Bubbling fool New England IPA

[Simonh82]

I'm really excited about this recipe. It is my first go at brewing a hazy hoppy New England IPA. To get the flavour and smooth feel of the beer I went for large amounts of oats and wheat in the grist and a water profile weighted towards the chloride. Then I hopped the hell out of it including adding dry hops at only 2 days post pitch, as well as after primary fermentation has finished.

The big unknown for me was the yeast strain. I had never used Brewlabs Sussex before and I didn't know if it would work in this style. People often talk about the yeast in NE IPAs bio-transforming the dry hops to create a juicy peachy aroma. I had no idea if this yeast would do the business.

I'm pleased to say it worked like a charm. When I bottled it and tried a sample the aroma was like sticking your nose in a tin of peaches. Maybe not to everyone's liking but I thought it was delicious and very definitely fruity in the way that people talk about this style.

I will be coming back to this style soon if this first go is anything to go by.

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: American IPA (New England IPA)
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 25 liters (fermentor volume)
Efficiency: 83% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 6%

FERMENTABLES:
3.9 kg - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (67.2%)
1 kg - German - Munich Light (17.2%)
0.1 kg - United Kingdom - Crystal 15L (1.7%)
0.3 kg - Torrified Wheat (5.2%)
0.1 kg - Belgian - Special B (1.7%)
0.4 kg - Rolled Oats (6.9%)

HOPS:
@75 minutes (first wort hops) -

• 7 g - Admiral 14%AA

@10 minutes

• 30 g - Falconer's Flight 7Cs 10% AA
  15 g - Galaxy 14.5% AA
  30 g - Mosaic 11.5% AA

@Flameout with 20 minutes steep

• 15 g - Falconer's Flight 7Cs
  15g - Galaxy
  10 g - Mosaic

• 
  @66°C with 25 minute steep
  15 g - Falconer's Flight 7Cs
  15g - Galaxy
  10 g - Mosaic

After 2 days of fermentation

• 
  20 g - Falconer's Flight 7Cs, Dry Hop for 18 days
  30 g - Galaxy, Dry Hop for 18 days
  25 g - Mosaic, Dry Hop for 18 days

After 8 days of fermentation

• 
  25 g - Mosaic, Dry Hop for 12 days
  20 g - Falconer's Flight, Dry Hop for 12 days
  25 g - Galaxy, Dry Hop for 12 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 65 C, Time: 60 min, Amount: 23 L
1) Infusion, Temp: 76 C, Time: 10 min, Amount: 23 L
2) Sparge, Temp: 80 C, Time: 20 min, Amount: 12 L


YEAST:
Brew Lab Sussex
Attenuation (custom): 74%
Fermentation Temp: 19 C

 

[strange-steve]

How did this turn out Simon?

 

[Hoppyland]

Yep, I'd be very interested too :) Although I'm a Brewlab enthusiast, like you I've never used their Sussex 1 yeast. The recipe looks like the sort of malt/hop bill that I might try - but I normally use a low-ester yeast. So I'd be really interested to hear what it's like once matured!

 

[Simonh82]

How did this turn out Simon?

Really well, I'm very pleased with it. I've been drinking it for a few weeks now and the hop aroma has persisted so far. Still lots of peach and tropical fruit on the nose.

It is still hazy but has cleared quite a bit since bottling.

 

[Simonh82]

Yep, I'd be very interested too :) Although I'm a Brewlab enthusiast, like you I've never used their Sussex 1 yeast. The recipe looks like the sort of malt/hop bill that I might try - but I normally use a low-ester yeast. So I'd be really interested to hear what it's like once matured!

The Sussex 1 yeast turned out great. Super fast fermentation for the first couple of days (1.060 - 1.019) then took well over a week to drop another 5 points. I'd definitely make sure it had 2 weeks+ in primary.

When I tasted a sample after 2 days there was a very strong ester profile with a bit of a phenolic taste too. After the extensive dry hopping and extended conditioning before bottling I couldn't really pick up the phenolic flavour and the esters, while present were blending nicely with the hops.

Apparently it's the Harvey's strain so if you want to get a feel for what it's like without a boat load of hops have a pint of Harvey's Best.