NEIPA brew/dry-hop advice

[bmass96]

Hi folks,

I've not long just tried my 2nd batch, which was a 1 gallon all-grain NEIPA...sadly nowhere near as nice as the first batch I did (which was an extract IPA brew).

I noticed on the brew day that there was a LOT more excess sediment left over in the FV when I transferred it, I'm assuming I went wrong along the line given that it was my first all-grain...perhaps I didn't sparge quite right...I don't know. The end result was vile anyway. It also turned out tasting like a more disgusting version of my first brew, despite them being different types of IPA? Can anyone help me think of where I went wrong? I can't think for the life of me.

Also, dry-hopping! The kit said to add it 4 days *before* fermenting has finished. Does this sound normal? I read elsewhere you wanna dry hop when the fermentation is still active!? I also used pellets and dropped them straight into the FV, assuming that was correct.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Cheers!
Ben.

 

[dad_of_jon]

dry hopping - adding 4 days before fermentation has finished. aunsure....
how can you know in advance when fermentation has finished ??? - it's variable - it sounds like a typo - you would normally dry hop after fermentation has finished because fermentation drives off hop aromas.

 

[prog99]

Not on a NEIPA though, there's some interesting biochemistry going on dry hopping early.

 

[bmass96]

dry hopping - adding 4 days before fermentation has finished. aunsure....
how can you know in advance when fermentation has finished ??? - it's variable - it sounds like a typo - you would normally dry hop after fermentation has finished because fermentation drives off hop aromas.

Cheers!

 

[dad_of_jon]

Not on a NEIPA though, there's some interesting biochemistry going on dry hopping early.

I'm happy to accept that but how can you know in advance to dry hop 4 days BEFORE fermentation has finished other than a rought guess - it could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. For my beers 2 - 3 weeks

 

[Leon103]

What kit was it? What was your process.
You want to dry up after 2-3 days and then again post fermentation.
What did you get with the kit?

 

[bmass96]

What kit was it? What was your process.
You want to dry up after 2-3 days and then again post fermentation.
What did you get with the kit?

Hi Leon,

This is the kit I used:

https://www.brewstore.co.uk/4-5l-new-england-ipa-all-grain-beer-kit#product_tabs_additional_tabbed

The the process was pretty standard (not sure how much detail I need to explain), but I'm sure where I went wrong was with the sparging. I didn't actually add the required amount of water back in while sparging - just didn't feel right. I guess with it being my first all grain recipe it just didn't feel right.

The way I actually did the dry hop was 4 days after fermentation had finished.

I don't do any sort of water treatment either, not quite at that level yet so I wonder whether that was a factor in it tasting similar to my first batch.

The kit itself literally was just the ingredients listed...

Cheers,
Ben.

 

[Madhouse]

I wouldn’t put it down to the sparge. Could be that you dry-hopped a bit early, how long did you dry hop for in the end? I’ve previously dry-hopped after a week, for a week before bottling which worked ok.

What was your timeline over all? Did you do 2 weeks fermenting, 2 carbing and 2 conditioning or something else?

 

[Brew Dad]

I suspect they mean dry hop 4 days after fermentation starts - a lot of NEIPA brewers believe adding hops when fermentation is still active adds to haze/mouthfeel/hop character of the style.

 

[prog99]

Hi Leon,

This is the kit I used:

https://www.brewstore.co.uk/4-5l-new-england-ipa-all-grain-beer-kit#product_tabs_additional_tabbed

Thats my local HBS, phone them up as they are normally very helpful.

 

[bmass96]

I wouldn’t put it down to the sparge. Could be that you dry-hopped a bit early, how long did you dry hop for in the end? I’ve previously dry-hopped after a week, for a week before bottling which worked ok.

What was your timeline over all? Did you do 2 weeks fermenting, 2 carbing and 2 conditioning or something else?

It was 10 days fermenting, then 4 days and a dry hop, then after another 2 weeks I tried it. I used pellets and put them directly into the FV.

To be fair I'm still quite new to this scene so yeah, I followed the instructions as much as I could aunsure....

 

[bmass96]

I suspect they mean dry hop 4 days after fermentation starts - a lot of NEIPA brewers believe adding hops when fermentation is still active adds to haze/mouthfeel/hop character of the style.

Ah right...in which case I didn't quite do it right! I'll have to revisit the notes. Cheers!

 

[Brew Dad]

It was 10 days fermenting, then 4 days and a dry hop, then after another 2 weeks I tried it. I used pellets and put them directly into the FV.

To be fair I'm still quite new to this scene so yeah, I followed the instructions as much as I could aunsure....

Ah right...in which case I didn't quite do it right! I'll have to revisit the notes. Cheers!

Your instinct to follow the instructions is the right one. While they might require a bit of deciphering, it is still the best way to proceed.

One note - if I understand correctly, this brew was in your fermenter for 4 weeks. For most beer styles, that would not be a problem at all. But NEIPA is a bit of an exception, and is best drunk very fresh, as it is prone to oxidation/staling. It could be that it tasted lousy because it was oxidized.