Author: Marshall Schott

Hazy when most are clear, juicy when others are merely hoppy, New England IPA’s (NEIPA) unique take on a classic style has taken the world by storm with drinkers pining for something new. In speaking with those who have embraced this relatively novel style and brew it often, it seems a key component to achieving the qualities it possesses has to do with the yeast used to ferment it. Breweries on the left coast have tended to focus on accentuating the hoppiness of their Pale Ale and IPA by using yeasts known for taking a back seat in the character department, for example WLP001 California Ale and Wyeast 1056 American Ale. However, many believe NEIPA demands the use of a narrow selection of yeasts mostly of English heritage, not only for the character they impart, but for their biotransformation effects as well.

Heady Topper, a hazy Double IPA brewed by The Alchemist viewed by many as the beer that started the NEIPA craze, is fermented with the lauded Conan yeast that was recently made available to brewers under a few different monikers. The version HOP has been using is called Vermont IPA by GigaYeast, which they say was sourced “from one of the best examples of an east coast IPA” and produces a beer “with more body and a slight fruity ester that is amazing with aromatic hops.”

Wyeast 1318 London Ale III has also gained popularity among NEIPA brewers, which I trust is due in part to rumors it’s used by Hill Farmstead to ferment their highly sought after examples of the style. Of the homebrewers I know who brew the style often, WY1318 is the one most seem to prefer, at least based on the recipes I’ve seen that feature it.

I was surprised to learn that hazy NEIPA has become one of the most requested styles from House Of Pendragon Brewing Company (HOP), situated smack in the center of California. I was recently chatting with owner/brewmaster Tommy Caprelian and assistant brewer Brad Gaines about this curious phenomenon when the topic turned to yeast. They mentioned they’d been playing with two aforementioned strains in an attempt to determine which will become their go-to. xBmt borned!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between two beers fermented with either GigaYeast GY054 Vermont IPA yeast or Wyeast 1318 London Ale III yeast.

| METHODS |

Since the purpose of this xBmt was to evaluate the differences between yeast strains, we developed a recipe with a very simple grain bill while maintaining a standard NEIPA hop schedule

BrüDragon NEIPA

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 76.5 IBUs 3.7 SRM 1.066 1.014 6.9 % Actuals 1.066 1.01 7.4 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pale Malt, 2-Row (Rahr) 11 lbs 80 Oats, Flaked 2.75 lbs 20 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Magnum 13 g 60 min Boil Pellet 11.2 Citra 60 g 30 min Aroma Pellet 12 Simcoe 60 g 30 min Aroma Pellet 12.3 Citra 78 g 12 days Dry Hop Pellet 12 Simcoe 40 g 12 days Dry Hop Pellet 12.3 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature London Ale III (1318) Wyeast Labs 73% 64°F - 74°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 104 | Mg 6 | Na 4 | SO4 100 | Cl 150

Given the variable, this xBmt did not require separate batches, so Brad brewed a 45 gallon batch on the brewery’s continuous/fly sparge pilot system. Once the strike water was to the appropriate temperature, the milled grains were added to the mash tun.

The mash was stirred to fully incorporate the grains.

Once the temperature stabilized at the target, it was left to rest for a full hour.

With the mash rest complete, Brad performed a continuous/fly sparge to collect the expected volume of sweet wort that was brought to a rolling boil. The first hop addition was relatively small, just enough to impart a little bitterness.

While the wort was boiling, brewing assistant Rodger Castro began the incredibly fun task of cleaning out the mash tun.

Given the small size of this batch, at least relative to the beers brewed on the normal 15 BBL system, we agreed that starters weren’t in order.

The individual packs of yeast were brought out to warm up mid-boil, each Wyeast 1318 was also smacked at this point.

The whirlpool hop addition was just a tad bigger than the bittering charge.

The hoppy wort whirlpooled for 30 minutes.

After passing through a heat exchanger, equal amounts of 66˚F/19˚C wort were transferred to identical conical fermentors.

Brad started by pitching the GY054 Vermont IPA yeast into one batch.

He then immediately moved onto pitching the Wyeast 1318 London Ale III into the other fermentor of wort.

The conicals were positioned next to each other in a temperature controlled room set to maintain a steady 67˚F/19˚C.

At 2 days post-pitch, each beer received the large biotransformation dry hop charge and were left alone for another week to continue fermenting. With both beers showing signs of completed fermentation about a week later, initial hydrometer readings were taken that showed the beer fermented with GY054 had attenuated slightly more than the WY1318 beer; a final hydrometer measurement after 2 weeks of fermentation confirmed the beers had reached FG with the GY054 and WY1318 beers at 1.010 and 1.012, respectively. At this point, the beers were cold crashed, racked to brite tanks for carbonation, then kegged less than 3 weeks after being brewed. I first sampled the beers at the House Of Pendragon tasting room just prior to data collection and while they looked similar, it seemed the GY054 beer had dropped slightly more clear than the batch fermented with WY1318.

| RESULTS |

A panel of 75 people with varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each taster, blind to the variable being investigated, was served 2 samples of the beer fermented with Wyeast 1318 London Ale III yeast and 1 sample of the beer fermented with GigaYeast 054 Vermont IPA yeast in different colored opaque cups then instructed to select the unique sample. A total of 33 correct selections (p<0.05) would have been required to achieve statistical significance, though only 28 tasters (p=0.27) chose the different beer, suggesting participants in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a beer fermented with GY054 Vermont IPA yeast from one fermented with WY1318 London Ale III yeast.

The following information is being shared purely to appease the curious and should not be viewed as valid data given the failure to achieve significance. Of the 28 tasters who were correct on the triangle test, 15 preferred the beer fermented with GY054 Vermont IPA yeast, 10 liked the WY1318 London Ale III beer more, 2 reported no difference, and 1 said they had no preference despite noticing a difference.

My Impressions: First off, both of these beers were really damn tasty, which is nothing surprising, as I feel this way about most of what House Of Pendragon makes. In the 5 triangle tests I attempted, I was only correct once, and in every instance, I felt forced to guess which was different. In my experience, both beers shared the same flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel, despite the GY054 fermented batch being slightly clearer than the WY1318 beer.

| DISCUSSION |

Yeast selection is one of the various components said to contribute to the unique character found in New England style Pale Ale and IPA, with aficionados purporting only certain strains are capable of the biotransformation that’s so quintessential for the style. Two yeasts believed to have this ability that have gained a large following among NEIPA brewers are Conan variants, which GigaYeast sells as GY054 Vermont IPA, and Wyeast 1318 London Ale III. Indeed, both strains are of English origin and hence known for producing a stronger ester profile than cleaner American strains, though my prior experience using them in less hoppy pale beers left me convinced the difference would be quite noticeable. The fact tasters were unable to reliably distinguish the beer fermented with GY054 Vermont IPA from the same beer fermented with WY1318 leaves me wondering if perhaps the biotransformation process by each strain creates a similar level of the same “new” compounds, thereby serving to equalize the overall character of each beer.

A curious observation of the beers over the few days they were on tap at the House Of Pendragon tasting room– the beer fermented with GY054 Vermont IPA continued to clear while the WY1318 London Ale III beer maintained the characteristic NEIPA haze. In follow-up informal triangle test trials, I remained unable to reliably distinguish the unique sample, they maintained the same aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel to me.

Having compared these two yeasts popularly used by NEIPA brewers, I think it’s only prudent to replicate this xBmt using a more common IPA yeast, a strain known for its clean fermentation profile that some have claimed doesn’t have the biotransformation abilities present in GY054 and WY1318. It is on the list!

If you’ve used GigaYeast GY054 Vermont IPA (or any other Conan strain) or Wyeast 1318 London Ale III to ferment NEIPA, please share your thoughts and experience in the comments section below!

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