Brujos inspired NEIPA update:
View attachment 835439
10 lb Pils
5 lb Malted oat
3 lb Wheat
2 lb Flaked oat
*no boil hops*
2 oz Citra WP @ 170
2 oz Citra Lupo WP @ 170
10 oz Citra DH
2 oz Citra Lupo DH
90:260 sulfate:chloride
Imperial Juice gen 1
Fermented at 64, finishing at 70. Soft crashed to 55 before dry hopping for 2 days.
O.G. = 1.071
F.G. = 1.016
ABV = 7.2%
Aroma is candied pineapple, mango, lemon, passion fruit - its a very bright tropical fruit smell, zingy as opposed to overripe or dank. Flavor is pineapple, papaya, melon, and orange - also very bright, no heavier flavors bringing it down. Mouthfeel is medium, its just on the crisper side of juicy. Finish is pretty balanced, with a bit of hop bite, but not bitterness, to balance out the grain sweetness.
Overall, this is definitely a good NEIPA, but I need a little more time with it to fully assess the recipe. The color is awesome, its a dark photo, but its such a nice bright pale hazy yellow. The biggest different from my other recipes is high intensity of flavor and aroma. I'm sure if I used more than one hop I would get a better depth and complexity along with that intensity, but I wanted to test this with Citra as something I'm familiar with. My only complaint is that its a little bit drying on the finish, which takes away from the juiciness that you want to go along with all those great flavors. I'm not sure how I'd address that the next time I brew it. All in all, if you're looking for something new to try, I can recommend this recipe as a starting point for a more 'extreme' NEIPA.
Two quick edits: this is one month in the keg, and that's how long it took before I'd serve this beer to a friend. Also, I was able to ask Sam at the most recent Brujos release about the yeast he used in my favorite NEIPA ever (Humulus Magus) and it was Imperial Juice.