Tier Ranking all the NEIPA Breweries

Don't use Untappd or review either, except the occasional NBW review. Back in the day, Fieldwork Pulp was reliably outstanding, as was Eastside Motel and Super Saint Thomas, but I don't think they've brewed those in a couple of years. Galaxy Sauce a few years back was stellar. Oh, and like one of the above posters, I'd put Alvarado Street in Tier 1 or 2.

 

I’ll consider and potentially agree with the idea that it’s not the “same” as before wide distribution. But at the end of the day, I personally feel as though the integrity of the beer remains. Especially when you consider it’s roots as a true originator of the style. Whether it’s M43 or Boss Tweed you’re considering. Cheers.

 

Fun to read.

As someone who lives in Brooklyn about a mile from Threes I definitely wouldn’t put them in a tier above 5 (pre-controversy). Grimm would of been Tier 3 for me about 5-7 years ago, Tier 5 now.

Others mentioned by OP I have a lot of experience with due to my location would be Equilibrium (Tier 4), Sloop (Tier 5), Fiden’s (2.5 but moving up), Tin Barn (Tier 5). District 96 (Tier 5)

I’m in the original Other Half location at least once a week and would rank them highly but still a step behind Tree House and Hill Farmstead. Tree House and Hill Farmstead would be my only true Tier 1s but I think it’s a sin to say HF is a “NEIPA specialist”.

The OH I drink is nearly exclusively original location on tap and would agree that the expansion has led to varied results. Centre St. still tastes great to me.

I’d rank River Roost very highly based on my personal preferences.

Others I’d rank well that are in my area are Wild East and Finback. I never buy Finback but always enjoy the beers when I end up in the Brooklyn tap room when friends or family visit.

I was in San Francisco last week and Cellarmaker had excellent NEIPAs.

 

Modestman is the only brewery that I can walk to from my house so it gets a special tier of its own. The kind of tier which is defined by not needing to worry about driving home.

IME their canning is inconsistent but their draft beer, including growler fills, is usually flawless.

 

Absolutely. Let me know when you’re coming.

 

Yeah, moved about 2 years ago. Enjoying my new scenery and new breweries to explore.

 

I've had exactly ONE beer from ONE brewery mentioned in the OP (SingleCut, obtained in a trade, and it wasn't even a NEIPA). Now that I'm retired, maybe I'll finally get the chance to up my NEIPA game a notch or two.

I did take a side jaunt into Michigan on my way to Ohio back in '18 just to track down some M-43. Not sorry.

 

Ah, shit, Finback! Would definitely put them above OH these days.

 

Yep, pandemic was loads of fun here but everything chill now.

 

Second Fiddle?

 

Woud not call Second Fiddle an NEIPA. Mastermind, however . . . wow, that was one of my first examples of the style, and it was mind-blowing. Wish I could find someone to trade it with me, but I never get a response with my ISOs, sigh.

 

If Alchemist does not make NEIPAs then I'm not really interested in what a NEIPA has become

 

Pennsylvania's a big target but, as long as @TheIPAHunter is in my neighborhood, I'd be happy to send him home with a case.

 

I’d put Vitamin Sea in Weymouth, MA in tier one

 

I had Messorem Bracitorium for the first time a couple of months ago. I'm not usually (ever?) a big fan of 'Triple' IPA's but Raising Hell With The Flavor was unquestionably the best I've ever had. In fact, it's my #8 all-time highest rated IPA of any kind (out of 655).

 

For me:

Look: completely opaque or turbid* in its translucency. Color range centers on ripe grapefruit flesh, but does not brighten up more than lemon flesh, nor does it become darker than orange flesh. *Miss me with the real 'hazy' transparency by dictionary definition, as the beer community determined this was not important when they grailed Treehouse & Trillium a long time ago. By ratings, Treehouse & Trillium set the standard for NE IPAs, and with it, a completely turbid look. Personally, I feel like Double Sunshine is the ultimate "hazy" look, but that would mean I'd be under-rating that category for any modern day NE IPA by a significant margin. So I'll go with the market definition: opaque / turbid.

• Examples: Treehouse's Green, Aslin's Orange Starfish, Other Half's Triple Cream

Aroma & Flavor profile: Hop forward. Big notes throughout, with an elevated intensity relative to American IPA. That said, intensity is not the only factor. Can, and should, be dynamic between hop notes. Hop notes are distinguishable, not muddled into one shot. Hop burn and bite is not present at all (notably differs from the latest Brewers Association style definitions). Any display of the latter should be scored lower. "Green" is close to hop burn in terms of detriment; however, some consider this level of burn 'acceptable.'

• Examples Aroma: Treehouse's Julius, Old Nation's M-43, Treehouse's Doubleganger
• Examples Flavor Profile: Treehouse's Doubleganger, Aslin's Mind the Hop, Hill Farmstead's Double Citra, Treehouse's King Jjjuliusss & King Julius

Mouth feel: Pillowy. Soft in effervescence. Medium in thickness. Thickness can be bolstered for Imperial NE IPAs, and further for Triple NE IPAs. Pouring any thinner than medium thickness is a travesty. Pouring without easy head formation (1 1/2 fingers of foam after a moderate intensity pour) should be put down a level. If a "boss pour" is obtainable from a pour into an upright glass, then the beer is too flat, or lacking in effervescence.

• Examples: Treehouse's Doubleganger, Tired Hands' Technicolor Splendor, Trillium's DDH Sleeper Street, Other Half's DDH Mylar Bags

Those are my thoughts on the style, and what I consider an ideal candidate. Obviously, I have some discontent to pick with the look, but that's a mute point now. I've long shared that discontent with the industry for the shift in terms, but the definition is now set my ratings within the community. "Haze" quickly became "opaque", though the colloquial term never changed. I've expressed my own discontentment with this over the years, but it's a done point. Craft beers fans have re-defined 'hazy' from the Dictionary term, and that's fine. Just have to

For the examples, they were pulled from my own reviews. Those beers represented my highest scores in the specified category for beers I reviewed in the NE IPA style listing (as set on BA.) Since my data is filtered by date first, these are the first few examples to receive a 4.75 in any category since I started reviewing. There are many more NE IPAs with a 4.75 in any of those categories.

 

I’ve had it recently. I thought it was the DIPA version of Fiddlehead IPA.
I only had Mastermind once at the brewery and it was awesome!