In this post, we are going to tackle a NEIPA recipe. Yes, that juicy, fruity, dank, hazy, and delicious beer that has taken the beer world by storm in recent years.
Most people believe this to be a complicated beer recipe to make, the truth is however that you can easily make a NEIPA at home that will rival any brewed by the big commercial breweries and even your local craft brewery.
In this post, you are going to be provided with a NEIPA recipe, the exact steps to follow to make it as well as some tips for modifying the recipe or designing your own from scratch if you prefer.
What Makes an IPA a NEIPA
NEIPA is an abbreviation for New England IPA. It is a variation of the American IPA; however, it is much less bitter than most other styles of American IPA and also has a softer mouthfeel that is often described by beer fans as being pillowy. Flavor-wise it leans towards having a high level of fruitness which is derived from the type and quantity of hops used when brewing it, which also contributes to its other well-known and distinct quality of being hazy or cloudy. So much so that at times it is called a Hazy IPA instead of a NEIPA.
In order to create the softer less bitter flavor brewers focus their hop additions towards the end of the boil as well as heavy dry hop additions versus the earlier bittering hop additions that most IPAs are known for. These later additions not only reduce the bitterness and raise the fruit profile but create a very high aroma due to the hops oils still being present in the beer. NEIPA recipes are known for using hops that have a fruit-like profile such as Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, El Dorado, and Amarillo to name a few.
When it comes to grains NEIPA recipes differ from other IPA recipes when it comes to their specialty grains, with a New England you will find higher protein grains such as oats and wheat which contribute to its mouthfeel as well as its cloudiness. The type of yeast used to make this style of beer also plays an important role, you will want to use yeasts that will create higher fruity esters, although you can now purchase NEIPA yeasts, traditionally English style yeasts were used.
NEIPA Recipe 
This is a delicious and super hazy NEIPA recipe that we call Crazy Hazy! It leans heavily on two of our favorite hops, Citra and Mosaic. If you like hazy and juicy IPAs you are going to love this recipe. It provides for a soft but strong hop character while at the same time providing the creamy pillow-like mouthfeel this style of beer is known for.
The beer will turn out quite light in color as well as cloudy and hazy as a result of the specialty grain additions of wheat and oats and the large amount of dry-hopping the recipe calls for.
Target OG 1.066
Target FG 1.017
Estimated ABV: 6.5%
IBU 63
SRM 6.5
Grain Bill
11 lbs Marris Otter
0.8 oz Carapils/Dextrine
0.8 oz Wheat Malt
1 lb Flaked Wheat
1 lb Flaked Oats
Hops Schedule
0.5 oz Columbus (60 Min)
1 oz Mosaic (5 Min left in boil)
2 oz Citra (Whirlpool)
2 oz Mosaic (Whirlpool)
2 oz Citra (Add on day 3)
1 oz Mosaic (Add on day 3)
1 oz Citra (Add after primary fermentation approx day 5, leave for 3 days before packaging)
2 oz Mosaic (Add after primary fermentation approx day 5, leave for 3 days before packaging)
Yeast
Fermentis – Safale – English Ale Yeast – S-04
Alternatively, you can use any yeast that has been designed for brewing NEIPA recipes, there are many options available.
Recipe Instructions
Mash your grains for 60 minutes at 153 ℉. Perform a mash-out (raise temperature to 170 ℉ and hold for 10 minutes). Sparge with 170 ℉ water, raising the liquid level to pre-boil level. Boil your wort for 60 minutes adding the hops as per the schedule above. When boil is completed, chill the wort to the temperature indicated on your yeast sachet. Transfer your wort to your sanitized fermenter and pitch your yeast.
Ferment your wort within the temperature range indicated on the yeast sachet. Add dry hops as per the schedule provided above. Ferment for approximately 10 days. At the end of fermentation do not cold crash this beer as NEIPA recipes are intended to be hazy or cloudy and you do not wish for the hop sediment to drop out of suspension.
Package your beer in bottles or kegs. It is recommended to drink this beer fresh in order to experience the full flavor from the hops. Over time hop material and oils will drop out of suspension resulting in an altered flavor and appearance.
Tips For Brewing a NEIPA
The following are some tips you can use to help you brew your own NEIPA recipe by either developing it from scratch or modifying the recipe we provided.
Base Grains
For your base grain, you can use any of the popular malts, such as 2-row, Marris Otter, Golden Promise, and even Pilsner if you like.
2-Row is a popular option and used by many brewers due to its availability and cost as well as its ability to provide for a clean malt flavor. In order to create the mouthfeel, you want with this style of beer specialty grains will also need to be used.
Marris Otter & Golden Promise provide more complexity and flavor to the beer than 2-Row and as such, it is not required that you add as many specialty grains to your recipe. The downside is that it is more expensive, however since you do not need to use as many specialty grains you will make up for its additional cost there. Both of these grains will provide more of a bready or grainy flavor than 2-Row.
Pilsner adds a delicious and unique malt flavor to a NEIPA that shines through as somewhat of a cracker-like flavor.
Specialty Grains
In regards to Crystal malt NEIPA recipes typically go sparingly on the colored malts as the beer is typically lower on the SRM scale and since the beer is cloudy it can easily come across darker than intended. Crystal malt is used to add some sweetness and color to the beer. Most recipes will have 3 – 5% of their grain bill made up of Crystal 10 – 40.
Malts such as flaked oats and flaked wheat which are high in protein are added to the recipe to provide not just for the cloudy or hazy appearance but to also increase the mouthfeel and pillow-like body. Typically these grains will account for 10-20% of the grain bill.
Dextrin malts such as Carapils are used to increase the body of the beer and help with retention of the head.
Hops
Hops are where it is at with a NEIPA recipe. It is certainly what would be referred to as a hop-heavy beer. The hops used are typically your tropical or passion fruit style from America, Australia, and New Zealand.
The most common hops used for their passion fruit and tropical flavors are Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, Vic Secret, and Nelson Sauvin. Centennial and Colombus are also used quite often to provide more of a dankness or earthy flavor.
Bittering Hops
A NEIPA is not your typical IPA in many regards, one of the major differences is that it is not bitter tasting like the rest of them. Large amounts of bittering hops are added to beers like a West Coast IPA, however, with a NEIPA your recipe should only call for a small bittering addition at the beginning of the boil.
Citra or Columbus are good opinions as they are high alpha acid hops and will provide just enough bitterness to balance the sweetness of the malt to the ideal level for this style of beer.
Late Hop Additions
There is no question that when brewing a NEIPA you want to add your hops later in the brewing process however all brewing practices there is a debate of when exactly you should add your hops.
Some people add hops with 5 minutes remaining in the boil, while others add them at flameout, others will only add them during the whirlpool and still, others will add them at all 3 stages.
Flameout is exactly as it sounds, as soon as you turn the heat off add your hops. Whirlpool requires chilling the wort down to 170 ℉, creating a whirlpool effect with your mash paddle, and then adding your hops and letting them sit in the now warm wort for 15 – 20 minutes.
Our advice is to experiment and see which additions you prefer. For a typically 5-gallon batch such as the recipe we provided you will want to add 3-5 ounces total during these late additions.
Dry Hopping
NEIPA recipes are heavily dry-hopped, this is because dry hopping is responsible for the hazy appearance and the high hop flavor and aroma these beers are known for. Many beers you can get away with not dry hopping, a NEIPA is not one of them, it is a required step.
For a 5-gallon batch, 6 ounces is the minimum amount of hops to use, but you can go as high as 10 – 12 ounces.
You can add all of your hops at once or you can double dry hop which is simply splitting up the amount of hops you are going to use into two different additions, one earlier on during fermentation and the last one approximately 3-4 days before you are ready to package your beer.
For the first addition, it is wise to wait to add them until a few days into fermentation. The first few days of fermentation is referred to as active fermentation when the majority of the CO2 gas is pushed out of the airlock, by waiting 3-4 days you are ensuring that your hop aroma and flavor is not also being pushed out of the airlock.
Yeast Options
For yeast, it is recommended to stick with the English yeast strains as they create fruity esters that are ideal for this style, flavors such as orange, peach, and even bubble gum which go nicely with the tropical and passion fruit flavors provided from the hops.
You can also now find many yeasts that have been designed especially for New England IPAs and they work very well also.
American yeast strains can also be used however they will create a slightly cleaner profile and the beer will not be as soft as if you use an English ale yeast as there will not be as many esters created. However, the American yeast strains do allow for the hop flavors to be more prominent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NEIPA same as Hazy? Yes, they are the same beer, hazy is simply another name for this style of beer used by some people.
What makes New England IPA Hazy? The high protein grains such as oats and wheat as well as the large amount of hops used during dry-hopping. Also when brewing a NEIPA the recipe will not call for the use of clearing agents or techniques such as whirlflock, gelatin, or cold crashing.
Do you cold crash NEIPA? No, you should not cold crash a NEIPA because the act of cold crashing causes all of the material floating in the beer to come out of suspension and fall to the bottom of your fermenter, which results in a clear-looking beer. With a NEIPA you are striving to make a cloudy beer.
How long should NEIPA ferment? Standard fermentation times for ALEs is all that is required for fermentation. We let most of our beers ferment for 10 days. However, if you are using a hydrometer to take measurements when you reach your final gravity or the gravity has stayed the same for 2-3 days in a row you can move to package your beer. NEIPA’s taste best when consumed as fresh as possible.
The Final Word
Brewing a NEIPA recipe is not as difficult as many people believe it to be. The secret is definitely in the higher protein grains, the hops you use, and the amount. It is a delicious beer to make, albeit a little on the expensive side due to the amount of hops required, but well worth the price when you pour that first pint.
Enjoy and if you have any questions feel free to reach out to us.
P.S. If you enjoyed this recipe make sure you take advantage of getting my top 5 recipes from my brew pub at no charge to you. Details are on the side of the blog. Cheers!