I have been brewing NEIPAs for about 2 and a half years now. I have brewed this style now over 50 times and have tweeked the process with posts on this site as well as researching the internet and just the experience of making a NEIPA. I am not an expert. I am always trying new process additions when they interest me. Anyways here's my list of tidbits. Hopefully will help someone.
Actually #1 should be SANITIZE but...
#1 Water (Liquor for you snobs )
I tried to use my tap water. I had 3 water reports done; one in Feb, one in June, one Sept. My town adds different treatments to the water supply to control algae. They were slight differences. I could never get it quite right. Then I started using RO water. That probably helped the most in brewing NEIPAs.
PH; Another important part of my process. It does help with mouthfeel and bitterness in final product. Get a PH Meter.
#2 Hops
I have tried soooo many different schedules. Currently my schedule is like this;
NO Boil Hops (it was just too bitter and was taking away from the hop flavor I wanted).
Flameout hops. I usually use 2 to 4oz. I also make sure my muslin bag is fully saturated with wort. Cool down quickly to 160f. Less then 5 minutes.
Whirlpool hops. I will use between 3 and 8oz depending on how crazy I feel. Let that whirlpool for 20 to 45 minutes depending on your taste. I have not tasted a difference when using a longer whirlpool but I do get side tracked sometimes and will let it go as long as 45 minutes. Make sure to monitor temp and keep it at the temp you target plus or minus 5f degrees.
I remove my hops when my whirlpool is complete. I then let the wort rest for 5 to 10 minutes. You may need to apply heat during this rest if the temp gets too low before transferring to fermentor.
Dryhop #1; Ferment in a temp controlled area which I set at 64f with a temp probe in the fermentor. I add 2 to 6oz day 2 or 3 depending on how active the fermentation is. If it is a slow start I add day 3 if a fast or normal start I add day 2.
Dryhop #2; I add 2 to 8oz and then raise fermentation chamber to 70f. I usually do this with 3 days remaining. 2 days at 70f and then cold crash for 1 day before kegging.
Schedule: example
Flame Out 3oz and cool wort to whirlpool temp
Whirlpool 6oz for 25 minutes at 160f making sure temp stays within 5f of target
Dryhop #1 3oz day 2 64f (I do not take gravity readings, I wild like that - just let it ride)
Dryhop #2 4oz day 5 and raise temp to 70f
#3 Temperature Control
You need it for NEIPAs. Otherwise you an IPA that resembles a West Coast style. Don't get me wrong, I like ALL IPAs. I just added a temp probe and it made a big difference in mouthfeel.
#4 Oxygen
This is an area I am working on now. I do not fermentate under pressure yet but that is my next "tweek". I do transfer in a closed system from my fermentor to my keg. And I know, without controlling the exposure to O2 during fermentation you might have more then you want.That is why I might be adding a spunding valve to my fermentation setup.
#5 Carbonation and Serving Temp
I was a little surprised by this. When I lowered my carbonation the mouthfeel and silkiness dramatically increased and the hops stood out. And then when I raised the serving temp from 40f to 44f I got another bump in the three. Of course having a lower level of carbonation was odd to me at first as I have always been around 2.6vol (13psi at 38f). Lately I have been going with 2.2vol (8psi at 38f).
For serving temp I set at 42f with 10psi (for now...)
#6 Grainbill
Grainbill doesn't matter (to me). It definitely matters to a lot of people though. I have been using Trillium Brewing grainbills which are listed for each beer they brew on their website. I have been going a little sweeter lately (not too much) which seems to help the mouthfeel and silkiness.
#7 Yeast
Wyeast 1318
Omega DIPA
White Labs WLP007 or WLP008
Enough said for now...
Actually #1 should be SANITIZE but...
#1 Water (Liquor for you snobs )
I tried to use my tap water. I had 3 water reports done; one in Feb, one in June, one Sept. My town adds different treatments to the water supply to control algae. They were slight differences. I could never get it quite right. Then I started using RO water. That probably helped the most in brewing NEIPAs.
PH; Another important part of my process. It does help with mouthfeel and bitterness in final product. Get a PH Meter.
#2 Hops
I have tried soooo many different schedules. Currently my schedule is like this;
NO Boil Hops (it was just too bitter and was taking away from the hop flavor I wanted).
Flameout hops. I usually use 2 to 4oz. I also make sure my muslin bag is fully saturated with wort. Cool down quickly to 160f. Less then 5 minutes.
Whirlpool hops. I will use between 3 and 8oz depending on how crazy I feel. Let that whirlpool for 20 to 45 minutes depending on your taste. I have not tasted a difference when using a longer whirlpool but I do get side tracked sometimes and will let it go as long as 45 minutes. Make sure to monitor temp and keep it at the temp you target plus or minus 5f degrees.
I remove my hops when my whirlpool is complete. I then let the wort rest for 5 to 10 minutes. You may need to apply heat during this rest if the temp gets too low before transferring to fermentor.
Dryhop #1; Ferment in a temp controlled area which I set at 64f with a temp probe in the fermentor. I add 2 to 6oz day 2 or 3 depending on how active the fermentation is. If it is a slow start I add day 3 if a fast or normal start I add day 2.
Dryhop #2; I add 2 to 8oz and then raise fermentation chamber to 70f. I usually do this with 3 days remaining. 2 days at 70f and then cold crash for 1 day before kegging.
Schedule: example
Flame Out 3oz and cool wort to whirlpool temp
Whirlpool 6oz for 25 minutes at 160f making sure temp stays within 5f of target
Dryhop #1 3oz day 2 64f (I do not take gravity readings, I wild like that - just let it ride)
Dryhop #2 4oz day 5 and raise temp to 70f
#3 Temperature Control
You need it for NEIPAs. Otherwise you an IPA that resembles a West Coast style. Don't get me wrong, I like ALL IPAs. I just added a temp probe and it made a big difference in mouthfeel.
#4 Oxygen
This is an area I am working on now. I do not fermentate under pressure yet but that is my next "tweek". I do transfer in a closed system from my fermentor to my keg. And I know, without controlling the exposure to O2 during fermentation you might have more then you want.That is why I might be adding a spunding valve to my fermentation setup.
#5 Carbonation and Serving Temp
I was a little surprised by this. When I lowered my carbonation the mouthfeel and silkiness dramatically increased and the hops stood out. And then when I raised the serving temp from 40f to 44f I got another bump in the three. Of course having a lower level of carbonation was odd to me at first as I have always been around 2.6vol (13psi at 38f). Lately I have been going with 2.2vol (8psi at 38f).
For serving temp I set at 42f with 10psi (for now...)
#6 Grainbill
Grainbill doesn't matter (to me). It definitely matters to a lot of people though. I have been using Trillium Brewing grainbills which are listed for each beer they brew on their website. I have been going a little sweeter lately (not too much) which seems to help the mouthfeel and silkiness.
#7 Yeast
Wyeast 1318
Omega DIPA
White Labs WLP007 or WLP008
Enough said for now...