Top Crop a NEIPA

[slayer021175666]

So, I made the NEIPA I spoke of in my other recent posts. It's been merrily bubbling away for a day and a half. I want to dry hop it tonight and top crop the yeast. I brewed this same beer about one year ago and to the best of my memory, I cropped the yeast while I had the bucket lid off, right before I pitched the dry hops. I never got any ill effect and the beer was AWESOME! I think what's going on is, if you catch it while it's still fermenting pretty strong, the C02 is coming out too fast for oxygen to get in. I just wondered what you guys' opinions would be about it. I figure, if I'm taking the lid off to pitch hops anyway, why not crop the yeast while I'm at it.
Also, last time. I pitched the hops lose in the fementer. Maybe a big roomy bag would keep the beer cleaner but, I am concerned about hop utilization. What opinions do y'all have about it? Loose or in a hop bag? Could a cold crash drop the hops and make the beer clean?

What do ya' think, guys?

 

[slayer021175666]

Anyone?
What? Is everyone at work?

 

[hotbeer]

I guess you'll have to settle for the musings of a noob if you are in a hurry.

I've only dry hopped directly into the fermenter. No bag or anything else. Pelletized hops.

Before bottling, I usually will wait for my beers to clean up somewhat while they are in the fermenter. And that might be 7 to 10 days after the FG is stable. So the hops are long since just trub on the bottom or maybe some stuck to the side at the top.

I've never had an issue with hops getting into my priming pot. But for batches I've been a little worried about, I'll sit one of those flat bottom permanent coffee filters which is actually just a fine mesh strainer in the priming pot to trap anything that might come through the siphon hose. Surprisingly no hops. Maybe it gets buried by the yeast on top of the trub layer. Never looked that closely at the trub layer since by the time I finish bottling, I'm ready to sit and have a beer, so it gets thrown out to the compost pile out back.

As for top cropping. Never done it. But if you aren't harvesting the yeast for later use, why do it? Or are you not using hop pellets that simply fall through it?

 

[slayer021175666]

I wouldn't even try to bottle a NEIPA. I'm kegging. I see, it says that you're a noob. We all were at one time. You have to understand though, A NEIPA is very susceptible to oxygen degradation. That's why I'm asking and of course, I plan on using the yeast or why in the world would I top crop? You can't "wait" on a NEIPA, either. You need to drink it as soon as it is ready. The Hop flavor and aroma is too quickly lost.
Then, of course, you have opinions. Mine is that no ale on the planet needs to be "conditioned." Cleaned up, as you put it. Every ale I've ever encountered was better at the peak of freshness which is right when it is at final gravity. Cold crash right away and carb it. If there is some reason on a certain recipe that it is needed to lager (age) or condition or clean up, I wouldn't brew that recipe. Takes too long and what a hassle. I'm drinking one right now that went from grain to glass in 6 days and it's awesome! Not the NEIPA but, my Hef. Any who, Ales are best to drink right away. That's just my opinion.
Thank you for at least giving me YOUR opinion, though. Cheers!

 

[hotbeer]

You're welcome. Thanks for YOUR opinions!

 

[slayer021175666]

hotbeer,
I just read back through what I wrote and, I forgot something:
The reason that I would never try to bottle a neipa is because of that oxygen degradation issue. If you get any Oxygen in a NEIPA, it fouls everything all up. Give it bunch of off flavors and stuff so, you would never want to try to bottle it. Too much splashing and whatever. Any Oxygen introduction to a NEIPA is a bad thing.

 

[hotbeer]

Some of us will only be bottlers. I've no desire to go to the hassle of kegging. My son kegs, to him and I suppose everyone that kegs it's easier. For me it just requires more stuff and introduces more complication and does nothing for the easiness. I don't mind cleaning bottles.

But I understand - to a noobish extent, the concerns of NEIPA's and oxidation. While I like hop flavors, and the hoppier the better sometimes, I'm not going get excited if I don't ever brew and successfully bottle the ultimate NEIPA to another's standards. I only need to enjoy it myself.

Still I'm curious if you top crop to save the yeast? If not, then what other reason is there for top cropping?

 

[slayer021175666]

Just to save yeast. Every time you do a higher alcohol volume, you're kind of strengthening the yeast so that it can take on more. The way I do it is, I start with my hef which is about 5% and then move to a beer (usually, some experimental such as this NEIPA) which is about 6.7%. After that, I do my Stout which is about 9 to 9.2%. You're just building up your yeast to take more and more alcohol. After the Stout is done, I go back to the source.

 

[tld6008]

Cold crashing definitely will drop the hops, you just need to prevent air from entering the FV when doing it.

 

[jwhazel]

My opinions:
* NEIPA's extremely susceptible to o2 as you are already well aware of. Not worth it to top crop, just use new yeast/starter. If you really want to, pull from the bottom after you keg it.
* loose hops + cold crash or weighted bag + no cold crash. NEIPA's are typically aggressively dry hopped and I don't think you will notice any difference. Be less concerned about utilization and more about not getting your keg poppet blocked during transfer which will ruin your kegging day (guess how I know this)
* if you do cold crash you need to find someway to prevent sanitizer and/or o2 suckback

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

My ales are always dry hopped and I almost always top crop while I'm at it. I also do this while there is still plenty of active fermentation to blow out the oxygen that's introduced at this point. Seems to work fine for me.