Tired of the Hazy IPA craze?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Niceroad77, Mar 7, 2019.

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  1. Niceroad77

    Niceroad77 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2014 Canada (BC)

    As I am drinking yet another embodiment of the Hazy IPA beer type, a feeling has been growing in me for a while. A feeling of "Oh, do I even/ever love IPA?" Yes, for a little over five years now, IPA have composed nearly 90% of my beer intake.

    Don't get me wrong, I love other beer types such as sours, imperial stouts or Belgian triples but still, IPA is that old friend that I can always trust. Or at least, I thought so until recently... What really got me into the IPA style was the endless palate of hoppy bitterness available. Every time I see a new IPA at my favourite local beer store, I just have to try it. So many hop varieties to play with out there, it's crazy. In my search for infinite bitterness, I had some very harsh low IBU beers and interestingly, some incredibly well balanced high IBU brews, read 120+ IBU.

    More recently, came a wave of IPA that are very citrusy but not that piney for the most part. When poured, they are very murky, some call it... hazy. Yes, here I am now submerged by this wave of "Hazy IPA". But why did I get into the IPA style at first I often ask myself. I liked the pines, the dank, the resin, the oiliness... When combined with a hint of citrus, in the right proportions, they sure made for some quite memorable ales.

    But, yes, here is the big "BUT", the new IPA on the market have consistently showed lower IBU, more citrus, more haziness, less pine, less bitterness. In other words, I just feel like almost every single new offering has been a Hazy IPA. With IBU regularly reaching below the 50 mark, I had some 35 for f... s...., I have had many let down experiences to say the least.

    My typical IPA these days has become that highly accessible beer, yes, even for those that couldn't even drink IPAs five years ago. Maybe the skyrocketing price of hops is to blame? I remember hearing and reading about the four C's very regularly in all those beers I liked. Seemed like every brewery tried jumping on the bandwagon given the IPA craze that was going on. Some did it quite remarkably, some other breweries, not quite as well. But in the end, it seems that as the price of these hop varieties got higher and people liked the citrusy taste more and more, the IPA style became what we now have, a murky mess of too many new low IBU and citrusy only Hazy IPA.

    What has happened to my favourite beer style, I don't know. You tell me, but as you read in the title, I am growing tired of this Hazy IPA craze.
     
    drunkenmess, LarryV, Donovanj and 2 others like this.
  2. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    So are old favorites no longer available to you or is just that you can't find a new IPA that isn't a juicy hazy IPA?
     
  3. NeroFiddled

    NeroFiddled Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,122) Jul 8, 2002 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I am not growing tired of the hazy IPA craze. I completely appreciate a standard West coast or East coast IPA. A chocolate doughnut IPAs though, not so much.
     
  4. Justonemore91

    Justonemore91 Initiate (0) Nov 24, 2018 New York
    Trader

    I'm growing tired of breweries passing garbage as neipa.. You should taste it before you put ot out to consumers who are laying out $16 to $25 a four pack
     
    JLaw55, gopens44, Arjen and 25 others like this.
  5. TheIPAHunter

    TheIPAHunter Grand Pooh-Bah (5,542) Aug 12, 2007 California
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Bingo.
     
  6. jcos

    jcos Pundit (761) Nov 23, 2009 Maryland

    I guess I feel similar, but just prefer to buy what I want to drink. If a friend has a good "hazy" or whatever IPA to share, I'll try some. I've never been a person to chase trucks or wait in lines, so if I'm missing out on some stuff, oh well.

    The one thing I will ALWAYS ask for on any of these new beers(or old beers that have it) is some symbol clearly indicating it contains lactose.
     
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  7. TheIPAHunter

    TheIPAHunter Grand Pooh-Bah (5,542) Aug 12, 2007 California
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I see that you're in Canada. Have you tried any of the elite (as measured by ratings) NEIPAs?
     
    Zach423 likes this.
  8. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I'm fine with it as long as the old school caramel malt "C" bombs still exist. It seems like plenty still do.
    My one comment is that just because something looks hazy and is described as "juicy" doesn't make it good. There are plenty of bitter/piney/earthy hazy beers and plenty of bright IPA's I'd describe as juicy. Don't let the appearance be everything.
     
  9. Hoos78

    Hoos78 Maven (1,303) Mar 3, 2015 Ohio

    I agree with this 100%. Although I would say I find less “junk” being passed off as NEIPA these at the moment.

    For a while, about 80% of the local NEIPAs I tried were absolute garbage. Actually, I should say about 50% were garbage, just objectively bad, unpleasant beers. The other questionable 30% just came across as regular American IPAs but were labeled/marketed as NEIPAs. I think for a while, breweries had no idea how to dial in the recipes to produce the style traits.

    Lately, I’ve found a bit more consistency and legitimacy. A local brewery, Braxton, recently put out a NEIPA called Tropic Flare that they intend to be year round. It is priced in line with their other regulars and sold in six packs of 12 oz. cans. It is really freakin’ good, so much so that I see very little reason to try any others that pop up. Couple that with Old Nation now being available locally and I’m all set for the style.
     
  10. TheGent

    TheGent Grand Pooh-Bah (4,201) Jun 29, 2010 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    No. But I’ve gotten more selective with what I buy.

    I feel like generally speaking, such as looking at ratings on Untappd (Yes, I know, but that’s kind of my point) that the masses are more accepting of crappy NEIPA than crappy other styles. Even some of my closer craft beer buddies as well.

    For me, you can easily tell when someone is trying too hard to make the style (too yeast forward, too much water treatment, hop burn, etc.) Or maybe it just doesn’t pop on the nose or palate. The best ones are cohesive, drinkable, and often pop out of the glass. I don’t foresee a day where these types of beers don’t have a place in my fridge, belly and beer rotation in one way or another.
     
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  11. VitisVinifera

    VitisVinifera Pundit (855) Feb 25, 2013 California

    Here is my take on hazebro IPA's.

    First off, I'm not one bit ashamed that I love them. I'm happy to see the US invent awesome new beer styles. We certainly didn't invent beer, but in my biased and uninformed opinion, more evolution and creativity has happened in the US beer scene in the last 10 or so years than the last 500 in England and Germany.

    But that's not why I love hazebro IPA's. The reason I love hazebro IPA's is that they are treating hops in much the same manner that wines treat winegrapes. Yes, West Coast IPA's (obv another US-invented beer style) have been making note of their hops used, but with hazebro IPA's it's a feature. It bridges me from one brewery to another - I've found through hazebros that I love Galaxy hops. I'll order any beer that touts itself as a Galaxy-hopped beer, which almost all of the time will be a hazebro. This is similar to winegrapes - if I love Mourvedre wines, and I'm at a tasting room, I'll see that on the list and pick it out, even if I'm unfamiliar with the winery.

    In summation, hazebro IPA's feature single or blended hops in a very similar way that the wine industry features winegrapes - I will be more open to try new beers/wines from a producer I'm not familiar with if I know I like that hop/winegrape varietal.
     
    dgmirelli, pro100, lucius10 and 9 others like this.
  12. MostlyNorwegian

    MostlyNorwegian Pooh-Bah (1,912) Feb 5, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I had to filter out some of what you said to give a response. You like trying new things, just like most of us. It's obviously not helping you, because the era of bitter is kind of over for the time being. That said. You can STOP looking for new beers, or do the research them BEFORE arrive at the shop with some money to spend and some catchy label flirting you out of it. Because breweries have kind of moved away from the kind of thing which made West Coast bitter bombs your kind of jam. And the kinds of hops really trending among brewers with the hazy bros beers are actually not cheap per pound in comparison to the sort of hops that preceded the whole citra over everything else era, and definitely preceded the southern hemisphere varietals that are really commanding brewers attention.
     
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  13. chipawayboy

    chipawayboy Pooh-Bah (1,977) Oct 26, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Not tired of TH/HF/Monkish/Bissell/Trill/TG/Weldwerks which is pretty much all I’m drinking for hazy beers. Drink the good shit and you won’t be disappointed.
     
  14. ESHBG

    ESHBG Pooh-Bah (2,099) Jul 30, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    My feelings also. I never totally got on board with the bitter bombs and while I learned to enjoy them, they didn't really showcase what hops could be to me because the bitterness and/or the malts used and how they came into play overtook everything else for me; too many different beers started tasting far too similar. But then I would run into hoppy but not nearly as bitter beers and I would be able to pick out a little more and the hops would shine more for me.
     
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  15. JoshuaShort13

    JoshuaShort13 Initiate (0) Feb 18, 2014 Texas

    I prefer a clear ipa, there's something about hazy ipas that taste kinda off to me.
     
    Eduk8traz and beergoot like this.
  16. Junior

    Junior Pooh-Bah (1,859) May 23, 2015 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Tired of NEIPAs - No.
    Tired of the craze - yes.
     
  17. Kavinci

    Kavinci Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2016 California
    Trader

    No, drinking one right now, its great, just what I need after a long day at work.
     
    pro100 likes this.
  18. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,065) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I've been sick of NE IPAs a while now, so I just buy and drink more styles I enjoy instead! Try to vote with my money and all that jazz :wink:

    I still enjoy them, but far more sparingly than I used to.
     
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  19. tinoynk

    tinoynk Pundit (776) Sep 25, 2010 New York
    Trader

    Isn’t there another thread still on page 1 about this exact topic?
     
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  20. pbrian

    pbrian Pooh-Bah (2,056) Feb 8, 2001 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Make a tee-shirt with the saying and I'll buy it.
     
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