NEIPA ready Cold crash time

Brian-Parfitt

Hello all.. I have a NEIPA that is on day 10 in the fermenter. I added ~ 3oz dry hops on day 3 of fermentation and just hit it with second shot of hops (3 oz) on day 7.

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Tasting this from the fermenter.. Quite a bit of bitterness (actually a LOT of bitterness with hop particles floating in the sample) which I would characterize as hop burn... So my question... Does this look ready to cold crash to get off the hops so I can start mellowing it out in a keg? Or do I let it go another day or so to see my FG flatten out...
I see that on Oct 23rd I was flattening out pretty nicely. I dry hopped that evening around 9 p,m. and attribute the dip in gravity to me dumping in hops and pulling a sample from the sample tap. After that, I see gravity trending down ever so slightly. My expected FG was 1.017... I'm close.
Hoping to have this in a keg and drinkable by Nov 5th for a brew day social planned with some friends.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Brian

3-Dawg-Night

Ever since I started kegging, as long as it's close to finished with fermentation, I'm comfortable kegging it when convenient. You're not concerned with a keg exploding like a bottle might.

wepeeler

The consensus around here is to soft crash the yeast out after primary is completed then dry hop for 24-48 hours and package. If you're experiencing harshness now during primary, it won't go away in the keg. That's from personal experience.

3-Dawg-Night

What do you mean by "soft crash"? It's not a term with which I'm familiar.

wepeeler

Soft crashing vs cold crashing. 50F vs say 38F.
Some yeasts interact with certain hops and create polyphenols, which are harsh. It's ideal to drop the yeast out of suspension before dry hopping to not create these harsh compounds. Most neipa/hazy ipas are fermented around 68F, so soft crashing to around 50F drops the yeast out of suspension. It's best to add DH after getting the yeast out of suspension. Studies have shown that dry hopping for 24-48 hours is enough to get the oils into suspension without creating the harshness.

3-Dawg-Night

How long do you let the beer sit at ~50F before dry-hopping?

wepeeler

24-48 hours

3-Dawg-Night

This is new to me. I always just dry-hop at fermentation temperature. I'll try this next time.

wepeeler

It's a game changer

3-Dawg-Night

So, just to ensure I'm tracking: once fermentation is complete, "soft" crash to ~50F for 24-48 hours, then dry hop?

wepeeler

For neipas, my schedule is 11 days primary at 68F, then 50F for 24 hours, DH 1-2 days, then keg.

faithie999

I just started fermenting a Bell's Official Hazy (purchased from Bell's online store) yesterday. I will try the crashing before dry hopping. however, the only "cool" chamber I have is a spare fridge whose freezer is full so I don't want to turn the fridge temp up to 50F (warmer fridge=warmer freezer). will cold crashing at 40-ish then DH, then back to 68F be ok?
thanks

tld6008

40s should be fine just need to get to at least 50f to drop yeast.

wepeeler

Scott Janish at Sapwood Cellar dry hops their hazies 40-45F.

tld6008

At 40-45f my hops are on the bottom

wepeeler

After 24-48? I wouldn't think so. I often cold crash to 37 before kegging for 24-48 hours, and there are plenty of dry hops in suspension.

tld6008

Don't know what to say, I use pellets and before 24 hrs at those temps they are on the bottom. I soft crash to 50f to drop yeast raise temp to mid 60s and dry hop for 48 hrs. Drop temp to 45f and less than 12 hrs at that temp they are on the bottom. I personally would not keg the beer if hops were in suspension.

wepeeler

There are studies that show that hop extraction happens much faster than initially thought. Usually within 24 hours on the homebrew level. Rousing helps, although we don't want yeast back in suspension, so there's that. I'm not saying that I personally DH at 40-45F, so maybe breweries dump the yeast, DH, then recirculate to keep in suspension? Personally, I DH at 50F for 24-48 hrs, cold crash to 37-38F for 24 hours, and when I keg I can still see some hop debris floating around. I would say a majority of the hops are crashed out, but extraction has already occurred.

tld6008

I am not arguing about hop extraction, I just commented when the OP asked "will cold crashing at 40-ish then DH, then back to 68F be ok?" I said yes but assumed his crash to 40 was to drop yeast then he would bring back to DH temp (which in my book is mid 60s but he may use 68) at that point add hops for 24-48 hrs. then cold crash to drop the hops prior to kegging.

wepeeler

I think you're confusing the OP asking about hop burn and mellowing out vs @faithie999 asking, "will cold crashing at 40-ish then DH, then back to 68F be ok?"
In my experience, DHing cool and holding the cool temp is better. Soft crash the yeast, DH, then keg. Don't let the beer heat back up with the DH. It's only added harshness, at least for me.

tld6008

You are correct I was replying to 3 Dawg Night. Your method works for you and mine works for me.. we are both happy!

wepeeler

Just trying to offer a different approach. I've done both ways, and I get better results from keeping the beer cooler during DHing. Not saying my way is the only or best way, but trying something new is the only way to improve!

CascadesBrewer

I found the same. At that cold of temps my hops just sink and I don't get as much flavors as I get at warmer temps. There is a recent Craft Beer and Brewing interview with Scott and Mike and they say their current process at Sapwood is to dry hop at temps below 40F, but they rouse the hops several times with CO2 to help with flavor extraction.
That said, my last batch of NEIPA was a 100% Simcoe one with 8 oz of dry hops per 5 gallons. These were added warm at fermentation temps. It had a lingering harshness that took 3-4 weeks to settle down. In the past I have had good luck with around 6 oz of dry hops, and honestly I find above that rate is more than what I care for.

wepeeler

My last Simcoe was a bit more harsh than I'm used to, as well. 6oz. BUT, I forgot to plug my temp control back in and temps got up to 65F. That's the first time in over 20 batches that that has happened, so I attributed the harshness to temperature.