Tuesday, June 6, 2017

2.3% ABV Session NEIPA

Recirculating through the hop filter.









Session-Strength Session NEIPA


Drinking Session IPA before mowing.






Batch Size: 6.00 gal
SRM: 3.2
IBU: 48.6
OG: 1.030
FG: 1.012
ABV: 2.3%
Final pH: 4.89
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68%
Boil Time: 30 Mins

50.0% - 3.5 lbs Weyermann Carafoam

Sacch Rest - 45 min @ 165F


9.00 g Calcium Chloride @ mash
4.50 g Gypsum @ mash
1.00 tsp 10% Phosphoric Acid @ mash
0.50 Whirlfloc @ 5 min
0.50 tsp Wyeast Nutrient @ 5 min

*Do not increase if your water is lower in carbonate.

Omega OYL-011 British Ale V

Brewed 5/19/17




5/22/17 Added second dose of dry hops.




Richard said...

Great read, Mike. Curious about the dry hop prior to fermentation. What do you find that gives you?

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

It really pushes those hop-yeast interactions. To my palate it gives me much of what a hop-stand does without the bitterness. It needs to be paired with later dry hops if you want the big/classic fresh hop aroma of an IPA. Not an efficient use of hops, but I think it is a useful technique.

Anonymous said...

Love the ultra low abv beer trails! As a way to boost dextrins what about a mild ale malt?

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

I don't know much about mild malt, any idea how it increases dextrins?

rrenaud said...

Did you consider lactose? Gun Hill Brewing's Mosaic Soft Serve is my favorite very low ABV hoppy commercial beer at 3%, and it uses oats and lactose. Pretty delicious.

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

I try to avoid lactose when I can because I have a few friends who are vegan or lactose intolerant. Not a bad option though! I may try dosing some into a glass to see how well it works.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever played around with non-enzymatic mashing to try to make a low ABV beer? We had a post about it in our local homebrew club's Facebook group and I've been meaning to give it a shot.

Unknown said...

Have you considered adding oats? I have pretty good success on my low ABV (sub 2%) beers by adding a healthy amount of flaked oats to the grist.

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

Someone mentioned non-enzymatic mashing on my Facebook page as well. I hadn't heard of it before. Would be clearer if it was just called cold steeping. Looks like it pulls the flavors and proteins out without the dextrins and beta-glucans. Would be interested to taste, but doesn't sound like a perfect match for a recipe like this that isn't driven by malt flavor. Have you tasted any beers brewed with the method?

Unknown said...

Have you ever thought about doing a raw ale / no boil for something like this? Perhaps you would get better mouth feel and body without denaturing the proteins. And if you are going to move your hop stand to below boil any way, you are not missing anything in the way of isomerization...

CRUSADER1612 said...

What would you say is the main difference between adding hops at transfer to the FV and a bio-transformation dryhop. ive seen both used, and wondered if there were different characteristics?

Unknown said...

Super interesting! I love this! Here in Sweden, alcohol sales above 3,5% are limited to state stores at certain times, so there is a huuuge scene of delicious low-ABV beers at 3,5% and below - I even have a friend from the US who started a whole bar/cafe with food and only 3,5% and below. Yours is right on target for that classification.

About the malt: I like the British malt idea, but I can't help but think it would benefit from Vienna as a base in high percentage - that might just be a good ticket to a full body. But I don't think there will ever be a beer at that strength to fool with the alcohol content, IPAs truly do rely on a good ethanol hint for the wholeness of the experience. Wonder if there's a way to perhaps push fermentation temperature up to make up for this?

Once again, another fantastic MF post!

Benedikt said...

I was thinking doing a 100% Rye Hop Bomb at that ABV.
But hop aroma more spicy and citrusy to go along well with the rye.
100% Rye beers over 5% have a mouthfeel that is too thick but for a low ABV beer it could be great :)
Really nice post!

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

I'd worry that a raw ale wouldn't have enough bitterness because you aren't heating it above isomerization temperature. If you did get it hot enough for isomerization you'd also be creating DMS. I'm also not sure the "doughy" flavor I get in my no-boil Berliners is the sort of malt flavor I want in an IPA.

I think dry hopping (much like boil hop additions) is on a gradient. The brew day dry hop is like a mid-fermentation dry hop, only more so. You lose more of the bright/fresh/raw hop aromatics, but get even more of the yeast-hop interactions.

I might try a blend of Vienna and Maris Otter next time, so that neither is too distinct. Stressing the yeast or fermenting hot results in more fusel alcohols, that isn't something I'm interested in although it might fool some people into thinking the beer is stronger.

James Spencer shared one of his ultra-low-ABV 100% rye session ales with me (I think it was this one), and it was pretty chewy compared to mine, not a bad idea!

Two Shepherds said...


What is the reason for the 30 minute boil? Is it just because the grains are in such a small amount?

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

Are you asking why I didn't boil longer? No need to given the low target OG and bitterness. DMS is an over-stated risk for homebrewers (especially for ales).

Anonymous said...

Was version 2.0 brewed Mike?

The Mad Fermentationist (Mike) said...

Not yet, but I promised BYO an article on ultra-low ABV beers sometime in 2018... so it will be!

Unknown said...

I would love to see more on low ABV brews - especially for my own health reasons.