Top Few Hops For Juicy/Hazy/NEIPA

[rodwha]

So I’ve figured I’d finally brew my idea of a hazy IPA. I haven’t been that fond of the style so far as a whole. I don’t get why one would want their beer hazy, though I’m not against it per se. What I’ve not cared for is the lack of hoppiness I often find, which certainly isn’t to say they’ve all been like that. There are several that I bring home often enough. But overall I find them more akin to a hoppy pale ale than an IPA, and some just seem muddied with nothing to stand out. So I’ve decided to brew a citrusy wheat IPA for my first stab at it.

So what are the top few citrusy hops any of you find embody the “juicy” aspect of this style? Typically I buy one or maybe 2 types so as to get a bulk buy discount when it comes to IPAs (I don’t like opened hop bags sitting long).

 

[day_trippr]

My go-to strains for neipas:

Citra
Mosaic
Galaxy
El Dorado
Simcoe
Denali
Azacca
Amarillo
Chinook

Cheers!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I am not sure what you are shooting for. "lack of hoppiness" is definitely not how I would describe NEIPAs, or at least what I find here in the Mid Atlantic. I find many of them quite hop saturated. It might be that you like the more spicy/earthy/bitter flavors from boil hops or you equate bitterness with "hoppiness" or you equate classic American hop characters with "hoppiness".

So it might be that you would enjoy a beer with more bitterness from boil hops and/or a beer brewed with classics like Centennial, Cascade, Columbus, etc...or the "newer classics" like Simcoe or Amarillo. Citra and Mosaic are core NEIPA hops...very good but a bit overused...though I just kegged an NEIPA with Citra, Mosaic and Centennial. I have only made 4 NEIPA batches myself. The others were Citra/Mosaic, Citra/Mosaic/Cascade/Chinook, and El Dorado/Azacca/Lemon Drop.

Have you thought about your IBU target, or how much hops you plan to use late/whirlpool and dry hop? My hop additions for the style have been creeping up. My last batch had 2 oz at 10 min, 6 oz whirlpool, and 6 oz dry hop.

This post has some pretty solid info on NEIPAs: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/northeast-style-ipa.568046/page-146#post-8203827

 

[rodwha]

I am not sure what you are shooting for. "lack of hoppiness" is definitely not how I would describe NEIPAs, or at least what I find here in the Mid Atlantic. I find many of them quite hop saturated. It might be that you like the more spicy/earthy/bitter flavors from boil hops or you equate bitterness with "hoppiness" or you equate classic American hop characters with "hoppiness".

So it might be that you would enjoy a beer with more bitterness from boil hops and/or a beer brewed with classics like Centennial, Cascade, Columbus, etc...or the "newer classics" like Simcoe or Amarillo. Citra and Mosaic are core NEIPA hops...very good but a bit overused...though I just kegged an NEIPA with Citra, Mosaic and Centennial. I have only made 4 NEIPA batches myself. The others were Citra/Mosaic, Citra/Mosaic/Cascade/Chinook, and El Dorado/Azacca/Lemon Drop.

Have you thought about your IBU target, or how much hops you plan to use late/whirlpool and dry hop? My hop additions for the style have been creeping up. My last batch had 2 oz at 10 min, 6 oz whirlpool, and 6 oz dry hop.

This post has some pretty solid info on NEIPAs: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/northeast-style-ipa.568046/page-146#post-8203827

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some hoppy excellent NEIPAs, but I find many of them come across as neutered as far as hoppy flavor goes.

It’s not that I equate bitterness to hoppiness. Every pale ale and IPA I make uses just 1/4 to 1/2 oz as a first wort hop and I prefer my commercial IPAs to also not be noticeably bitter, though I don’t mind if they are to an extent. I even love Arrogant Bastard’s extreme bitterness.

I generally use 2-2.5 oz at 15 mins as well as in a whirlpool and then use 4-6 oz in a dry hop. My IBU (Rager) target is 90+ as I love super hop flavors.

 

[day_trippr]

Water chemistry can be important wrt hop "punch". There's plenty to read on the topic extant...

Cheers!