SMaSH NEIPA... What is your favorite hop?

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

some hops just need to be paired with others to get a great taste and some will be fine on their own, I love the Amarillo and centennial combination and one thats good by its self is cascade

 

[BOB357]

I tried the Amarillo/Simcoe combination that was the rage a couple of years ago and didn't see what all the fuss was about. Guess I'm still brewingin the stone age.

As for NEIPA, tried 3 of them up in Bend a couple of weeks ago and, as expected, they are now among my least favorite styles.

 

[J A]

cats piss simcoe

I find it interesting that Simcoe is singled out as cat piss. I get that flavor (or a version of it - harsh, biting, lingering. musky/aromatic in a bad way) from Chinook, Nugget and some other piney hops used for bittering. I love Simcoe, but tend to use it late so that the most strident character is some pine and dank pot and that's mellowed by the mango. Citra and Mosaic are both hops that I don't like for bittering because of the "cattiness". I think a lot of richly-flavored high-alpha hops when used for a big bittering charge can give off that vibe.

 

[BoomerBrian]

Citra get's my vote if you are only going to use one hop.

A SMASH NEIPA doesn't really make sense though. Most NEIPA that I have ever seen use flaked oats or flaked wheat as part of the grain bill. Most also use multiple hops.

 

[J A]

A SMASH NEIPA doesn't really make sense though. Most NEIPA that I have ever seen use flaked oats or flaked wheat as part of the grain bill. Most also use multiple hops.

Exactly...it's just not going to be a NEIPA. I suppose you could under-convert 2-row so that you'd keep starch haze and put so many hops it would feel pulpy, but any SMASH is pretty much going to end up an IPA or APA.

 

[Hogarthe]

I get cat pee from cluster. Doesn't stop me from drinking beer made with it though....

 

[Nosybear]

I get cat pee from cluster. Doesn't stop me from drinking beer made with it though....

I get it from Mosaic. Remember a few years ago when mosaic was all the rage, LHBS did a brew-off using it. One beer was drinkable. So flavor is relative to the taster.

 

[BoomerBrian]

I get it from Mosaic. Remember a few years ago when mosaic was all the rage, LHBS did a brew-off using it. One beer was drinkable. So flavor is relative to the taster.

Mosaic goes well with Citra. Seems Mosaic is a love it or hate it hop.

 

[J A]

Mosaic goes well with Citra. Seems Mosaic is a love it or hate it hop.

It's a subtle thing. I'll take Mosaic late in large quantities but Citra sort of turns me off when there's too much. Either one can be way overdone, but I like the more defined flavors of Mosaic - grapefruit/pineapple with some danky notes - as opposed to the more generic Citra tropical/juicy-fruit quality.

 

[Head First]

I went a different route than posted above; bought some South African hops.

Experimental N1/69 hops
Described as: Kool-Aid, Juicy Fruit, mango, citrus, plums, dank, and pungent

Wow how do you get juicy fruit with dank and pungent? Sounds like they are trying to sell a new variety. Maybe they stick it on the bedpost overnight and the cat... no, sorry, won't go there.
Let us know how it turns out

 

[Group W]

Exactly...it's just not going to be a NEIPA. I suppose you could under-convert 2-row so that you'd keep starch haze and put so many hops it would feel pulpy, but any SMASH is pretty much going to end up an IPA or APA.

May I just add, much more to a NEIPA style than adjuncts. Warmer fermentation, softer water, yeast choice, etc. Some don’t include adjuncts. Grain could be 6row or better yet MO. Go forth and exbeerment. Cheers!

 

[GFHomebrew]

Actually one hop on Oliver's list is Australian Vic secret which im keen to get a taste of it seems to always be a quick seller on the HB stores sights.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I have a pound of nelson in the freezer, its a good hop but only paired with others because its so dominate it has to be mellowed out some

 

[oliver]

ok, scratching NEIPA from the vocabulary. completely. beer has nothing to do with India any more.

I'm making a SMaSH haze juice beer.
it will have 1 malt (likely 2-row or Maris).
it will have 1 hop (South African experimental variety).
it will be fermented with yeast (Burlington Ale (Heady Topper)).

Despite no adjuncts, it will be hazy. It will be juicy. It will be hoppy.

I will not measure IBUs because those are also ridiculous.
Juice is juice. India is India. Jazz is a four letter word.

 

[oliver]

Wow how do you get juicy fruit with dank and pungent? Sounds like they are trying to sell a new variety.

try using Denali as a single hop. my single hop Denali Juice beer was tropical pineapple, slightly tart, sweaty and dank, huge aroma of tropical fruit and pine. I thought the beer was infected with something, just the hops giving off a sweaty musky twangy delicious fruity pine dank tropical juice jazz ale off the deep end here I go IPA is a three letter word

 

[Nosybear]

Mosaic goes well with Citra. Seems Mosaic is a love it or hate it hop.

I'll second that: Blended, Mosaic seems to do good things. By itself? Eau de chat.

 

[J A]

Despite no adjuncts, it will be hazy. It will be juicy. It will be hoppy.

I'll be interested to hear about your methodology. Hazy SMASH is unusual but bound to be possible. As I noted earlier, you can mash in such a way that you can retain starch and protein and using a shit-ton of hops produces a fair amount of particulate and juice factor. Yeast can add to the haziness, though it's my understanding that it's not a major part of the haze factor.
Good luck with it!

 

[Nosybear]

You could also try a tablespoon or two of cornstarch in the boil - it creates a neutral flavored haze.

 

[BoomerBrian]

I'll be interested to hear about your methodology. Hazy SMASH is unusual but bound to be possible. As I noted earlier, you can mash in such a way that you can retain starch and protein and using a shit-ton of hops produces a fair amount of particulate and juice factor. Yeast can add to the haziness, though it's my understanding that it's not a major part of the haze factor.
Good luck with it!

I am interested in seeing the results as well.

Make sure to dry hop while it is actively fermenting. Will help add some haze.

 

[oliver]

Yeast causes haze more than anything in my experience. Dry hopping contributes a lot too. Adjuncts help.

I made a smash lager that I dry hopped, couldn’t get a slight haze off of it.