Tuesday Beer Trivia: New England IPA

The following explanations were originally featured in the May/June 2017 issue of Zymurgy.

Question 1: False. Lovers and brewers of NEIPA styles insist on drinking the beers fresh. The style demands to be consumed fresh because as the beer sits and ages, the volatile hop oils degrade, malt comes more into focus and the beer is thrown off-balance.

Question 2: A typical NEIPA grain bill may not have the acidity to bring the mash and wort pH that low. Even when starting with very low alkalinity water like reverse osmosis (RO) or distilled, some form of acid addition may need to be added to the mash.

Question 3: Malic and citric acids are typically sold  in their solid form in the winemaking section of your homebrew shop. Use malic and citric acid sparingly since their flavors can easily overwhelm the beer itself.

Question 4: You shouldn’t use more than 30 IBUs worth of bittering hops because most of the hops in NEIPAs tend to have big citrus and stone fruit aromas that should be saved for the final 10 minutes, flameout, whirlpool, and/or hop stand.

Question 5: Adding these different adjuncts can improve your beer significantly if you also dial in your water chemistry.