particularly if treated right. Has anyone tried it in their hazy beers, given that protein-polyphenol interactions seem to be important? I'm asking from a position of ignorance, maybe they're the "wrong" polyphenols, but it seems something worth studying.

 

[Dgallo]

I’d like to change it up myself. I’m using Denali in an upcoming milkshake IPA. Only used denali one other time, anyone with experience using this hop know when the best time is to add it to get the most pronounced pineapple characteristic?

 

[BrewMan13]

I’d like to change it up myself. I’m using Denali in an upcoming milkshake IPA. Only used denali one other time, anyone with experience using this hop know when the best time is to add it to get the most pronounced pineapple characteristic?

Paging @ProblemChild

 

[ProblemChild]

Denali seems (to me) to shine best at temp under 170. Less pine, more fruit. Just did this paired with vic secret. Not finished, but gravity sample is delicious

 

[Dgallo]

Denali seems (to me) to shine best at temp under 170. Less pine, more fruit. Just did this paired with vic secret. Not finished, but gravity sample is delicious

Have you Dryhop heavy with it?

 

[stickyfinger]

I’d like to change it up myself. I’m using Denali in an upcoming milkshake IPA. Only used denali one other time, anyone with experience using this hop know when the best time is to add it to get the most pronounced pineapple characteristic?

I don't see how you can avoid pineapple with Denali honestly. It is amazingly potent in pineapple with even a small addition from my experience. a couple years ago i did an all-denali dryhop of like 2oz/gal and it was pineapple juice.

 

[Dgallo]

I don't see how you can avoid pineapple with Denali honestly. It is amazingly potent in pineapple with even a small addition from my experience. a couple years ago i did an all-denali dryhop of like 2oz/gal and it was pineapple juice.

Good to know. I’m doing a Denali, mosaic, and Citra milkshake ipa with mangos, pineapple, peaches and vanilla bean