Hop Juice - Northeast IPA Recipe (2024)

Inspired by my research into hop glycosides and yeast biotransformation for the July/August issue of Brew Your Own (subscribe here), I brewed an American IPA that showed off yeast-hop interaction. I love the aroma of raw right-from-the-bag hops, but I prefer a base of softer less-green/grassy aromatics. The science is a bit dry, but some yeast strains have the ability to free aromatics and convert certain compounds into more interestingly aromatic ones. From a sensory perspective, the result is a weaker aroma ounce for ounce of hops (requiring a higher hopping rate), but much juicier perception.

The North East has really been killing hoppy beers the last few years. Alchemist and Hill Farmstead started the trend, but newer breweries brewing wonderfully hoppy things include: Trillium, Tree House, Tired Hands, Other Half, and Fiddlehead. What unites them is a bit more yeast character than indistinct Cal/American ale, a wonderfully juicy/fruity/saturated aroma, soft mouthfeel, balanced bitterness, and less than spectacular clarity. A big change from what East Coast IPA meant five years ago: a malty IPA somewhere between American and English IPA.

For yeast, I selected Wyeast 1318 London III (alleged to be from Boddington’s). Not exactly the first strain you’d think of for an American IPA, but my friend Sean had good luck with it and it has been rumored to be the house strain at a hop-specialist brewery. If you are fermenting with WY1318, make sure you use a blow-off; I had never had to worry about 5.5 gallons of mid-gravity beer in an 8 gallon fermentor before!

I included flaked corn (because I had it sitting around) and wheat in the mash. These two adjuncts work counter, with the corn diluting the protein content of the wort while the wheat increases it. I’d read (somewhere) that the proteins in wheat flour are especially foam-positive even compared to flaked wheat, so I wanted to give it a try. I mixed the flour into the milled grain to distribute it, but even at this relatively low amount (half a pound in 10 gallons) the lauter was slower than I’m accustomed to.

The end of the boil brought on big dose of hops (Galaxy and Simcoe), allowing them to steep in the hot wort before chilling. The more hops added to the beer on the hot-side, the more of their water-soluble compounds (like glycosides) the yeast will be able to interact with. I added the first dose of dry hops midway through fermentation, again to allow more yeast-hop interactions. As a side-note, always smell each bag of hops before adding them to the beer; I had to throw away an ounce of Galaxy while brewing and dry hopping because they smelled less than fresh compared to the other packets.

The second half of this batch (pulled before the bittering hops) is well on its way to being an apricot sour – but more about that next week!

Soft and Juicy IPA

FAQs

How to make a hoppy IPA? ›

MIX. In a good sized pot add the Light Dry Malt to 2 litres of water then bring to the boil (watch closely to avoid boilover). Add the Challenger Hops and boil for 15mins. ...
BREW. Try to ferment as close to 21C as possible. ...
BOTTLE.
ENJOY.

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What hops are used in East Coast IPA? ›

East Coast IPA

ABV. Bottle: 4% | Can 4% | Keg 4%
Malt. Pale.
Hops. Amarillo, Centennial, Citra, Galaxy.

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How much hops to add to IPA? ›

For an IPA, late hopping in the 1.0–2.0 oz. (28–57 g) per 5-gallon (19-L) range will give you the right amount of aroma, presuming you've dry hopped the beer (which is de rigueur for the style). Overall, if your dry hop and late hop amounts add up to 2.75–3.5 oz.

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What is a Northeast style IPA? ›

NEIPAs are rather limited malt-wise with hop notes more dominant. Flavor. NEIPAs are hop heavy and tend to use hops from the fruitier end of the spectrum, such as passionfruit, guava, papaya, mango and pineapple. Yeast esters also result in sweet undernotes.

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What makes IPAs hoppy? ›

Adding hops into the mix further into the brewing process is what gives West Coast IPA that punchy flavour and aroma, along with a higher alcohol content.

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What hops make a hazy IPA? ›

These beers tend to be heavily hopped with New World hop varieties like Citra, Mosaic or Sabro, which are often added later in the brewing process at lower temperatures. The hops can be added during a stage known as 'whirlpooling,' or after fermentation has occurred, which is known as 'dry hopping. '

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What is the difference between New England and East Coast IPA? ›

The East Coast IPA, more broadly known as a Hazy IPA or New England IPA, is all about fruit-forward hop flavor swirling in a silky malt body. And since they aren't fully filtered before packaging — if at all — East Coast IPAs have a signature cloudy look, hence the Hazy IPA.

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What hops are used in New England IPA? ›

Hot-Side Hopping

Hop varieties high in alpha-humulene and beta-caryophyllene (like East Kent Golding, Nelson Sauvin, Northern Brewer, Golding, Pacifica, Vanguard, Progress, and Fuggle) will impart more of the spicy, woody, and herbal character in beer and might want to be avoided for bittering hops in hazy beers.

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What hops are best for English IPA? ›

English IPA is best brewed with English hops, such as East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Target, Northdown or Challenger.

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How long should I dry hop my IPA? ›

It is now typical to see many craft brewers and homebrewers dry hopping for an average time of 3-4 days. Any longer then this and it is reported that the dry hop character tends to draw out green/grassy characters, not the desired outcome brewers are generally looking for.

How many ounces of hops for 5 gallon IPA? ›

However, since most dry hops are meant to impart a juicy flavor and aroma in New England-style IPAs, the typical dosing amount is between 1–2 oz (28-56 g) of hops per gallon of beer. This means up to 8-10 ounces can be used in a 5 gallon (19 l) batch.

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How do I choose hops for IPA? ›

Hops that are assertive in both flavor and bitterness are the ingredient of choice for the American IPA. Go with Cascade, Simcoe, Amarillo, Columbus or other American hops for that classic IPA citrus character. Pine flavors can be achieved by using Chinook or Northern Brewer hops later in the boil.

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What makes a NE IPA? ›

NEIPAs are over-the-top hopped like their IPA parents, but in a very different way. Brewers accomplish the tropical aromatics sans astringency by adding lots of hops after the wort is boiled, or during the “whirlpool,” and during primary or secondary fermentation (this is also known as dry-hopping).

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What makes hazy IPAs hazy? ›

The combination of the right yeast strain, a big dose of oats and mid fermentation dry hopping leads to a very hazy, creamy and citrusy beer. Remove any one of those features and you will get less haze, or less stability of the haze as the beer ages.

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Are New England IPAs always hazy? ›

Virtually all New England IPAs (NEIPAs) are hazy, but not all hazy IPAs are New England IPAs. When it comes to differentiating between the terms, it's all a matter of marketing.

How do you make beer more hoppy? ›

And when pro brewers want to imbue their beer with an especially in-your-face hit of those flavors, they do something called "dry hopping." That means they take their finished batch, dump in a whole bunch of hops, let it sit while the flavors absorb, and finally strain the batch so that it's ready to be bottled.

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How is hoppy beer made? ›

Hops are added to the wort when it enters the boiling stage of the brewing process. The high temperatures that the plant is exposed to causes the release of Isohumulone, which adds a bitter flavor to the hot wort. Certain varieties of hop are preferred by brewers to use for this purpose.

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How do you know if an IPA is hoppy? ›

The easiest way to determine a hoppy beer from a less hoppy beer is by using the international bitterness unit scale (also known as IBU). Less hoppy beers have an IBU of zero. More hoppy beers have IBUs of twenty-five and above.

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What makes an IPA a hazy IPA? ›

Proteins and polyphenols.

This beer contains polyphenols from the dry hops (as “hop oils”) discussed above and any added fruit or citrus adjuncts. When proteins and polyphenols come together, they bind together and create a “colloidal haze” that isn't water-soluble and appears opaque.

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