New England IPA "Northeast" style IPA

[TBryerton]

My buddy is an OH fanatic, to the point he considered buying a second house to crash at near the Rochester location - so I get most of what they put out. Alot of the beers I get from Rochester are easily on par with Brooklyn. And both location do have a centrifuge. It does seem like the beers they distribute are not on par w/the beers they offer at the brewery. Meaning, I can get a more common OH offering at Wegmans, but their less common beers seem to be restricted to the brewery or sometimes the shops that have better relationships w/them. No facts to back that up - just an observation. No offense, but I would in no way consider breweries to be on the same level just because they do colabs. Colabs are more for marketing purposes. I’m not saying EQ doesn’t know what they’re doing, I just personally don’t find them to be very good.

And yes, OH beers are often rushed to market because of the space restrictions they’ve faced as they’ve grown as a brewery. Sam has stated they release beers ‘green’ with the understanding their customer knows the cans might have to sit a little. I never get hop burn from them, but green yes, quite often.

 

[spersichilli]

I’ve seen the “honeydew” descriptor thrown around by Tree House, both by Nate and fans. I’ve never got it in any of their beers.

I’ve only had four different cans of EQ. One was great (their little 4.8% pale ale, Photon) the others were absolutely disgusting. Literally nothing but rotting melon. To me that melon “flavor” or aroma comes off as cantaloupe that’s been sitting in the garbage, it’s not pleasant at all.

I’ve had both Citra+ Amarillo Juice Project and now the Citra + Strata Juice Project as well as Curiosity 105. None of them have the rotting melon flavor/aroma I got from those EQ cans. I have some more cans of Citra + Strata Juice Project. I’ll have to see if I can find it.

I’ve only experienced that “overripe” melon flavor in I think 3 of my hoppy beers. One was a long time ago and two have been in the last few months. Both beers had a large dry hop of Citra and Simcoe at colder temps. First one also used HBC431 and the melon seemed to fade, thank god, as the beer conditioned in the keg. I attributed it to the 431 taking over. Most recent one that’s conditioning now had a large DH of Citra/Simcoe at colder temps. Citra is 2018 from Hops Direct that smells amazing out of the bag and I bought a lot of this summer. Simcoe is YCH 2018 that also smells really good. Used both of these a lot and even in the same DH but with other hops, and never encountered the melon.

I’m actually wondering if the melon is actually an off flavor caused by some poor yeast health and hop interaction. The most recent batch was an 8th generation VT Ale that seemed liked an incredibly healthy ferment. Pitched at 62 and let free rise to 70 since it was a 1.046 gravity beer. Hit 1.007 in 40ish hours and pH dropped a ton. Left it for a total of 5 days then cooled to 63 for two days, removed yeast, and cooled further to 58. No diacetyl or “off flavor” before dry hop at all. Melon was very apparent even after day 1 of DH. Actually now that I think about it I wonder if pH is at play here. I seem to get a much larger pH drop on smaller beers and especially when I let them free rise to a warm temp. PH was below 4.2 when I did dry hop it. Maybe certain hops, at certain temps, in a certain pH tend to bring out that rotting melon or cantaloupe flavor/aroma??? Whatever it is I’m not a fan and hope to not encounter it that often in the future.

the melon thing is definitely something fermentation derived. It doesn’t matter what hops EQ uses, I get that same melon thing 95% of the time. I’ve noticed it also gets stronger with age (as the hop character fades). It’s a shame because the handful of beers I’ve had from them that didn’t have that were awesome.

 

[Dgallo]

the melon thing is definitely something fermentation derived. It doesn’t matter what hops EQ uses, I get that same melon thing 95% of the time. I’ve noticed it also gets stronger with age (as the hop character fades). It’s a shame because the handful of beers I’ve had from them that didn’t have that were awesome.

What yeast are you using

 

[Dgallo]

Btw. I’ll take the blame for taking this thread off track when I shared the info about the release

 

[spersichilli]

What yeast are you using

poor phrasing. I meant to say I get the same melon thing that was mentioned from the beers I drink from EQ 95% of the time. I use LAIII for my NEIPAs and have never gotten it in any of my beers

 

[Dgallo]

More on track info. Just had a single hop IPA brewed exclusively with Virgil Gamanche Farms Amarillo T45 and T35 pellets(pelletized by NY Hop Guild). Really interesting profile. It’s like orange blossom and bubblegum. Not an overly bold profile, but I think it would make a great complimentary hop for Sabro or Galaxy. Def worth taking a peak.

https://vgfinc.com/

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I agree. OH is the worst offender on hopburn for me. And like you said, the Veil, Aslin, Brother Craft all put out similar quality. Honestly I’m sure most of us in here are. I personally enjoy most of my beers over many of other half’s offerings

I’m just personally love eq and I honestly can say I can’t make a beer that taste like theirs

I think Veil's been slipping. I've been reading alot online about questionable quality lately and I was at a restaurant a month ago that always has an amazing tap list and had a Veil. Our server actually in the nicest way possible told me to reconsider when I tried to order it. Evidently was getting sent back by everyone because it had so much hop burn. I've never been that high on Aslin but alot of people are down on them lately. Both those places have the name though, so they'll keep doing well(Aslin just opened their 2nd tap room in the DC area).

I like Equilibrium alot. That's one of the hype beers that doesn't usually let me down. I've had some great stuff from them

 

[Dgallo]

I think Veil's been slipping. I've been reading alot online about questionable quality lately and I was at a restaurant a month ago that always has an amazing tap list and had a Veil. Our server actually in the nicest way possible told me to reconsider when I tried to order it. Evidently was getting sent back by everyone because it had so much hop burn. I've never been that high on Aslin but alot of people are down on them lately. Both those places have the name though, so they'll keep doing well(Aslin just opened their 2nd tap room in the DC area)

That’s unfortunate about the veil, I’ve really enjoy the 8 or so beers I’ve had from them in the past. Same with aslin but aslin probably haven’t had an ipa from them since they first started to gain some attention.

 

[couchsending]

When you’ve got expansions to pay for and a pile of debt during a global Pandemic it becomes a little easier to push stuff out the door you might not be that happy with. Not justifying it but I’d be willing to bet it’s part of the equation.

Customers are constantly expecting more extreme flavors and experiences unfortunately. These beers with all the hop burn are a direct result of that. Just the state of craft beer right now and sadly a lot of these breweries that built their reputations on these “extreme” methods and experiences are stuck and have no way out.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

It was happening even before COVID. Most beer customers aren't as discriminating when it comes to quality especially when the name on the can says a certain thing so they can get away with cranking their stuff out too fast to keep up with demand.

 

[Dgallo]

When you’ve got expansions to pay for and a pile of debt during a global Pandemic it becomes a little easier to push stuff out the door you might not be that happy with. Not justifying it but I’d be willing to bet it’s part of the equation.

Customers are constantly expecting more extreme flavors and experiences unfortunately. These beers with all the hop burn are a direct result of that. Just the state of craft beer right now and sadly a lot of these breweries that built their reputations on these “extreme” methods and experiences are stuck and have no way out.

I know Salazar and Other half ended up parting ways since OH didn’t have the capital to build the infrastructure to really get their barrel program up and running because of all the other ventures they were in. I know he easily found a gig somewhere but it’s unfortunate because it would have been awesome to have another big name wild/farmhouse brewer here in NY

 

[couchsending]

I know Salazar and Other half ended up parting ways since OH didn’t have the capital to build the infrastructure to really get their barrel program up and running because of all the other ventures they were in. I know he easily found a gig somewhere but it’s unfortunate because it would have been awesome to have another big name wild/farmhouse brewer here in NY

Yeah or they realized that the sour/mixed ferm market is totally dead right now and they can make way more money much faster selling hazy IPA, kettle sours, and pastry stouts.

 

[Dgallo]

Yeah or they realized that the sour/mixed ferm market is totally dead right now and they can make way more money much faster selling hazy IPA, kettle sours, and pastry stouts.

I’m sure that was partly it as well(I don’t think the article mentioned that but def makes sense). I will say in NYS there is def a resurgence in the wild market with the farms brewers license subsidies Suarez and a new brewery, Weaver Hollow, have really strong followings

 

[JoeMamasIPA]

I just want to throw in a plug for Lupomax Citra. I just carbed up a 7.5% Citra/Mosaic (cliche) IPA and it is soooo fuggin good. Like Treehouse Julius in its prime good. Never had Citra explode out of the glass like this one and I have tried Cryo, YCH, YVH, Farmhouse, and BSG Citra. If I can repeat this brew I may never leave the house again.

 

[couchsending]

I’m sure that was partly it as well(I don’t think the article mentioned that but def makes sense). I will say in NYS there is def a resurgence in the wild market with the farms brewers license subsidies Suarez and a new brewery, Weaver Hollow, have really strong followings

How’s Drowned Lands mixed ferm stuff?

 

[beervoid]

I dont like most of the double dry hop super high lbs per barrel ipa's. Though the mouthfeel is fantastic, they taste oversaturated with one note.
I think the really good breweries have a good grip on what malt bill can support what amount of a specific type of hop.
I read Fluctuation by Equilibrium, is only 3lbs per barrel dry hop!

 

[Dgallo]

How’s Drowned Lands mixed ferm stuff?

I’ve actually never had anything from them yet but I seen them being ISO quite a bit in some groups. Idk if you heard of Plan Bee brewing out of NYS’s Hudson Valley but their stuff is great and they capture most of their cultures right from their farm. Their mission is to truly become farm to glass and I can def get behind it. Their venue is really cool and rustic as well. Check them out. Plan Bee Farm Brewery

 

[anteater8]

Citra/Nelson/Amarillo IPA update. This was supposed to be a west coast IPA but never cleared up after gelatin, and definitely has that juicy full mouthfeel despite the sugar, low F.G. and high sulfate. Calculated IBU's are higher than my typical NEIPA but doesn't taste like it. Super ripe mango and papaya on the nose. Pineapple, mango, melon and a hint of white wine in the flavor, a little dank too. Absolutely delicious, one of the best IPAs I've made in a while despite my intentions.

13 lb 2 row
3 lb Vienna
0.5 lb Sugar

0.8 oz Warrior 60 min (35 IBU)
1 oz Citra 10 min (13 IBU)
1 oz Nelson 0 min
1 oz Citra Whirlpool (185 degrees 15 min)
1 oz Nelson Whirlpool (185 degrees 15 min)
1 oz Citra Whirlpool (165 degrees 15 min)
1 oz Nelson Whirlpool (165 degrees 15 min)
2 oz Citra dry hop #1
2 oz Nelson dry hop #1
2 oz Amarillo dry hop #2
2 oz Nelson dry #2

(48 IBU from boil, ~63 IBU with whirlpool)

Imperial House gen 5

Whirlfloc 10 min
Yeast nutrient 10 min

150:50 sulfate:chloride

O.G. = 1.065
F.G. 1.007
ABV = 7.6%

 

[secretlevel]

Citra/Nelson/Amarillo IPA update. This was supposed to be a west coast IPA but never cleared up after gelatin, and definitely has that juicy full mouthfeel despite the sugar, low F.G. and high sulfate. Calculated IBU's are higher than my typical NEIPA but doesn't taste like it. Super ripe mango and papaya on the nose. Pineapple, mango, melon and a hint of white wine in the flavor, a little dank too. Absolutely delicious, one of the best IPAs I've made in a while despite my intentions.

View attachment 711039

13 lb 2 row
3 lb Vienna
0.5 lb Sugar

0.8 oz Warrior 60 min (35 IBU)
1 oz Citra 10 min (13 IBU)
1 oz Nelson 0 min
1 oz Citra Whirlpool (185 degrees 15 min)
1 oz Nelson Whirlpool (185 degrees 15 min)
1 oz Citra Whirlpool (165 degrees 15 min)
1 oz Nelson Whirlpool (165 degrees 15 min)
2 oz Citra dry hop #1
2 oz Nelson dry hop #1
2 oz Amarillo dry hop #2
2 oz Nelson dry #2

(48 IBU from boil, ~63 IBU with whirlpool)

Imperial House gen 5

Whirlfloc 10 min
Yeast nutrient 10 min

150:50 sulfate:chloride

O.G. = 1.065
F.G. 1.007
ABV = 7.6%

Nice!! This beer sounds like something Tree House would put out. I find that their beers have this pleasant underlying bitterness that you don't find in many NEIPA's. This type of hybrid IPA is also popular in the Northwest, probably one of my favorite beers of the year is this wet hopped Fields of Green by Fort George, made with all Coleman Ag Citra. Absolutely huge juicy cantaloupe and honeydew, with a drier finish so you can drink one after another.

 

[ihavenonickname]

I just want to throw in a plug for Lupomax Citra. I just carbed up a 7.5% Citra/Mosaic (cliche) IPA and it is soooo fuggin good. Like Treehouse Julius in its prime good. Never had Citra explode out of the glass like this one and I have tried Cryo, YCH, YVH, Farmhouse, and BSG Citra. If I can repeat this brew I may never leave the house again.

Sounds incredible! Seeing as this is a thread about us amateurs making beers like this could you share your recipe details and process keys to what made it so good?!

 

[braindead]

Just got my delivery of Lupo. Never seen them here in the UK yet.

 

[Bohern]

I do want to thank all of you. I have been following this thread and with the info I have picked up, I have made the best NEIPA I have ever made. The beer i made is an 8.2% beauty and has zero hop burn. I'll try and post a picture in the coming days.

 

[JoeMamasIPA]

Sounds incredible! Seeing as this is a thread about us amateurs making beers like this could you share your recipe details and process keys to what made it so good?!

Sure.

4.5 Gallons into fermenter

Grains
4.5 lb Simpsons Golden Promise
4 lb 2 Row
0.75 lb White wheat malt
0.5 lb Crystal 20
0.25 lb carapils

Hops
0.3 oz CTZ at 60 min
0.5 oz Mosaic at 20
0.5 oz Citra at 20
0.5 oz Mosaic at 10
0.5 oz Citra at 10
2oz Mosaic whirlpool at 180F for 30 min
2oz Citra whirlpool at 180F for 30 min
2oz Mosaic DH for 3 days
2oz LupoMax Citra DH for 3 days

Water Profile
175 Cl
125 SO4
80 Ca
60 Na
Target 5.35 mash pH

90 minute mash that starts at 152 and is allowed to drift down (my beers routinely come out better with a >60 minute mash)
1.5 qt starter of WLP007 yeast, decanted
Ferment at 67 degrees liquid temp for three days and then bring temp up to 70 until day 9
Crash in fermentation keg at 45F for 3 days (5 psi of CO2 added to prevent any O2 entry)
Transfer into dryhop keg and DH at 50F for 3 days
Serve/carb at 40F 2.3 vol

I ferment, DH, and serve in corny kegs. The DH keg is purged with fermentation CO2 with the DH sitting in there. I let that purge go for about 50 points to mimic the fermentation purge thread that suggests <5ppb O2 when using this method. Then I disconnect the DH keg and chill it so the dry hops aren't warm for the whole fermentation. The pre DH sample was kind of bland, all the taste came from the DH. I had never really made a habit of tasting pre DH beer but this was eye opening in that I am either wasting a ton of hotside hops or those hops are coating everything in oils in prep for the DH.

 

[latProd]

Good evening guys, and much love to all of you for all the info in this thread. I've been reading through it for the last 3-4 days. I'm currently trying to brew my first NEIPA using the information I got here. It's on day 4 of fermentation now, started at 65 f and slowly upped it to 70, where it's at now. I'm still learning, so unfortunately, using a grainfather, I got a fair bit of trub in there. I've never cold crashed or soft crashed before for that matter, so a little worried about suckback.
My question is, would it be ok to push some co2 in through the top of the fermenter (thus removing my s airlock) and let go for a the 1-2 days when soft crashing? if so, what PSI should it be set to? Or will this method not work to try to limit oxygen exposure? What are the consequences of not soft crashing it, will it affect more than the color? I just got myself a kegging setup, so it will be my first time doing that too.. So this will be an adventure to say the least.

 

[ihavenonickname]

Latprod - you are wise to be very concerned with cold crashing, transfers and O2 exposure. It should be a primary goal of making this style to dry hop, crash and transfer and serve with the lowest amount of O2 you can manage. How you accomplish these things is dependent on you equipment - can your fermenter hold the pressure you are thinking about using? Then crashing under CO2 pressure is the best option. If it cant hold the pressure you are gonna use you will wind up emptying your whole Co2 tank in the to room.

Next best solution is to do the balloon filled with Co2 thing, requires less pressure in the FV. If you can’t do one of these things I highly recommend skipping any temperature decrease for cold crash (suck back of O2). Just transfer to a keg with the lowest o2 exposure you can and crash the sediment out in the keg (where you CAN provide Co2 positive pressure).
Hope this helps.

 

[latProd]

Latprod - you are wise to be very concerned with cold crashing, transfers and O2 exposure. It should be a primary goal of making this style to dry hop, crash and transfer and serve with the lowest amount of O2 you can manage. How you accomplish these things is dependent on you equipment - can your fermenter hold the pressure you are thinking about using? Then crashing under CO2 pressure is the best option. If it cant hold the pressure you are gonna use you will wind up emptying your whole Co2 tank in the to room.

Next best solution is to do the balloon filled with Co2 thing, requires less pressure in the FV. If you can’t do one of these things I highly recommend skipping any temperature decrease for cold crash (suck back of O2). Just transfer to a keg with the lowest o2 exposure you can and crash the sediment out in the keg (where you CAN provide Co2 positive pressure).
Hope this helps.

Yes, it does help, thanks. I have no idea about whether it will hold the pressure, so I guess at this time, I will skip the crashing alltogether just to avoid unnecessary complications. Thanks for the feedback !

 

[wepeeler]

FYI, or FWIW, I tried Voss for the first time. Major hop burn. Soft crashed to 60 for 48 hours before DHing. DH at 60 for 48 hours. It's literally like eating a hop. Flavor is on point, but there's definitely burn that I haven't experienced since soft crashing before DHing. All Citra. Color is light straw, SUPER hazy. Been kegged for 2 weeks, and it's disappointing. Trying Imperial A24 Dry Hop on Saturday. Same grist.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

FYI, or FWIW, I tried Voss for the first time. Major hop burn. Soft crashed to 60 for 48 hours before DHing. DH at 60 for 48 hours. It's literally like eating a hop. Flavor is on point, but there's definitely burn that I haven't experienced since soft crashing before DHing. All Citra. Color is light straw, SUPER hazy. Been kegged for 2 weeks, and it's disappointing. Trying Imperial A24 Dry Hop on Saturday. Same grist.

Interesting, Ive used Voss several times and prefer it over hornidal (the only two kvieks Ive tried), but never got hop burn. But I have been soft crashing to 50 for about 36hrs at 50 prior to warming back up to 60 for DH. While I prefer Voss to hornidal, I LOVE A24 better than either of those Kvieks and A24 is a beast at fermenting too. Im sure you will like A24 better IMO. Its got great esters but not nearly as overpowering as the Kvieks esters can be depending on how hot and pitch rate you used the Kvieks at. A24 is the best of all worlds IMO in that esters are great but still let the hops be the stars.

 

[wepeeler]

Interesting, Ive used Voss several times and prefer it over hornidal (the only two kvieks Ive tried), but never got hop burn. But I have been soft crashing to 50 for about 36hrs at 50 prior to warming back up to 60 for DH. While I prefer Voss to hornidal, I LOVE A24 better than either of those Kvieks and A24 is a beast at fermenting too. Im sure you will like A24 better IMO. Its got great esters but not nearly as overpowering as the Kvieks esters can be depending on how hot and pitch rate you used the Kvieks at. A24 is the best of all worlds IMO in that esters are great but still let the hops be the stars.

I've used A24, but not for about a year. Never soft crashed it. Tried Hornindal for a few batches and wasn't super impressed. They say Voss gives off ORANGE, but I don't get much of that. Aroma is great, but it's hop juice. Definite hop burn. Kveik yeasts seem to flocc like crazy for me. Hornindal cleared up a bit, but Voss is the haziest beer I've ever made. It's like milk. My process has much improved since I last used A24, so I'm excited!

 

[secretlevel]

Does anyone reuse their A24 rather than buying new packs? I overbuild starters and store some for next time, but I've been noticing that the esters aren't as present after the initial batch. Could it be that one of the two strains in the mix is taking over?

I pitch at 68-70F, then let it ride at 73.