Lactose for NEIPA?

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smbenn
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Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by smbenn » Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:35 pm

Hi All

Been a while. Brewed a NEIPA with Lallemand Verdant and a ton of hops (dry hopped for 48 hrs before kegging). Mashed at 66C (should prob have aimed for higher) - after 5 days in the keg it's still a little astringent (could be hop burn so will give it a little while longer) so was considering sweetening slightly just to get that sweeter, gentle aftertaste. Bought maltodextrin and lactose from MM and was wondering about keg additions.

Method would probably be to steep 200g of Lactose/Maltodextrin in 250ml boiled water then introduce to keg and purge with CO2. Too much? Or start with 100g then taste and repeat? Any suggestions of Lactose vs Malto? Thanks!
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killer
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Re: Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by killer » Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:44 pm

I would hang on before adding lactose (I hate it personally).
Is there a light greenish sheen to the beer ? Can you visibly see hop particulates ? As you say, let it sit cold for a few more days.
Another possibility is water chemistry. Did you correct mash/ sparge pH or adjust alkalinity ?

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Jocky
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Re: Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by Jocky » Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:33 pm

I agree - I think you’re getting some hop burn from the very fine hop materials still in suspension. As your keg will be drawing from the bottom where they all end up.

Give it a bit more time and it will pass, although you may need to pull a bit of beer too. I tend to use a floating dip tube on my corny kegs these days to avoid this issue.
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john luc
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Re: Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by john luc » Thu Jun 10, 2021 10:06 am

I hate lactose in beer but your beer is too young hence the hop burn feel. I did a NEIPA with verdant yeast and it was lovely. I only used whirlpool @ 70C for 20 minutes and dry hop for 48 hours. Despite this I found after 1 week, it was more bitter than I had expected but this mellowed over the next 2 weeks and was tasty by the end.
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smbenn
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Re: Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by smbenn » Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:45 am

Thanks guys, will certainly give it more time. pH was adjusted using CRS so should be ballpark (used a calculator but didn't measure actual pH). We shall see. I'll give it another 2 weeks or so.

(P.S. Why does everyone seem to hate lactose?)
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john luc
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Re: Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by john luc » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:10 pm

PH in the finished beer is important for the taste, especially NEIPA. low 4 is ideal.
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smbenn
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Re: Lactose for NEIPA?

Post by smbenn » Wed Jun 16, 2021 12:22 pm

Another week on and it's balanced out nicely so need for extra sweetening. Thanks All!
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