Mike’s brother-in-law request for a low alcohol by volume (ABV) juicy hoppy beer is still open and Mike’s quest to fulfill it has taken him to brew another version of the beer we tasted a few weeks ago. So here is take 2 of this sessionable NEIPA. Let’s see what we thought of this one:

What’s Different and Is It Better?

Maybe we should start with what is the same – the grain bill. One of the main guideposts for this beer is the low ABV. So, the malts/grains are the same and in the same quantities since that part of the first beer was good.

The hops were the component he wanted to change up. He felt the last batch wasn’t juicy enough so he replaced took out the Simcoe because he felt it brought too much of a pine flavor and aroma to the beer. His replacements were El Dorado and Huell Melon (we should brew a SMaSH with this hop).

The resulting beer was a little better than the first one. When we tasted them side by side, there were some slight differences but not enough to decide if there was a huge improvement. I think the Galaxy and the two “A” hops (Azacca and Amarillo) he used in the dry hopping phase of his brew still dominated the hop presence in the second beer.

Mike felt it wasn’t as juicy as he wanted it to be but that brother-in-law and his dudes crushed that beer over the weekend so who knows. Maybe there will be a third take but at this point, the mission was accomplished and the customers were happy.

BREW ON!