threeviews
New Member
Former head brewer of Vermont Pub & Brewery and brewing revolutionary Greg Noonan (RIP) whose teachings are largely carried forth by John Kimmich of The Alchemist, the culturing and use of the "Conan" yeast strain is at the heart of the "New England IPA" craze.
Highly non-flocculent, the Conan strain is one that stays in suspension...but the haze of these IPAs is not only contributed by the yeast, but by protein-rich malts (Wheat, Oat, Aromatic) along with residual hop particulate. It is of my opinion that the lack of flocculent yeast keeps all of these elements in suspension...
If I present a cogent argument, then has any member of this forum "aged" an IPA from one of these juggernauts (The Alchemist, Trillium, Tree House, etc.) who currently define the New England IPA style? If you, allow a Congress Street from Trillium sit still for a number of weeks (and well within the freshness window of an IPA which is...arguably...recognized as 90 days), is it still as hazy as when it was first packaged?
Might you consider the massive haze component to a lot of these New England IPAs simply a result of demand thereby shortening the turnover time of the beers...accelerating a process which normally takes week(s) into days to satisfy demand?
Lastly, do you think the intense haze of these beers has any effect on their shelf life? What if they sat on a retail shelf at room temperature for a time...do you think that would have an "immediate" impact on flavor and aroma?
Please comment and help me understand the current phenomenon what is now known as the "New England IPA."
Highly non-flocculent, the Conan strain is one that stays in suspension...but the haze of these IPAs is not only contributed by the yeast, but by protein-rich malts (Wheat, Oat, Aromatic) along with residual hop particulate. It is of my opinion that the lack of flocculent yeast keeps all of these elements in suspension...
If I present a cogent argument, then has any member of this forum "aged" an IPA from one of these juggernauts (The Alchemist, Trillium, Tree House, etc.) who currently define the New England IPA style? If you, allow a Congress Street from Trillium sit still for a number of weeks (and well within the freshness window of an IPA which is...arguably...recognized as 90 days), is it still as hazy as when it was first packaged?
Might you consider the massive haze component to a lot of these New England IPAs simply a result of demand thereby shortening the turnover time of the beers...accelerating a process which normally takes week(s) into days to satisfy demand?
Lastly, do you think the intense haze of these beers has any effect on their shelf life? What if they sat on a retail shelf at room temperature for a time...do you think that would have an "immediate" impact on flavor and aroma?
Please comment and help me understand the current phenomenon what is now known as the "New England IPA."