Featuring the X331 New England India Pale Ale. This hop puts out super fruity and dank notes at the same time, its kind of like a mix of Simcoe and Citra. The official description from the creators at Indie Hops is “Fresh tropical citrus, with a hint of wafting joint smoke from around the block." It seriously tastes exactly as they described it, and it is seriously good. I have a strong feeling this strain is going to be BIG so look out for commercial examples over the next year.
Ingredients:
Briess 2-Row Pale Malt
X331 Hops
London ale III Yeast
Pictured is the x331 SMASH NEIPA I brewed in a sweet Burial Brewing Co. Teku glass and some of my laundry room "brewery."
Tasting notes on this batch: Lots of tangerine and passion fruit; its more juicy feeling than citra, which was my previous go to to support this style. I noticed that before the 2nd dry hopping it was much more fruit forward and less dank so next time i may take it easy on the quantity! A whole # went into this one...🤤 If you've never had a home brewed example of this style, or any IPA, I suggest you go make friends with a homebrewer! Something just gets lost in translation on a commercial scale for all but the best brewers.
That is of course only my opinion, and I will actually be reviewing a lot of really good commercial brews coming out of Asheville, NC in the near future so give me a follow!
Additional Details:
I brewed this to be a New England IPA, or NEIPA. This style is characterized by its hazy appearance, heavy late boil/dry hop additions, and for coining the descriptor "juicy." These IPAs are low bitterness and can be highly fruity/dank. There were two dry hoppings on this batch, the first charge was 4oz during high krausen, meaning the beer was actively fermenting which allows the hops to undergo a process called bio-transformation. The second charge, also 4oz, was dropped directly into the serving keg.
Also if you have any further questions about my process, water profile, etc just leave me a comment and I will definitely get back to you.