What would be a good combo for this style that isn’t necessarily what is considered the “norm”?
Would centennial, columbus, and cascade work?
How about chinook, simcoe, and amarillo?
I’ve been doing a little reading and listening lately to plan my next brew which will be a NEIPA. I ran across this podcast which features 2 brewers you may recognize. I visited their new brewery 2 months ago and their offerings were delicious, creative and well made. In the podcast they focus on process and hop combinations that are true to style and mention others they have tired that deviate from the norm a bit. It may be helpful to serve as a guide.
There’s no reason why you cannot tap older hop varieties and combinations for hazy beers. I know the target for most people is to create/drink those juice-like beers but that is not a reason why you cannot brew something different.
The difference you will run into is less oily hops will need to be used in larger volumes if you want to match the aggressive flavors and texture of using the more commonly used hops. Maybe start out using typical NEIPA hop volumes and add a second (or third) dry hopping if you feel the typical amount of hops is lacking.
I currently have one on tap that I used el dorado and mosaic. I’m not usually a hop guy, but I’m really pleased with it. 2 oz of each during cool down/ 1 oz each in primary at day 3/ 1 oz each in secondary. It has been a crowd pleaser.