Lotus hops for orange and vanilla in a hazy IPA
Lotus is a high alpha American hop with orange, tangerine and a soft vanilla-like sweetness. It is made for hazy IPA. Here is a 20 litre recipe and the habits that keep the juicy character from turning dull.
Why Lotus suits hazy beer
Lotus comes from the Hop Breeding Company in the United States. Brewers describe orange and tangerine over stone fruit, with a creamy, almost vanilla-like sweetness. Alpha acid is high, so supplier sheets put it well into double figures. Always use the figure on your own lot.
The creamy edge is why it works in a hazy IPA. A soft, rounded mouthfeel from oats and wheat meets a hop that already reads as smooth. In a dry, bitter West Coast style the same hop can taste thin and sugary.
A 20 litre grist
Target OG about 1.065 and a final gravity near 1.014.
- Pale ale malt 4.2 kg (70%).
- Flaked oats 1.0 kg (17%).
- Wheat malt 0.8 kg (13%).
Mash at 66 to 67 °C for 60 minutes. Oats and wheat bring beta glucan and protein, which add body and help the haze. Add a handful of rice hulls to the mash if the lauter runs slowly, because oats can set like porridge. Expect about 6.5 to 7% ABV from a clean ferment.
Hop schedule
Keep bittering low, because bitterness fights the soft mouthfeel. Hazy IPA is about aroma and a soft finish, not a sharp bite.
- Bittering: 5 g at 60 minutes, or none. Let the whirlpool supply the IBU.
- Whirlpool: 40 g at 75 °C for 20 minutes.
- First dry hop: 60 g after about two days of active fermentation, at fermentation temperature.
- Second dry hop: 60 g near the end of fermentation, for three days.
That is 6 g per litre of dry hop, a typical level for the style. Whirlpool bitterness from a high alpha hop still adds up, so run a calculator and check that the total sits near 30 IBU.
Yeast, water and the soft finish
Fermentation timing matters for the first dry hop. Adding hops while the yeast is still active lets it work on some hop oils and can lift the juicy, fruity side of the aroma. It also scavenges a little of the oxygen that comes in with the pellets. Wait too long and the effect is gone.
Hazy IPA yeasts are chosen for ester production and low flocculation. Ferment at 19 to 20 °C. Our guide to yeast flocculation shows why a yeast that stays in suspension helps haze. It also shows why such a yeast complicates clean packaging.
Aim for a chloride to sulphate ratio of about 2:1, for example 150 mg/L chloride and 75 mg/L sulphate. If your borewell water has high bicarbonate, dilute with RO water first. Hard, alkaline water takes the juiciness out and leaves a dull bitterness.
How Lotus compares with other hazy hops
The choice of partner changes the beer. Lotus leans citrus and cream. Nectaron leans pineapple and peach. Superdelic brings red berries. A beer with Lotus as two thirds of the dry hop and a tropical partner for the rest tends to taste rounder than either alone.
Protect the aroma from oxygen
Hazy IPA ages faster than most styles. Oxygen turns bright orange into wet cardboard within weeks and darkens the beer from cloudy gold to a muddy brown. Purge the vessel before dry hopping, add the hops as quickly as you can and push CO2 through the transfer line.
At home, a keg is the best fermenter and package in one. Transfer under CO2 pressure and drink the beer cold within a month. A cold chain matters too. A hazy IPA that spent a day in a hot courier van is not the beer you brewed.
What to taste for
Pour into a clear glass and look at the colour and haze as well as the nose. A healthy hazy IPA is a bright, glowing yellow-orange. A dull, brownish haze is the first sign of oxidation. It shows before the taste does. Record the colour next to your tasting notes.
Taste the beer at one week, three weeks and six weeks. Write down the orange intensity, the vanilla sweetness and any cardboard or grass. You will see the aroma peak early and decline. That curve is your drinking window. Nobody else can tell you how long yours is.
Common questions
What does Lotus taste like?
Orange and tangerine over stone fruit, with a soft, creamy sweetness often compared to vanilla. It suits smooth, hazy beers best.
How much Lotus should I dry hop with?
Around 5 to 7 g per litre in total for a hazy IPA, split into an early and a late addition.
Why does my hazy IPA lose aroma so fast?
Oxygen. Hazy beers oxidise quickly. Purge before dry hopping, transfer under CO2 and drink the beer cold and young.
Does Lotus work in a clear IPA?
It can, but the creamy character is less obvious in a dry, bitter beer. Try it in a hazy or soft pale ale first.
