Heavy

What a day on the deck. We just wrapped up the hot side of the process for our upcoming NEIPA, and the brewhouse smelled incredible. We started in the mash tun, steeping a heavy blend of flaked oats and wheat alongside our base malts. The enzymes worked overtime, converting those starches into a sweet, high-protein wort to lay the foundation for that signature, silky NEIPA mouthfeel.

From there, we transitioned into a gentle sparge. We rinsed the grain bed precisely to collect every ounce of sugar while filtering out the husks. It was a slow dance to keep the liquid free of unwanted grain astringency, but our gravity numbers hit the bullseye.

Finally, we brought the wort to a rolling boil in the kettle. Because we want this beer to be a total juice bomb, we kept early bittering hops to an absolute minimum. Instead, we focused our energy on a massive whirlpool addition right at the end, flooding the liquid with tropical hop oils without driving up the harsh bitterness. The wort is chilled, tucked away in the fermenter, and ready for the yeast to do its magic

We’ve officially moved the wort from the kettle to the fermenter. After a rapid chill to 19°C, the liquid is currently looking like a perfect pale-gold juice—exactly where we want it for this NEIPA. We’ve just 'pitched' our house yeast strain, which is about to kick off the heavy lifting. Over the next few days, we’ll be monitoring the activity closely as the yeast begins converting those sugars into alcohol while building out the fruity esters that define the style. The airlock is already starting to dance, and the transformation from sweet wort to hazy beer is officially underway.