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The ‘haze for daze NEIPA’ presents a nice hazy glow thanks to the generous portion of white wheat and flaked wheat. I pulled a little inspiration from the folks over at Trillium and added a small portion of C15 for color. The beer is crushable at 6% and reveals a citrusy backbone with a nice punch of flavor thanks to a healthy dry hop of Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin. It’s certainly one of my favorite brews so far and something I will absolutely rebrew, especially since it’s more sessionable than my typical brew.
For this recipe, I adjusted my typical NEIPA practices and experimented with some new ingredients and older techniques. I deviated from my typical process of dry hopping cooler (55-60°F) and dry-hopped at fermentation temperatures (70°F+). The advantage of this technique is being able to dry hop at the very end of fermentation without the risk of dropping fermenter temps too soon and risking diacetyl production.
This biggest change with the recipe came with the use of Citra CO2 hop extract in the whirlpool. This was my first time brewing with CO2 extract and I have to say I’m already a big fan. I’ll dive into the details below along with some benefits.
Brewing With CO2 Hop Extract
This was my first time using any form of CO2 hop extract. Hop extracts can be used in a variety of ways depending on the beer style and choice of hops. CO2 hop extracts are harder to find at the homebrew scale. The big-name hop producers currently only offer commercial options. Luckily, a local Massachusetts company, Mass Hops, offers a few varieties for homebrewers! (I’m aware YVH offers CTZ CO2 hop extract for homebrewers—it’s just more suited as a bittering/boil addition).
CO2 extract is best suited for the hot side (boil kettle/whirlpool). The main advantage is reduced vegetal character and less trub/volume loss carried over from the kettle. From everything I’ve read, they behave similarly to whole and pellet hops in terms of isomerization of acids, etc.
Outside of beer loss, hop extract allows for more flavor/aroma to be carried through to the final beer, making them a great option for hoppy beers. For this recipe, I used 20 ML of Citra CO2 extract in the whirlpool with no other hot side hop additions. Personally, I’d love to experiment with a higher dosage next time to increase potency and aroma.
Unfortunately, hop extracts are on the pricy side ($9.99 per 10 ML syringe)…although I don’t think that will stop me from further brewing with them in the future.
How to Use CO2 Hop Extract
Since CO2 hop extracts come packaged in a gel-like form, they need to be dissolved into a few cups of hot wort/water before being introduced to the rest of the batch. This helps ensure the proper distribution of oils throughout the batch. I ended up pulling a few cups of wort at the beginning of the whirlpool and mixed in the extract at about 175°F. From here I carried out my typical 20-30 minute whirlpool. This is also the most fantastic-smelling part of the entire day.
I was really pleased with how this beer came out. The hop extract absolutely added some unique character that I’ve experienced in some of my favorite commercial beers. Per Mass Hops’ recommendations, they’ve seen success with using between 20-80 ML of CO2 hop extracts in a standard 5-gallon batch. I’ve certainly got some room to grow, especially on higher ABV beers.
Ingredients
Fermentables
9 lb 8 oz (66.4%) — Briess Pale Ale Malt 2-Row — 1.9 °L
2 lb 8 oz (17.5%) — Wheat Flaked — 1.7 °L
1 lb 10 oz (11.4%) — Briess Wheat White Malt — 2.3 °L
6 oz (2.6%) — Acidulated — 2.8 °L
5 oz (2.2%) — Caramel 15 — 11.6 °L
Whirlpool
20 ML Citra CO2 hop extract @ 175°F
Dry Hops
5 oz — YVH Nelson Sauvin 12% — Day 5
3 oz — YVH Mosaic 12.25% — Day 5
Yeast
1-2 packs Imperial Yeast Juice A38
Other
Whirlfloc – 15 minutes
Water Profile
Ca2+ 103
Mg2+ 0
Na+ 8
Cl– 150
SO42- 50
HCO3– 16
Specifications
Method: All-grain
Batch size: 6 gallons
Efficiency: 68%
OG: 1.060
FG: 1.012
ABV: 6.3%
SRM: 4.3
Target Mash pH: 5.2 (adjust with lactic acid as needed)
Post Boil pH: 4.9 (adjust with lactic acid with 15 min remaining)
Mash Temp: 151°F – 60 minutes
Boil: 60 minutes
Fermentation Temp: 68-72°F
Notes
Since CO2 hop extracts come packaged in a gel-like form, they need to be dissolved into a few cups of hot wort/water before being introduced to the rest of the batch.
Day 1: Pitch yeast at 68°F and let rise to 72°F on day 2-3 for the remainder of fermentation. Should finish in 4-5 days. Per Imperial Yeast: Target 20-25 ppm dissolved oxygen or set the oxygen regulator flow to 50% higher than normal.
Day 4-5: Add full dry hop charge, hold at 70-72°F at 7-10 PSI. Drop the hops out after 72 hours if you have a conical.
Day 8: Crash to 33°F for 48 hours. Proceed with packaging/cold conditioning for another week in the keg at serving temps. Should be prime drinking by day 18-20.
Read this article here first for an in-depth overview of brewing NEIPAs.
Use code HAZY20 to get 20% off your entire purchase of $100 or more at yakimavalleyhops.com.
Thanks for sharing! Can you clarify what you used for your yeast pitch. 1 or 2 packs and manufacture date, +/- starter, etc?
Thanks!
I use a pitch rate of .75-1. This will put you at around 250-350 billion cells. Use a starter calculator for starting gravity and you can evaluate the numbers and decide for yourself. Imperial packs are 2B cells per pack assuming all are viable. You can absolutely use 1 pack, but I’ve gotten into the habit of a healthy pitch.
Hi Shawn,
I have thoroughly enjoyed your site and can’t agree more about focusing on the cold side process (fermentation temp, yeast health, oxidation prevention, etc.)
I’ve read through your NEIPA brewing discussion and looked at your NEIPA recipes. I have had some diacetyl issues in the past and contributed it to large dry hop additions and dry hop creep. I was somewhat concerned with your soft crash dry hop method and the potential for dry hop creep. I understand that at 60F at 24 hrs. some of the yeast will drop out but I am still concerned that there will still be enough yeast in suspension that will interact with the hops and create hop creep/diacetyl. I see that in this last recipe you dry hopped at 70F. Is it your intent to change your standard procedure to a warmer dry hop or continue the soft crash dry hop method. Thanks, Brian.
Hi Brian – so glad you’ve been enjoying the site. I think I’ve found that there are a few ways to skin a cat. It largely depends on what you’re looking to achieve. I’ve had success with both dry-hopping warm and cool. If you go the cooler route, you’ll need to ensure the beer is totally done fermenting before you soft crash. I’ve found that ramping my fermentation temps up to 71-72 on day 2-3 helps to speed up the process and fight against diacetyl. I like to play it safe and dry hop on day 7-8 in that case.
The only time I’ve run into diacetyl production was a result of soft crashing too soon, not giving the yeast ample time to clean up after fermentation. Warmer dry-hopping seems to help with this. There will likely be more yeast in suspension but at least the temps are warmer and cleanup can still occur during the dry hop period. I would try a simple VDK test if you’re concerned.