I usually can't resist pulling a few samples from the keg well before the beer is carbonated, and I especially couldn't wait this time since this was my first time using London Ale III and galaxy hops. While this beer was pretty clear going into the keg, it's now obviously quite milky. Yeast or hop matter/oils in suspension? Chill haze? All three? London Ale III has a reputation for producing cloudy beer (notwithstanding Wyeast's spec sheet stating to the contrary), and I suppose the sample I tasted on Sunday, directly from the fermenter and before the dry hops touched the beer, had a touch of haze. But overall it was pretty clear. I expect this beer to clear up over the next few weeks.
So are these cloudy northeast IPAs permanently cloudy? Or are they just young beers? For example, even heady topper, evidently, clears up over time, as shown in this video. It seems to be all the rage among homebrewers to brew cloudy IPAs. There's a lot of speculation about the cause: Water profile? Flaked adjuncts? Flour? Yeast? Hops? Maybe the commercial examples just haven't sat around long enough to clear up.
Taste is fruit. Generic fruit. Like many other hoppy beers I've brewed this year, at least when I've tasted flat beer. Super sweet, although the pre-dryhopped beer was relatively dry. I think that's just a matter of perception. The intense hoppiness in these early pours creates a sense of sweetness that isn't really there. This beer should come together in the next week or so, once more of the cloudy beer at the bottom is drawn off and carbonation increases. And the remaining hops will round out and meld with the beer.
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