Is Double Dry Hopped (DDH) Innovative?

Something doesn't have to be brand new to be trendy. It just so happens that DDH beers are in vogue right now.

Pilsners certainly aren't new, but are the next "it" beer style according to some.

 

It has been around for some time. There was a Homebrew recipe for this years before the print article in 2009. Hopping with the yeast active to get biotransformations on the first DH is a little newer.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf

 

If I'm a brewery now, I'm making all the DDH IIPA Hazy beers I can. I'd sell and make millions and sell my brewery to AB-InBev and make more millions and move to the islands.

 

Double dry hopped usually hints at more intense aroma and fresh flavor. Dry hopping, at least once, is not so much a trend as it is, seemingly, a must. I don't see it becoming unpopular anytime soon.

 

Long time homebrew technique that's becoming more commercially viable.

It's an expensive addition....that is now more economically accepted. People pay more for beer now...a few years back, $10+ for a sixer was unthinkable.

 

Matt Brynildson did four dry hop sessions and simply called it Double Jack. Calling something DDH or TDH in the title is just a marketing tactic that plays on peoples belief that more is better. If it wasn't a marketing tactic people would simply make their double dry hopped beers unannounced, sell them, and people would buy them on merit.

 

As long as the DDH beers are put into cans and sold on a line it sure is innovative.

 

Ha, when I first read this post I was going to comment that I thought Pliny was one of the first to have multiple dry hopping steps, and if I had recalled correctly, Pliny the Younger was quadruple dry hopped.

It appears I recalled correctly...would still love to try Pliny the Younger some day.

 

In addition to that, when I think of the modern day IPA, Vinnie Cilurzo and John Kimmich are two of the first names that pop up in my head.

Perhaps the better question isn't really who "invented" double dry hopping, but who first created the New England style IPA. I've had Pliny the Elder before, and I've had my fair share of beers from the Alchemist, and I think these are hybrids that toe the line between West Coast/New England style.

I think some may lump excessive dry hopping in with the New England style, but that's certainly not the case in my experience. So, while double dry hopping isn't new, the New England style IPA is relatively new. Maybe 5 or 6 years?

 

I have trouble considering a beer a hybrid if it predates a style it is supposedly a hybrid of.

 

Perhaps hybrid was a poor choice of words, maybe "bridge" would be a better term?

 

In 2008 there weren't very many hops to play with and most were fairly similar so they were pretty limited in that regard. When you combine the shear amount of modern hop varieties with the unique flavor profiles and aromas they bring with endless combinations available today, magic can happen with DDH.

 

Heady topper has been around since 2003/4 ?

 

Yup, 2003 according to a Paste Magazine article:

“Back in 2003, John Kimmich first brewed a beer that would change the landscape of hoppy beers forever when he rolled out Heady Topper, a hazy Double IPA brewed with a blend of six different hops.”

https://www.pastemagazine.com/artic...ich-of-the-alchemist-talks-hazy-ipas-and.html

Cheers!

 

It's the "frost brewed" of craft beer.

 

Darwin did a video on this a couple weeks back saying it's all hogwash:

 

There was plenty of variety available back then. In addition to the classics like Centennial and Cascade that have been around since the 70s (and are still awesome), Amarillo, Chinook, Citra, and Simcoe were all available in 2008.

 

I REALLY hope DDH pilsners aren't going to be everywhere. I'm weird in that I have disliked all American hopped pils except PC Pils. I hope this Pilsner thing stays traditional honestly. American hops are fine. But I believe Pilsner should for the most part stay subtle.

 

This article may help. @telejunkie may wish to add to it.

https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3187-advanced-dry-hopping-techniques