One good NEIPA deserves another

Somewhere between Fall and Winter south Texas actually got some snow!  That’s probably the third time in nine years.  I know this because my oldest son keeps track of these things.  Now that the winter freeze is over and Texas Winter has returned us to the mid 60s F we can resume brewing.  The previous NEIPA batch was a huge success in a number of ways so obviously with all three kegs almost gone it’s time to brew another.

The previous batch dropped the gravity down to session levels around 4.6%.  I certainly don’t mind or even notice many of the higher ABV NEIPAs in the 6 to 8% range; well that is until I’m two or three pints in and then I’m wishing they were 4% instead so I could have a few more.  One challenge with sessions is retaining mouthfeel, however, given the huge amounts of oats and barley in the recipe that isn’t an issue.

The second experimental element in the previous batch was using a mixed-culture yeast that I typically reserve for sour beers.  However, it’s a faithful yeast which is known to ferment beers to complete (or nearly there) dryness.  I also figured that if the culture did turn a bit sour that wouldn’t be out of place for a NEIPA designed after “juice” anyhow.

Upon the first samples of the beer as it fermented it was quite evident that it was taking a sharp turn down grapefruit lane.  That worked out quite well but it did mean that for this recipe the hop bill was going to take a turn toward the more tropical and stone fruits.

Process-wise, no changes.  The critical part of brewing stage has been stirring the hops in the filter.  The 5-minute charge gets a stir after stopping the heat and then the hop stand gets multiple stirs, every 5 to 10 minutes.  While opening the lid means some of the volatile aromas escape the stirring overcomes that loss by extracting more flavors, oils and aroma by saturating the whole batch with the hops.

For this batch, I wanted to make use of some aromatic hops that I had around in smaller quantities so I have quite a few more varieties than last time replacing the Meridian and Cascade hops used previously.  I also recently had an Idaho #7 hopped beer at Pinthouse Pizza and whole-heartedly approved of those flavors and aromas and chose to have it come along for this NEIPA.

Looking forward to this batch!

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
16 gal 60 min 92.8 IBUs 3.3 SRM 1.044 1.010 4.5 %
Actuals 1.044 1.01 4.4 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
American-Style Pale Ale 50 1.044 - 1.05 1.008 - 1.014 30 - 50 6 - 14 2.2 - 2.8 4.4 - 5.4 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Organic Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) 19 lbs 71.03
Barley, Flaked 3 lbs 11.21
Oats, Flaked 3 lbs 11.21
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L 1 lbs 3.74
Cane (Beet) Sugar 12 oz 2.8

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Azacca 3 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 15
Idaho #7 3 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 13
Nelson Sauvin 3 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 11.2
Azacca 3 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 15
Galaxy 3 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 14.8
Idaho #7 3 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 13
Azacca 3 oz 3 days Dry Hop Pellet 15
El Dorado 3 oz 3 days Dry Hop Pellet 15
Idaho #7 3 oz 3 days Dry Hop Pellet 13
Azacca 3 oz 1 day Dry Hop Pellet 15
Ekuanot - Equinox (HBC 366) 3 oz 1 day Dry Hop Pellet 15
Idaho #7 3 oz 1 day Dry Hop Pellet 13

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Phosphoric Acid 10% 61.90 ml 60 min Mash Water Agent
Calcium Chloride 5.80 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Epsom Salt (MgSO4) 1.50 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 3.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 3.00 tsp 3 days Primary Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
London Ale III (1318) Wyeast Labs 73% 64°F - 74°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Saccharification 152°F 60 min
Mash Out 168°F 10 min

Notes

Nor'easter V2

- Really need the rice hulls with all of the rolled oats and barley
- Giving London Ale III yeast a try. Not sure about the sugar addtion or not.
I really do want a dry beer; so we'll see how gravity drops and if it gets sluggish
around 1.020 , I'll likely add some to keep the fermentation going and drop the
final gravity.
- Stirring the hop additions *really* makes a huge difference.

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