By Gladfield Malt
We all know by now what a good Hazy IPA taste and looks like. For us, a New England IPA (NEIPA) is basically an American IPA that features an intense, distinctly “tropical fruit juice” hop aroma and flavour, is unfiltered and visibly hazy, with a fuller bodied, smoother flavour and less perceived bitterness than other popular IPA examples. Here we highlight a few things to considerer when looking at brewing a cracking NEIPA.
Water chemistry
Aim for a higher chloride to sulphate ratio, than typical West Coast IPAs. Ratios of 3:1 to 2:1 are a good ballpark to work towards. Water chemistry is one of those elements that when dialled in, can turn a good beer into a great beer.
Malt choice and Grist Composition
The malt is a platform to the hops, add colour and as well as adding protein to create the haze. Look to use a clean base malt – American Ale, Lager Light, German Pilsner - alongside higher protein malts, Wheat Malt and Big O which add great mouthfeel, plus their husk helps prevent stuck mashes and sluggish lautering. Chit Malt (3-6%) adds almost no colour and is high in protein content, so can help with head retention and haze stabilization. Also consider Rye Malt (up to 10%) and it may offer novel malt character. Adjuncts such as Flaked Wheat, Flaked Barley and Rolled Oats to add the very import protein. High levels require Hulls (Oat Hulls) to be added to avoid stuck mashes. Judicious use of crystal malts helps with the beer body, improving dextrin, and add a beautiful deep sunrise orange hue - but be careful not to overdo these.
Hops & Kettle Additions
Some adjuncts as lactose can help if using a high attenuating yeast. Consider excluding any kettle finings to increase the protein and polyphenol content of the wort (to promote haze formation). Reducing the temperature at the time of whirlpool (around 80-90°C) will retain more from the kettle aroma additions without significantly increase IBUs. Try to avoid piney, resinous hop varieties.
Dry Hoping
We all know that the Hops are the heroes in the NEIPA, without their aroma, flavour, and bitterness all your hard work on creating the perfect platform and colour will be lost. The beauty about dry hop regime is that there are 1000s ways to do it, but the most important thing to remember is to keep your hops stored well to avoid oxidation and experiment in pilot batches to create your own signature NEIPA.
Yeast Choice
Choose a yeast that will give you the perfect level of attenuation, that will leave behind just the right touch of sweetness. Lallemand LalBrew Pomona yeast is an ideal choice, as it lends itself to fruity styles, and enhances biotransformation and haze for modern IPA styles. LalBrew Windsor provides a sweeter, full bodied beer due to not being able to ferment maltotriose. LalBrew Verdant IPA and New England are great choices. These two yeast strains will produce “tropical” fruity esters, as well as notable “stone fruit”, “peachy” aromas and flavours.
At end of ferment, allow time for any yeast to flocculate in vessel and remember the hazy in a great NEIPA is due to colloidal haze (protein-polyphenol interactions) and not excessive yeast load.