North East IPA recipe, input requested

Beer Recipes
1

Would love input from those who are familiar with brewing in this style. I’ve had a commercial version that was great, and decided it was time for me to try my hand at it so I can make up my mind if this style is hype or substance.

Here’s my goals: Soft/Silky mouthfeel, extreme hop flavor, low to moderate bitterness.

I’ve taken inspiration from my main double IPA recipe (grains/yeast) and from one of Michael Tonsmeire’s NEIPA recipes (hops)

Current recipe thoughts:

OG ~1.063
IBU ~50? (beersmith says 95 but is adding 50 IBU’s from the hop stand hops, curious what I can really expect here)
SRM ~4-5
Batch size 5G

5lbs 12 Oz 2-row
5lbs 12 oz Maris Otter
2 lbs. Flaked Oats
14 oz. Flaked Wheat

~45 ibu Columbus at 60
2 oz Galaxy Hopstand for 45 min. @170
2 oz Simcoe Hopstand for 45 min. @170
3 oz Galaxy Dry Hop at 3rd day of fermentation
3 oz Simcoe Dry Hop in keg

Water profile:
Calcium ~120ppm
Magnesium ~6ppm
Sodium ~15ppm
Sulfate ~75ppm
Chloride ~150ppm

Mash PH 5.4
Mash Temp 152

Other ingredients: Yeast Nutrient, Whirlfloc

Yeast: Imperial Yeast Barbarian (3rd generation) - Ferment at 67 for 3 days, then ramp up to 72 over next 36 hours and hold at 72 until kegged.

I originally was thinking of using just flaked oats, but decided to swap out some of the oats for flaked Wheat for increased head retention.

2

I think 45 ibu of Columbus is a direct clash with the intended purpose of the style. I’d switch to something more neutral and go down to ~30ibu. Longer whirlpool would be a nice addition as well.

I’m not any good when it comes to dry hop during fermentation. I’m in the boat that wait to the end.

3

I am curious: what about CTZ is too much for NE IPA? The dank? I don’t find CTZ to have a particularly harsh bitterness but the dank can outlast even a 60 min boil.

Not arguing, by the way. Just asking.

4

From my understanding, bitterness should be minimal and clean for a NE IPA (or whatever the favorite term is right now). 45ibu of Columbus is neither minimal or clean. Maybe a bit between minimal and normal, but for sure not clean.

I love bittering with Columbus. I use a solid 50-60 ibu at 60 paired with 1.5oz at 20 in most any IPA I brew. I like my IPA with a bit of bite to it and don’t know if I will ever fully embrace the soft IPAs that are trending right now.

5

My homegrown CTZ’s, which are harsher than commercial CTZ’s, give a harsh note to my my juicy IPA that is simply not noticeable or undesirable in a regular IPA.  So I would suggest backing down the IBUs from the CTZs.

While you are not going to get 50 IBUs from doing a hopstand at 170 F, you should get some that will compensate for backing down the CTZ’s by IBUs.

6

The NEIPA is said to use high chloride and low sulfate.

7

Thanks. I think I’ll swap the Columbus out for Magnum and back it down a bit. I can always change it next time if it needs a little something extra.

8

You could also take the Columbus from 60 min to first wort.  I think this might give you the smoothness you are after.  I also like a bit of munich and/or low L crystal in all of my IPAs, especially at that gravity.
Brew on!

9

I just mentioned in another post that my next stab at this style will not include any boil hops at all. I’m thinking bittering hops at flameout followed by a massive dose of hops at a lower whirlpool temp, then dry hopping, then hops in the keg.
P.s. I like the grain bill. I wouldn’t use any crystal in this style. A not too sweet grain bill means bittering can be minimal.

10

I would term that: ‘high chloride and modest sulfate’. Say 150 ppm each. That might come across to some drinkers as ‘minerally’ but it shouldn’t be too bad.

11

I went with 150 SO4 and 150 Cl on the one I tried. I thought it was a bit too harsh - I’d go 100 SO4 and 200 Cl if I made another one.

12

Thanks all,

I brewed the batch up on the 15th and it is fermenting away nicely. Using Bru’n Water I should be pretty close to having the Chloride at ~150 and sulfate at ~75.

I went with the recipe below:

OG 1.063
IBU ~40? (beersmith says 90 but is adding 50 IBU’s from the hop stand hops, still curious what I can really expect here)
SRM ~4-5
Batch size 6G in fermenter

5lbs 12 oz 2-row
5lbs 12 oz Maris Otter
2 lbs. Flaked Oats
14 oz. Flaked Wheat

~36 ibu Magnum at 60
2 oz Galaxy Hopstand for 45 min. @170
2 oz Simcoe Hopstand for 45 min. @170
3 oz Galaxy Dry Hop at 3rd day of fermentation
3 oz Simcoe Dry Hop in keg

Water profile:
Calcium ~120ppm
Magnesium ~6ppm
Sodium ~15ppm
Sulfate ~75ppm
Chloride ~150ppm

Mash PH 5.4
Mash Temp 152

Other ingredients: Yeast Nutrient, Whirlfloc

Yeast: Imperial Yeast Barbarian (3rd generation) - 1 liter SNS starter, pitched at 65, Fermented at 67 for 3 days, then ramp up to 72 over next 36 hours and hold at 72 until kegged.

The beer is currently at day 6. I plan to keg it on the 1st or 2nd or Oct, presuming it’s at final gravity by then.

Since the original post I’ve had 2 more good examples of this style of IPA, (low bitterness, high hop flavor, silky mouthfeel) and really liked them both. If this one ends up in the ballpark of those beers, I’ll be very happy.

I’ll follow-up in about 2 weeks with some tasting notes.

Cheers