New England IPA - Release Only When "Ready?"

To add, breweries such as Bell’s have large rooms at 70F or just under where the beer conditions for a week after it is bottled or canned.

 

This whole thread makes my head hurt.....
Just drink the beer when you like I’ve never had a day old ipa that was so “green” I couldn’t drink it... I mean come on... now I’ve had shitty “neipas” I’ve drain poured because they were just shitty...

 

You know that you're on a website that is basically a way for people to waste time at work talking about beer? You might want to recalibrate your standards, brah.

Being able to drink something and actually wanting to drink something are two different things.

 

2010 - I only buy IPAs that were bottled within the last 6 months
2012 - I only buy IPAs that were bottled within the last 3 months
2014 - I only buy IPAs that were bottled within the last 6 weeks
2016 - I only buy IPAs that were canned within the last 2 weeks
2018 - I only buy IPAs that were canned between 9 and 14 days ago

 

So . . . the natural progression of that should look like this, right?

2020: I only buy IPAs that were canned within the week.
2022: I only buy IPAs that were canned within the last two days.
2024: I only buy IPAs that were canned today.
2026: I only drink IPAs from the fermenter.

 

Bro you need a lower limit in there, in case the beer is too fresh - that's the big change in '18

 

There are just too many variables that go into this for me to give a specific answer to some of these points. I’ve always been of the mindset that clean beers should be released as they are intended to be consumed. Brett beers, I release to consumers as a bit of a science project. I like to release those fresh, I hope the consumers drink them fresh and store some to see how they evolve. In the case of an IPA, it should be released as the brewer intends it to be drank and should be consumed as quickly as possible to be able to taste the truest form of the brewer’s intent.

Over the last year, my timeline has changed a little bit for NEIPA’s. I used to think they were best to be packaged on the 12th day after brewing. As I’ve narrowed down our lots of hops and honed in our water chemistry (which is not the same water profile with high chloride that is typically advised as being proper for the style), I have found that there is no use waiting to package beyond day 10 as long as the hop particulate has settled out of suspension. Depending on the hop variety and pelletizer, that is usually ok by day 10. A few beers have taken an extra day or two recently. That’s where owning a canning line instead of mobile canning really comes in handy. For a brewery using a mobile unit, it could be an issue of “use it or lose it.” Maybe the mobile canner won’t be available for two weeks or even longer if you don’t run that beer that day. Last week I had a minor glycol issue and I called off a canning day and we canned the next day. Or if I test a beer as being slightly low carbonation, I can wait an hour or two and run it when it’s ready, rather than letting a schedule dictate the beer’s readiness. I know another brewery that brews the style very well that doesn’t even cold crash until day 17 because with their yeast pitching rate they don’t get passed a diacetyl test until then. I think they can on day 21 (if the mobile canner is available then).

The quality of malts, hops, water, and fermentation practices play a huge part in the readiness and shelf life of these beers.

 

I find that a lot of people like a more ester-forward Brett beer. When those esters fade and they get more phenolic, that turns off some folks even though others love it.

 

Weedy, do those 'NEIPA' beers canned at day 10 taste 'green' to you if you drink them right away? Do you enjoy drinking them more about 2 weeks post the canning date?

Cheers!

 

I feel bad for NEIPA brewers. You could have half the people saying it is a terrible beer and the other half giving it world class 100 ratings all based on a few day's time or ripening or going past prime. I think the logical move for NEIPAs is to develop and start using artificial hops that have a consistent flavor and a much longer degradation rate. Consistency is key and NEIPAs have been anything but.

 

Was it from Magnify?

 

Beer geeks are bipolar and can be quite uninformed. That's not a newsflash.

Really curious to find out what these artificial hops you're talking about are.

That's a brewer/brewery issue. Not an NEIPA issue.

 

I prefer drinking them straight from the tank on day 8 actually when it’s still 1.7 volumes of co2. I gave the opportunity to our barrel society members to try it that way a few months ago and I didn’t hear anyone say it tasted green. In cans, I prefer them as fresh as I can drink them.

 

It's a matter of:

Optimize a beer for locals or optimize a beer for traders.

Most NEIPA breweries do the latter, which probably is good for creating nationwide hype (see Tree House, Monkish, etc). But in my opinion, it's at the expense of the locals who support them day in and day out.

 

No, that's a hop issue.

 

No hop burn at day 8?

Cheers!

 

OK, I'll bite. How is it a hop issue?

 

I think hop burn comes mostly from particulates and normally by day 8, the beer is just cold crashed and nearly particulate free above our sample valve. I think hop burn can also come from low quality hops and that is part of the reason I am so picky about lots.

 

Makes sense.

Cheers!