The latest beer to hit Clawhammer's homebrew tap system is a Hazy IPA, hopped exclusively with Idaho 7. It's a light and crispy, low ABV, crushable gem. Seriously, this is one of our favorite homebrew recipes yet.

Hazy IPA, or New England IPA (NEIPA), is all the rage right now. It's the new normal IPA. So we decided to brew a 5 gallon (19 liter) batch on our brew in a bag (BIAB) electric homebrewing system. We love the color and the clarity (or rather, lack of) of this beer. It's such a strange, murky shade of yellow. So we got that going for us.

Also, Idaho 7 is a relatively new variety of hop, released by Jackson Hop Farm in Wilder, Idaho. This hop packs a powerful dose of citrus and pine flavor and aroma. Long story short, we really like this hop.

Finally, Clawhammer's office staff loves session beers, and the session trend seems to be gaining steam nationally as well. This beer checks the session box by clocking in at only 3.5% ABV. If you're looking for a marathon session beer, this one is it.

Hazy Session IPA - Idaho 7 - Homebrew Recipe Video

Here's the video, in case you aren't the readin' type. However, if you're interested in brewing this beer, scroll down for full recipe details.

Recipe Updates

FYI: This is one we've brewed before. We did a version of this a couple of months ago, which we called "The Sloth." It turned out great, but we felt it could be improved. Here's what we came up with. We substituted some Rye for the wheat to give it some bite, used Idaho 7 instead of Mosaic, and also added an additional ounce of hops during the boil.

Water

Beginning water volume: 7.83 gallons (29.6 liters), with chemistry adjusted to produce the following profile:

• Calcium: 100ppm
• Chloride: 136ppm
• Sulfates: 75ppm
• Sodium: 14ppm
• Magnesium: 6ppm
• Bicarbonates: 25ppm

Note: we also added half a campden tablet at the start of the brew day.

Filling kettle with water

Malts

• Pilsner (2 row) Ger (2.0 SRM) - 6lbs. (2.7 kg) (71.5%)
• Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) - 12.8oz. (363 grams) (9.5%)
• Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) - 12.8oz. (363 grams) (9.5%)
• Rye, Flaked (1.6 SRM) - 12.8oz. (363 grams) (9.5%)

Mashing

We mashed at 152F (66.7C) for 60 minutes, then raised the temperature directly to a boil from there since we're using a brew in a bag (BIAB) and aren't sparging.

Mashing in

Boil Hops

We didn't add any hops during the boil but we did add a whirlpool hop addition of 3oz (85 grams) Idaho 7 [14.3% AA] once the wort had chilled to about 170F (76.7C). We let these chill for about 20 minutes before transferring to the fermenter.

Adding whirlpool hops

Fermentation

We used one package of London Ale 3 (#1318) from Wyeast and fermented at 66 degrees Fahrenheit (18.9C) for 7 days.

Carboy at the end of the brew day

Dry Hops

We dry hopped this beer with 1oz (28.3 grams) of Idaho #7 for 3 days. 

Benchmarks

• Post boil volume - 5.40 gal (20.4 liters)
• Post-boil gravity - Actual: 1.0390
• Volume into the fermenter - 5.4 gallons (20.4 liters)
• Final Gravity 1.012
• Final keg volume: 5.0 gallons (18.9 liters)
• ABV - 3.98%

Tasting Notes

This one tasted amazing right out of the gates, which lasted for about a week and a half. It experienced some growing pains for about 3 weeks where the hop flavor had started to fade a bit but the rye character will very strong, which created a bit of an imbalance. Then, about 1 month after kegging, the beer hit its stride and started tasting amazing again.