New England IPA "Northeast" style IPA

[couchsending]

Couple things.

I “soft crash” and generally dry hop cold for 90% of the hoppy beers I make. Generally 55-58* although recently I’ve been going even colder. Just kegged one that I dry hopped at 40 for 24 hours before dumping what hops had settled and cooling to 35. Then dumping hops next two days before kegging. The “cold hopped” Tree House beers had me intrigued. I will say the sample before kegging tasted like sh*t bit I’m going to give it time before giving my final judgement. It was a 12g batch so I split into two kegs. One went right into the keezer to carb, other will get Krausened tomorrow with the beer I brewed this evening. Interested to see how they differ.

You can warm hops up and even grind them a bit before adding to beer. I used to do this a bunch but don’t anymore. No real reason. Should try a side by side one of these days.

I can most of the beer I make to give to friends and what not. I will leave a low fill out at room temp every time to see if I get any hop creep once in the can. It’s happened twice so far. Both were with a specific lot of cascade that I think was full of enzymes. Only time it’s happened. Both beers were force tested for diacetyl before kegging and I got nothing but once they sat warm in the can for 3-4 days Diacetyl started to appear. Could have been caused by an infection in my canning gear but I don’t think so.

 

[stickyfinger]

i meant that it is an advantage in terms of racking. I was worried at first that extraction would be bad when they sank but the beer always turns very hazy and hoppy as the pellets sit on the bottom. The oils are dissolving into the beer.

how Is that a benefit? Don’t we want he hops to float and break up thereby coming into contact with more beer and releas8ng more oils. If they sink and stay in pellet form doesn’t seem like were getting all the good extraction out of them.

 

[aaronm13]

View attachment 713491Sample pour from my latest attempt and I’m really liking this one. For this one I added zero hot side hops making it a 100% dry hopped beer.

70% 2-row
20% white wheat
10% malted oats
7.5% abv

4 oz Apollo (added at the same time as pitching the yeast) which was a 1L starter of the new omega sundew.

Soft crashed to 60 for 12 hours then dry hopped directly in the fermenter with:

4 oz Vic Secret
4 oz Nelson
2 oz Citra Cryo

Held the temp at 60 for 48 hours then transferred into a purged keg with a nylon bag suspended containing:

4 oz Mosaic Lupomax

The keg has been in the chest freezer at 48 degrees for 48 hours and I’m going to leave it there for the duration.

So far it’s extremely dank and fruity. There’s zero bitterness but it’s not cloying and I have to say it’s probably one of the most aromatic and flavorful beers I’ve ever made.

Looks incredible. What was your FG on this one. Must see if I can get that Omega strain.

BTW, managed to pick up some Magnify beers before Christmas. Was very impressed by them, especially the TIPA is got, was so easy to drink.

 

[olotti]

https://www.homebrewing.org/Inkbird...I7Q_wbJZV1uw5Xx5njolTqnDAYeIpxTRoCE4YQAvD_BwE
https://www.acinfinity.com/componen...wScPGzxNRcp-0HOePjTLbo-IlCOsy3CRoCAH8QAvD_BwE
Temp control for your keezer for $50 bucks

Thanks for posting those but let me clear up my statement. I have a temp controller on my keezer it’s an older unit but that’s what was on it when I bought it off the guy last year however I meant having an independent ferm chamber To use for crashing. Typically I have a keg in the keezer and idk id rather not ”raise” the temp of the drinking keg to 50 so I never considered messing with the temp control. Idk do you think it would harm the beer in the filled keg to raise it to 50 for 36hrs then set it back to serving temp at 36-38 deg? the keg would be pretty cold just from being at serving temp for awhile it may not even change the temp of the keg since they are insulated.

 

[hopfenstopfen]

Alot of the Richmond breweries use RVA yeast so I would guess there's a good chance Veil is using the Manchester strain. Triple Crossing is another killer Richmond brewery using RVA yeast and while they didn't come out and say it they heavily alluded to using LA3/Manchester in a podcast I listened to a couple years ago. I've thought about getting some RVA yeast for fun(I also read Janish's write-up) but never did it. If you try it report back

Yeah, the description of Manchester seems to match the ester profile I can detect in the <7% ABV beers I picked up from the Veil. I'm familiar with Triple Crossing too, killer IPAs but also fantastic a Pils & Helles on tap recently. I haven't detected a hint of the ester profile yet in TC, perhaps lower fermentation temps. Which podcast was it?

I picked up a vial of Manchester & the Conan variant from Original Gravity. Then went next door to Final Gravity for a couple pints. I picked up the same vanilla/marmalade? esters in their flagship IPA. In case you're not familiar with OG/FG, the brew shop carries RVA labs yeast and the small brewery next door is on par with the larger operations in the city. Man, I miss living in RVA.

 

[HopsAreGood]

Looks incredible. What was your FG on this one. Must see if I can get that Omega strain.

BTW, managed to pick up some Magnify beers before Christmas. Was very impressed by them, especially the TIPA is got, was so easy to drink.

FG was 1.010 which is a little low for some people but I don’t mind. 1.010-1.012 seems more drinkable to me than 1.016-1.018 but either way isn’t really a huge deal. I ran the sundew at 70 and let it free rise to 74 and it was completely done in 72 hours.

It’s funny because I feel like every time I post a picture of a beer it’s always in that magnify glass. Not sure why...I am in New Jersey and people have mixed feelings about them, but I’ve always been a fan. One of the knocks on them is that while almost all of their beers are “Good” very few of them are amazing. Their triple series is however really really good. If you did not see the 10.5% on the can, you’d have no idea that it was that strong.

 

[hopfenstopfen]

View attachment 713491Sample pour from my latest attempt and I’m really liking this one. For this one I added zero hot side hops making it a 100% dry hopped beer.

70% 2-row
20% white wheat
10% malted oats
7.5% abv

4 oz Apollo (added at the same time as pitching the yeast) which was a 1L starter of the new omega sundew.

Soft crashed to 60 for 12 hours then dry hopped directly in the fermenter with:

4 oz Vic Secret
4 oz Nelson
2 oz Citra Cryo

Held the temp at 60 for 48 hours then transferred into a purged keg with a nylon bag suspended containing:

4 oz Mosaic Lupomax

The keg has been in the chest freezer at 48 degrees for 48 hours and I’m going to leave it there for the duration.

So far it’s extremely dank and fruity. There’s zero bitterness but it’s not cloying and I have to say it’s probably one of the most aromatic and flavorful beers I’ve ever made.

very intrigued. Say, that's a heck of a hopping rate, what was the OG on this one?

 

[HopsAreGood]

very intrigued. Say, that's a heck of a hopping rate, what was the OG on this one?

Haha, I know. It’s a lot of hops..essentially 8 lb/bl all dry hop. 1.068-1.010.

Next time I’m going to skip the active fermentation dry hop and the dry hop in the fermenter, and I’m going to hang 20 ounces of hops in a large nylon bag in the keg. I’m going to purge that keg with the fermentation CO2, and then transfer the unhopped beer Into that keg and dry hop for about four days. I’m then going to jump that into a liquid purged serving keg. We’ll see how it goes.

 

[aaronm13]

FG was 1.010 which is a little low for some people but I don’t mind. 1.010-1.012 seems more drinkable to me than 1.016-1.018 but either way isn’t really a huge deal. I ran the sundew at 70 and let it free rise to 74 and it was completely done in 72 hours.

It’s funny because I feel like every time I post a picture of a beer it’s always in that magnify glass. Not sure why...I am in New Jersey and people have mixed feelings about them, but I’ve always been a fan. One of the knocks on them is that while almost all of their beers are “Good” very few of them are amazing. Their triple series is however really really good. If you did not see the 10.5% on the can, you’d have no idea that it was that strong.

That's interesting about the FG. I usually aim for around 1.018-20 myself but the beer I have dry hopping at the moment was sitting at 1.011 when I transferred to the dry hop keg. Worried it might be a bit thin on the body. Used London Fog and this is usually so predicable at this stage, I use it so much. I did mash at 149 this time when I usually mash at 152. Don't think that would make a massive difference to the FG. Added hops during fermentation this time, at 48 hours so guess I got a bit of hop creep.

The Magnify triple was a lot better than the doubles. Very dangerous as they hid their alcohol a bit too well.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Yeah, the description of Manchester seems to match the ester profile I can detect in the <7% ABV beers I picked up from the Veil. I'm familiar with Triple Crossing too, killer IPAs but also fantastic a Pils & Helles on tap recently. I haven't detected a hint of the ester profile yet in TC, perhaps lower fermentation temps. Which podcast was it?

I picked up a vial of Manchester & the Conan variant from Original Gravity. Then went next door to Final Gravity for a couple pints. I picked up the same vanilla/marmalade? esters in their flagship IPA. In case you're not familiar with OG/FG, the brew shop carries RVA labs yeast and the small brewery next door is on par with the larger operations in the city. Man, I miss living in RVA.

I've been to Final Gravity when I was down there and their stuff was phenomenal. I really wanted to grab some stuff at their Original Gravity shop next door but just didn't have anywhere to keep it while traveling. I'd be there alot buying supplies if I lived there.

I went back and checked my notes and the podcast was Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine-November 2018. It was a long time ago but I seem to recall the host asking them about their yeast and they were being a little coy and wouldn't say which but said it was a really popular/obvious english hazy strain. I guess it could be Conan too. It was a good podcast and they actually were pretty forthcoming about their processes/recipes.

 

[Beerdrinker85]

I am going for Bru-1/citra/galaxy from YVH cyber pack very soon. I think I can't go wrong with that trio. I never used Bru-1 Thinking 40%/40%/20% galaxy

So I did this beer and it's kegged since 5 days.

Peachy/mango/pineapple dominant trio on aroma and flavor. I can't taste the Bru-1 alone but certainly contribute to enhance the pineapple flavor. Great trio if your all in for 100% fruits.

Fresh 2020 crop YCH bags certainly helped a lot.

6 Gal in fermenter

Malts (14 lb 8 oz)
5 lb (32.3%) — Gambrinus Pale Malt 2-Row — Grain — 2 °L
5 lb (32.3%) — Pilsner 2-Row — Grain — 2 °L
2 lb (12.9%) — Briess Oats, Flaked — Grain — 1.6 °L
2 lb (12.9%) — Gambrinus Wheat Malt — Grain — 2.3 °L
8 oz (3.2%) — Cargill (Gambrinus) Honey Malt — Grain — 19 °L

Hops (12.25 oz)
0.6 oz (26 IBU) — BRU-1 14% — First Wort
0.5 oz (8 IBU) — Citra 12% — Boil — 10 min
0.5 oz (6 IBU) — Citra 12% — Boil — 5 min
0.65 oz (5 IBU) — BRU-1 14% — Boil — 0 min
2 oz (16 IBU) — BRU-1 14% — Aroma — 30 min hopstand @ 180 °F
2 oz (14 IBU) — Citra 12% — Aroma — 30 min hopstand @ 180 °F
1 oz (8 IBU) — Galaxy 14% — Aroma — 30 min hopstand @ 180 °F
1 oz — BRU-1 14% — Dry Hop — 5 days
1 oz — Citra 12% — Dry Hop — 5 days
0.5 oz — Galaxy 14% — Dry Hop — 5 days
1 oz — BRU-1 14% — Dry Hop — 3 days
1 oz — Citra 12% — Dry Hop — 3 days
0.5 oz — Galaxy 14% — Dry Hop — 3 days

Hopstand at 180-160 °F
Foggy London Ale Gen 6

Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.017

Can't wait to retry bru-1 with sabro and Idaho 7 next week.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Haha, I know. It’s a lot of hops..essentially 8 lb/bl all dry hop. 1.068-1.010.

Next time I’m going to skip the active fermentation dry hop and the dry hop in the fermenter, and I’m going to hang 20 ounces of hops in a large nylon bag in the keg. I’m going to purge that keg with the fermentation CO2, and then transfer the unhopped beer Into that keg and dry hop for about four days. I’m then going to jump that into a liquid purged serving keg. We’ll see how it goes.

If you end up doing this please follow up in this thread with your results and impressions.

 

[HopsAreGood]

If you end up doing this please follow up in this thread with your results and impressions.

Will do. I’m going to do it with 4 oz Simcoe cryo, 4 oz Ekuanot cryo, and 4 oz Apollo. I’m on a bit of dank kick lately but will follow the process outlined above to a t.

 

[stickyfinger]

I'm having a come to Jesus moment on fresh hops after a lackluster beer made using 2018 citra and 2019 galaxy. both were freshly opened vac-sealed bags and they were underwhelming. I'm going to start ordering smaller amounts of smaller bags of hops for dry hops instead of 1lb bags. I was wondering if it is worth getting cryo hops. I had heard a brewer on a podcast say that he is rarely disappointed with cryo hops in terms of flavor/quality. Made me start thinking that it might be worth it to just buy all cryo so i can be assured of getting a consistently good product. Definitely going to start using only fresh bags for dry hops and only from the most recent hop year! the rest go into the hop stand!

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I'm having a come to Jesus moment on fresh hops after a lackluster beer made using 2018 citra and 2019 galaxy. both were freshly opened vac-sealed bags and they were underwhelming. I'm going to start ordering smaller amounts of smaller bags of hops for dry hops instead of 1lb bags. I was wondering if it is worth getting cryo hops. I had heard a brewer on a podcast say that he is rarely disappointed with cryo hops in terms of flavor/quality. Made me start thinking that it might be worth it to just buy all cryo so i can be assured of getting a consistently good product. Definitely going to start using only fresh bags for dry hops and only from the most recent hop year! the rest go into the hop stand!

It's a pretty big deal, trying to use the freshest possible hops especially in the dry hop. I've heard lots of brewers talk about that in podcasts. I've been buying mostly 2 oz quantities from YVH for the last couple years unless there's a pounder on flash sale or something(like citra right now). I like cutting some of my dry hop with some cryo when I can.

 

[stickyfinger]

Yeah saw the citra pounders on sale and had to hold myself back lol

It's a pretty big deal, trying to use the freshest possible hops especially in the dry hop. I've heard lots of brewers talk about that in podcasts. I've been buying mostly 2 oz quantities from YVH for the last couple years unless there's a pounder on flash sale or something(like citra right now). I like cutting some of my dry hop with some cryo when I can.

 

[Dgallo]

In the case you don’t follow yvh on social media, receive emails, or just happened to miss this.. 2020 Citra Flash sale $16/lb.

https://yakimavalleyhops.com/products/citra-hop-pellets?variant=34608986521733

 

[HopsAreGood]

I'm having a come to Jesus moment on fresh hops after a lackluster beer made using 2018 citra and 2019 galaxy. both were freshly opened vac-sealed bags and they were underwhelming. I'm going to start ordering smaller amounts of smaller bags of hops for dry hops instead of 1lb bags. I was wondering if it is worth getting cryo hops. I had heard a brewer on a podcast say that he is rarely disappointed with cryo hops in terms of flavor/quality. Made me start thinking that it might be worth it to just buy all cryo so i can be assured of getting a consistently good product. Definitely going to start using only fresh bags for dry hops and only from the most recent hop year! the rest go into the hop stand!

Assuming all of the best practices that are constantly discussed in this thread are followed, the number one factor in terms of how good the finished product comes out is the quality of the hops. I’ve been a part of this thread for a while now, as have many of the other posters, and the processes and techniques that have been discussed at great lengths are at minimum on par with many professional breweries. In many instances I’d say they are even better.

I’ve made somewhere between 75-100 batches of super hoppy NE style ipas, and have had some batches that I would honestly say were better than 99% of the best commercial examples available.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to understand that IF all of the best practices regarding our processes and techniques are followed, the only other variable is the quality of the hops. It’s a HUGE factor if you’re chasing that dragon that you can’t quite seem to get.

As @VirginiaHops1 said above, the single most common thing I hear when listening to countless podcasts with highly respected brewers of this style of beer is the quality of the hops. They talk about the selection process, variance from lot to lot, farm to farm, year to year, etc..I’ve even heard some of them talking about the specific temperature at which they store them.

I’ve recently been looking into sourcing hops outside of the typical LHBS, Yakima valley hops, farmhouse, moorbeer, northern brewer, etc....The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to get the same quality of hops that pro brewers get as a home brewer.

I will say that I’ve had some great success using Lupomax and cryo hops, and I’m really trying to get my hands on some incognito but that’s proved to be very difficult in the US. The European sites that carry it in homebrew quantities won’t ship here.

So anyway, I’d agree one thousand percent that the quality of the hops we can get and use, is paramount to how good our final product turns out.

You can be a phenomenal chef but if your ingredients are mediocre, your food will also be mediocre.

 

[blkmagik98]

I will say that I’ve had some great success using Lupomax and cryo hops, and I’m really trying to get my hands on some incognito but that’s proved to be very difficult in the US. The European sites that carry it in homebrew quantities won’t ship here.

YVH is carrying Incognito but currently on in 2kg jugs and it's expensive at $475 to $510, depending on which hop.

 

[HopsAreGood]

YVH is carrying Incognito but currently on in 2kg jugs and it's expensive at $475 to $510, depending on which hop.

I know...there are a few homebrew sites based in Europe that have it broken down into smaller sizes, but they won’t ship to the US. I’m not sure why no one in the US has taken this approach and broken it down, but as far as I can tell no one has. I’d love to do a beer with incognito, cryo, and Lupomax, but getting the incognito seems impossible at this point.

 

[blkmagik98]

I know...there are a few homebrew sites based in Europe that have it broken down into smaller sizes, but they won’t ship to the US. I’d love to do a beer with incognito, cryo, and Lupomax, but getting the incognito seems impossible at this point.

Too rich for my blood too but at least YVH say they're trying to do smaller quantities for homebrewers. We'll see I guess.

 

[HopsAreGood]

Too rich for my blood too but at least YVH say they're trying to do smaller quantities for homebrewers. We'll see I guess.

Have they said that? I’d be thrilled if they started to offer it in smaller sizes.

 

[Dgallo]

Have they said that? I’d be thrilled if they started to offer it in smaller sizes.

Yeah. Haas is either a part owner or big investor in YVH now, so they are going to be the sole provider of Hb portions of incognito in the us

 

[HopsAreGood]

Yeah. Haas is either a part owner or big investor in YVH now, so they are going to be the sole provider of Hb portions of incognito in the us

Awesome. Any idea when?

 

[Dgallo]

Awesome. Any idea when?

No clue. Anything I’ve ever found on it was “soon” lol

 

[blkmagik98]

Have they said that? I’d be thrilled if they started to offer it in smaller sizes.

It mentions it on this page- INCOGNITO®

 

[secretlevel]

Assuming all of the best practices that are constantly discussed in this thread are followed, the number one factor in terms of how good the finished product comes out is the quality of the hops. I’ve been a part of this thread for a while now, as have many of the other posters, and the processes and techniques that have been discussed at great lengths are at minimum on par with many professional breweries. In many instances I’d say they are even better.

I’ve made somewhere between 75-100 batches of super hoppy NE style ipas, and have had some batches that I would honestly say were better than 99% of the best commercial examples available.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to understand that IF all of the best practices regarding our processes and techniques are followed, the only other variable is the quality of the hops. It’s a HUGE factor if you’re chasing that dragon that you can’t quite seem to get.

As @VirginiaHops1 said above, the single most common thing I hear when listening to countless podcasts with highly respected brewers of this style of beer is the quality of the hops. They talk about the selection process, variance from lot to lot, farm to farm, year to year, etc..I’ve even heard some of them talking about the specific temperature at which they store them.

I’ve recently been looking into sourcing hops outside of the typical LHBS, Yakima valley hops, farmhouse, moorbeer, northern brewer, etc....The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to get the same quality of hops that pro brewers get as a home brewer.

I will say that I’ve had some great success using Lupomax and cryo hops, and I’m really trying to get my hands on some incognito but that’s proved to be very difficult in the US. The European sites that carry it in homebrew quantities won’t ship here.

So anyway, I’d agree one thousand percent that the quality of the hops we can get and use, is paramount to how good our final product turns out.

You can be a phenomenal chef but if your ingredients are mediocre, your food will also be mediocre.

Hear that man. I'm nowhere near as close to your numbers, I'm probably around 25 IPA batches in (rookie numbers), but I definitely notice some of these differences. One of the first west coast IPA's I made was all Centennial and Mosaic, it came out a huge blueberry bomb. I loved it.

I brewed up a similar west coast recently, same-ish recipe, but with Idaho 7, Idaho 7 cryo, and 2019 Mosaic, and it just came out as pure dank with no fruit to speak of. I previously got lots of orange from I7 and all sorts of fruit from Mosaic, but not this time, just unlucky I guess.

 

[Dgallo]

Some of you may find this very interesting. It’s regarding the brewing potential of Nectar Inhibiting Yeast (NIY) - a wild yeast strain found on flowers. The strains are very good at biotransformation. I have a feeling there will be a lot more info to come out regarding this.
http://scottjanish.com/m-reukaufii-...rN9ZdMpPbxEImo4OJ-Wtu47cUwkk0IfD2w0su78c1jNv0

 

[beervoid]

Assuming all of the best practices that are constantly discussed in this thread are followed, the number one factor in terms of how good the finished product comes out is the quality of the hops. I’ve been a part of this thread for a while now, as have many of the other posters, and the processes and techniques that have been discussed at great lengths are at minimum on par with many professional breweries. In many instances I’d say they are even better.

I’ve made somewhere between 75-100 batches of super hoppy NE style ipas, and have had some batches that I would honestly say were better than 99% of the best commercial examples available.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to understand that IF all of the best practices regarding our processes and techniques are followed, the only other variable is the quality of the hops. It’s a HUGE factor if you’re chasing that dragon that you can’t quite seem to get.

As @VirginiaHops1 said above, the single most common thing I hear when listening to countless podcasts with highly respected brewers of this style of beer is the quality of the hops. They talk about the selection process, variance from lot to lot, farm to farm, year to year, etc..I’ve even heard some of them talking about the specific temperature at which they store them.

I’ve recently been looking into sourcing hops outside of the typical LHBS, Yakima valley hops, farmhouse, moorbeer, northern brewer, etc....The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to get the same quality of hops that pro brewers get as a home brewer.

I will say that I’ve had some great success using Lupomax and cryo hops, and I’m really trying to get my hands on some incognito but that’s proved to be very difficult in the US. The European sites that carry it in homebrew quantities won’t ship here.

So anyway, I’d agree one thousand percent that the quality of the hops we can get and use, is paramount to how good our final product turns out.

You can be a phenomenal chef but if your ingredients are mediocre, your food will also be mediocre.

I fully agree with this, I'm around 120 Neipa's in and counting. My best ones, I can't explain why. Tested so many factors. The only thing left is hop quality. I was just lucky with a good lot, I'm thinking.
I'm trying to keep track of the hop lot nrs when they are available and tracking if oil profiles tell anything about perceived flavor.
Citra is a good example, it can be grapefruit/citrus more often in my experience then straight bright tropical mango/cantaloupe.

 

[anteater8]

I've been using a floating dip tube on my last few batches. No drastic improvement, but no complaints either. Something just occurred to me though... Usually I let my kegs chill for a few days and then pour off 8 oz or so of very hazy beer, just to get all that sediment out of the keg. That's not an option with a floating dip tube. Anyone have thoughts on this and whether it impacts the quality of the keg over time?

 

[Dgallo]

I've been using a floating dip tube on my last few batches. No drastic improvement, but no complaints either. Something just occurred to me though... Usually I let my kegs chill for a few days and then pour off 8 oz or so of very hazy beer, just to get all that sediment out of the keg. That's not an option with a floating dip tube. Anyone have thoughts on this and whether it impacts the quality of the keg over time?

I think its a personal preference thing. I have a floating dip tube in my fermenter but not my serving kegs. I do a pretty solid soft and final crash. This way I don't transfer much trub to the serving keg. I would say if you are diligent about transferring then your most likely do not need it for a Hazy Ipa. If you make a lot of lagers, it will definitely let you serve clearer beer earlier

 

[TBryerton]

I've been using a floating dip tube on my last few batches. No drastic improvement, but no complaints either. Something just occurred to me though... Usually I let my kegs chill for a few days and then pour off 8 oz or so of very hazy beer, just to get all that sediment out of the keg. That's not an option with a floating dip tube. Anyone have thoughts on this and whether it impacts the quality of the keg over time?

I see so many people, even with conicals, using all kinds of workarounds for transferring. I think it’s crazy - half the purpose of having a conical and temp control is to drop everything out the bottom. For me, taking the time to figure out how to properly crash was a much better solution that inline filters, dip tubes, etc.

 

[stickyfinger]

I love the floating dip tubes for using to transfer from dry hopping kegs, to ferment with, to transfer from a "secondary" for when i add weird adjuncts to stouts, or for when putting a beer on nitro or for other clear beers - it clears much faster and the nitro pours are awesome much faster. i don't use them in my serving keg for IPAs anymore.

 

[anteater8]

I think its a personal preference thing. I have a floating dip tube in my fermenter but not my serving kegs. I do a pretty solid soft and final crash. This way I don't transfer much trub to the serving keg. I would say if you are diligent about transferring then your most likely do not need it for at least an Hazy Ipa. If you make a lot of lagers, it will definitely let you serve clearer beer earlier

I see so many people, even with conicals, using all kinds of workarounds for transferring. I think it’s crazy - half the purpose of having a conical and temp control is to drop everything out the bottom. For me, taking the time to figure out how to properly crash was a much better solution that inline filters, dip tubes, etc.

I love the floating dip tubes for using to transfer from dry hopping kegs, to ferment with, to transfer from a "secondary" for when i add weird adjuncts to stouts, or for when putting a beer on nitro or for other clear beers - it clears much faster and the nitro pours are awesome much faster. i don't use them in my serving keg for IPAs anymore.

All good takes! Since I'm happy with my crashing/transfer process, and never had any oxidation issues, I agree that floating dip tube in the serving keg probably doesn't make a huge different in NEIPAs. I definitely won't mind pouring a clear pilsner a little bit sooner!

 

[aaronm13]

What do people feel the negative's are with using a floating dip tube in their serving kegs? Been using the for a good while now for my ipas and they stay just as hazy till the very last pour.

 

[skleice]

What do people feel the negative's are with using a floating dip tube in their serving kegs? Been using the for a good while now for my ipas and they stay just as hazy till the very last pour.

I think they work just fine in a serving keg and I agree that haze is not an issue. However, I did have one bad experience where the ball/tube would not sit right in the beer and thus would not pour. It just 'poured' CO2 no matter how much I reoriented/shook the keg. Very frustrating.

 

[aaronm13]

I think they work just fine in a serving keg and I agree that haze is not an issue. However, I did have one bad experience where the ball/tube would not sit right in the beer and thus would not pour. It just 'poured' CO2 no matter how much I reoriented/shook the keg. Very frustrating.

I've had that issue with some diy versions I made but the Fermzilla floating dip tubes have been great.

 

[kingmatt]

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to understand that IF all of the best practices regarding our processes and techniques are followed, the only other variable is the quality of the hops. It’s a HUGE factor if you’re chasing that dragon that you can’t quite seem to get.

As @VirginiaHops1 said above, the single most common thing I hear when listening to countless podcasts with highly respected brewers of this style of beer is the quality of the hops. They talk about the selection process, variance from lot to lot, farm to farm, year to year, etc..I’ve even heard some of them talking about the specific temperature at which they store them.

I’ve recently been looking into sourcing hops outside of the typical LHBS, Yakima valley hops, farmhouse, moorbeer, northern brewer, etc....The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to get the same quality of hops that pro brewers get as a home brewer.

I will say that I’ve had some great success using Lupomax and cryo hops, and I’m really trying to get my hands on some incognito but that’s proved to be very difficult in the US. The European sites that carry it in homebrew quantities won’t ship here.

So anyway, I’d agree one thousand percent that the quality of the hops we can get and use, is paramount to how good our final product turns out.

You can be a phenomenal chef but if your ingredients are mediocre, your food will also be mediocre.

This has been my biggest gripe as a homebrewer for years now, we tend to get the "leftovers" as far a hops go after the big breweries hand select the best crops for themselves. I understand why it happens but it doesn't make it any less annoying!

Whenever I can, I try to buy the "Select" hops from Bells. You pay a little more, but they claim the hops are the same hand selected ones they use in their commercial beers, and I have to think Bell's is big enough to get some priority in choosing their hops.

It may be a confirmation bias thing, but I have found their Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops to be excellent and I would buy them 10 times out of 10 over YVH, Farmhouse etc. The biggest issue with the Bell's Select hops is their limited supply...

 

[TBryerton]

This has been my biggest gripe as a homebrewer for years now, we tend to get the "leftovers" as far a hops go after the big breweries hand select the best crops for themselves. I understand why it happens but it doesn't make it any less annoying!

Whenever I can, I try to buy the "Select" hops from Bells. You pay a little more, but they claim the hops are the same hand selected ones they use in their commercial beers, and I have to think Bell's is big enough to get some priority in choosing their hops.

It may be a confirmation bias thing, but I have found their Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops to be excellent and I would buy them 10 times out of 10 over YVH, Farmhouse etc. The biggest issue with the Bell's Select hops is their limited supply...

The beer I just kegged was my first experience with Bells, specifically their Citra. I haven’t tapped the keg yet but samples out of the FV were already much more impressive than Citra hops I’ve used in the past. Mosaic (YVH) in the boil and WP. I wanted to do all Citra DH but Bells limited the # of Citra I could buy, and I wanted to divide evenly over 4 brews, so I ended up doing about 70/30 Citra/Mosaic. Very expensive in comparison (had to buy by the oz) but unfortunately I think it justified the cost.

 

[kingmatt]

The beer I just kegged was my first experience with Bells, specifically their Citra. I haven’t tapped the keg yet but samples out of the FV were already much more impressive than Citra hops I’ve used in the past. Mosaic (YVH) in the boil and WP. I wanted to do all Citra DH but Bells limited the # of Citra I could buy, and I wanted to divide evenly over 4 brews, so I ended up doing about 70/30 Citra/Mosaic. Very expensive in comparison (had to buy by the oz) but unfortunately I think it justified the cost.

In my Citra heavy beers I try to only use Bell's Select because quality for Citra varies so much IMO. I am doing a Double Sunshine Clone this weekend so I bought all I could get of the Citra Select (20oz total) and threw some Mosaic and Simcoe in the cart for good measure.
Like you said, it is more expensive but I'd rather pay a couple bucks extra to have an outstanding finished product.