Cloudy/Not Cloudy IPA Fence

Superpower IPA is almost 2.5# / barrel of dry hop. The Junkie Cosmonaut that you enjoyed so much is over 5.5# / barrel. This year's Superdamp is over 7# / barrel of dry hop. With the kettle finings, water profile, yeast strain and brite tank finings, we can get all these beers bright.

 

Can you suggest some Melvin that have that characteristic? So far the four I have had featured aromas that were really light and uninspired compared to what I drink on the regular.

 

(*), 2x4, and drunken master all have a huge nose. How fresh were your examples? Just like the NEIPA, aroma is the first to go as Melvins beer ages.

Thanks for weighing in, between your info and @rscot231 it seems dryhopping rates aren't the magic bullet to the haze. I think it's a wives tale at this point. Flocculation and yeast interactions with the polyphenols seem to be more important.
As a side note, at GABF out of the IPAs that my group tasted (including king sue, zombie dust, drunken master just to name a few) superpower had the most aromatic qualities and was the indisputed favorite of the group. Kinda funny that people contend brite beers have had the hop oils stripped out via fining and filtering, but superpower flies in the face of that logic.

 

Not really, unless you test it against an unfiltered version of itself.

 

Who says it has to be filtered? Biofine started to be used widely in IPAs since the early 2000s for that very reason.

Also, the loss can easily be compensated for beforehand, so chances are that the end result is exactly how the brewer wants it to be. Provided you get a super fresh example, naturally. I've had Melvin beers a couple of weeks old (purchased in NY!!), and they were excellent.

The bottom line seems to be if this whole recent trend gets the 'distributing' breweries to focus even more on freshness, then we all win in the end.

 

This is really not some binary-like argument. East and West couldn't agree (foolishly) and got all twisted regionally. Too much malt in those English IPAs.....I don't think so, it's just what it is, which "we" truly love. My son and I drank some nice Mikkeller Prickly Pear hazy rendition two nights ago and it was tastier the warmer it got- I think it was brewed in San Diego. I love all of these beers, so it's easy to be pleased these days.....

 

How do you plan on quantifying those aromatics? In a blind taste test the majority of the tasters thought superpower was a hazy ipa.

 

Don't trade for hazy IPAs, trade hazy IPAs for better things like barrel aged beers. It always wins.

 

Total polyphenol content of the wort + specific yeast strains = haze

Haze, however, does not always equal an aromatic and flavorful beer.

 

I would add in total protein content as well, as proteins are huge molecules, and their affinity to form the protein+polyphenol complex. But the yeast has got to be the biggest key.

 

Agreed.

It's not JUST polyphenols or proteins or protein-polyphenol complexes, it's how the yeast strain in question responds to that environment.

Ferment these beers with a strain like Chico/US05/1056/001 and although you'll get a good beer that is hazy, you won't get one that looks like OJ.

 

Our dry hop rates are definitely closer to what dauss described. We use a ridiculous amount of hops much to the chagrin of our CFO. As mentioned, it's more about WHEN you add the hops and how much bitterness you are trying to achieve vs. beers with almost no hops in the boil and all whirlpool and dry hops. Also, just because a beer isn't hazy doesn't mean it was filtered. We centrifuge but don't filter any of our beers, and we strive for them to be crystal clear.
The bottom line here is that we're talking apples vs. oranges. Just be happy that we are at a point in American craft beer where the IPA is such a dynamic style and there is something to offer for all different types of beer drinkers.
#cantwealljustgetalong?

 

Can we all agree that US brewers making IPAs have elevated the quality of the style so exponentially better than IPAs from the past? Sure still 1 in x brewers are make great beer, but with so many more brewers now than in the past, great beers are that much closer to your house now to acquire. NEIPAs, AIPAs etc. who cares as long as they are great.

 

Hazy is only a look not a taste profile.

 

Many people apparently care, just go through this thread (and many others) to see the amount of negativity some people have about NEIPA and the people who enjoy it. Used to think it was jealousy that fueled it, now my theory is these are the same folks who used to diss Big Beer, and now that crowd has moved on to dissing NEIPA. Some folks just can't enjoy their own beer without putting down someone else's

 

Hazy examples are just fine in my book. I have had all the great NEIPA's and some great stuff from Alvarado St, Moonraker, etc. out here that is inspired by those beers. Nothing but props there.

But I am a West Coast IPA guy all the way. Some breweries out here are starting to re-embrace and re-imagine the bitter, dank, and crisp West Coast IPA's of 10 years ago and you know what? I'm excited about that!

The beers I miss the most are those assertive examples no longer made; deemed unpopular and pedestrian just a few years ago...Stone Ruination, Widmer Broken Halo, etc.

What once was old will be new again.

Cheers!