WeldWerks Juicy Bits Clone (NEIPA)

Cool. Thanks for posting. Heading to CO in a few months with Weldwerks on my list based on the clout of this beer and their showing at FoBAB. I'll be sure to bump this up in the queue before I head out.

 

If you guys end up brewing it, let me know how it turns out. And @KCUnited, let me know when you come out to visit and if I'm available I can show you around.

 

@Tarheel4985 I will be brewing this one up soon. Castle Rock is a long way from you, I gotta get my fix somehow. I plan on double dryhopping the beer, I assume the additions are simply doubled, but any input would be helpful. I also plan on following the recipe in craft beer and brewing, which from memory looks like the above recipe.

 

Yes, the recipe transcribed and linked above is the same one that appeared in the print edition of CB&B last month. For the DDH version, we literally double all of the dry hop additions and also extend them a bit longer, bringing the total dry hop time closer to 11 or 12 days. You could also split them into 3 or 4 additions if desired.

 

I appreciate the input. I look forward to brewing this one.

 

@Tarheel4985 i am interpreting those whirlpool additions as a 20 minute whirlpool with 20 minutes of steeping, is that right?

 

@Tarheel4985 Cheers to you for not only sharing the recipe but coming here to add some advice. Speaks volumes! I do have a question about water. No doubt water is important. But the Cl:SO ratio. How important is that? I've read some threads from people who have done testing 150:75 and 75:150 but couldn't really tell the difference. I haven't run the experiment myself, but I'm curious if you guys did when designing this beer? Thanks!

 

With our 15 bbl system, we do a 40 min. whirlpool for Juicy Bits with a 15-20 minute rest after the pump is shut off before starting knock-out. So this recipe is designed with that process in mind. Basically, there are 3 hop additions during the whirlpool, one right at flame-out when the whirlpool starts, another 10 mins later, and a final one 10 mins after that, at which point the pump is shut off and everything is left to rest until still.

If you aren't using a whirlpool on your homebrew system, you should get similar results from adding those hop additions at flame-out using the same 10 min. intervals. Without a whirlpool, the temperature is not likely to drop as much, but you could run the chiller to drop the temps a bit for several hop stands, which could produce some exciting results that even we haven't been able to experiment with, given the restraints of our equipment.

Water chemistry is certainly a critical part of any recipe, but feel free to try both ratios to see which you prefer. When designing the recipe for Juicy Bits, after hop varietals, we tested water chemistry more than any other variable and we landed just under 3:1 chloride:sulfate. But there are plenty of amazing IPAs produced with the inverse.

 

@Tarheel4985 Thanks for making the recipe available. I just had a question. Are the hop amounts listed in the recipe the same ratios from your production recipe scaled down to a 5 gallon batch?

 

Yes they are

 

For anyone who hasn't tried this beer, it's on point. My neighbor hooked my up with a crowler this summer. Hands down my favorite iPa this year, possibly ever.

 

Tarheel4985 - the posters on the Reddit thread below are debating that the published recipe was not scaled properly and falls short on the kettle and dry hop additions.

Are they on the right track? If yes, what would you change?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/5n98z0/recipe_for_weldwerks_juicy_bits_neipa/

 

I love when people who have never had the original beer or brewed the clone guarantee that it's wrong.

 

There are certain aspects that aren't scalable when converting a production recipe to a homebrew recipe. Lots of interactions between the ingredients that occur one way in production occur very differently on the homebrew level. Temperatures, pressures, timing, processes are different and can't be replicated at home. I say we should be thankful we were given the recipe. If it's not hoppy enough, just add more hops. That's what I'm going to do.

 

hezagenius - how are/would you tweak this recipe?

 

The recipe was scaled down from our production system to more common homebrew equipment. Specifically, I believe the assumption for FWH utilization was 110% and around 30% average utilization for the whirlpool additions, which should yield close to 55 IBUs. The total hop usage rate of 9.12 oz per 5 gallon is equivalent to 3.53 lbs/bbl, which is about on par for the style, maybe a touch higher than average.

But you could certainly make changes as you see fit. It is homebrewing after all, so go crazy and have fun!

 

I have a bunch of Mosaic and El Dorado to use up. Have to get a little Citra. This looks good.

 

Tarheel4985 - thank you brother!