The unfiltered craze.

I don't think that's a fair thing to say. Individual taste is taste; if the general consensus currently is that a beer like Julius, King Sue (not an NE IPA, but certainly mostly looks the part), Heady Topper, etc. tastes better than the clearer IPAs, then we just have to accept that these beers are doing a better job at appealing to people.

Will some people get sick of the style? Probably (so the popularity is probably in part a fad). But I don't think it's fair to say they taste worse, since I'm sure plenty of people will end up preferring them in the long run. I don't think KBS is a particularly tasty beer, but I know that that's personal preference (or to be more specific, my general lack of interest in coffee stouts).

Mouthfeel and low bitterness are two of the bigger things here, I think. While I don't like a complete lack of bitterness (starts to get cloying), I don't like a lot of bitterness, either. And in terms of mouthfeel, I'd say my ideal in an IPA is something like the Alchemist's beers; not quite the soft milkshake-style NE IPA, but not the clear, thinner traditional IPA-style, either.

 

Bjcp guidelines allow for haze in ipa.

 

I think there's a huge amount of effort and skill required to get the haze you see in NE-style IPAs without graininess; the difference between a homebrew full of sludge and the haziness that is chewy but not unpleasant.

That said, I've never been a stickler on official guides to what makes a beer "correct"; if the deliciousness comes from a beer that visually puts off old-school Cicerones who live by their (expert) education, I don't particularly care.

I've had great IPAs that are clear - there's a ton of great beers that are extremely hop-forward and comparatively low on the bitterness scale, with lots of tropical fruit flavors from juicy hops. However, the beers that I've had that are most hop-flavor-forward tend to be ones you couldn't shine a flashlight through.

Due to this, I've begun subconsciously associating haze with a flavor of hop juice. It looks like orange juice, and it tastes citrusy or stone-fruity or tropical on the front end.

I also like the slightly more viscous mouthfeel; it's like getting that Russian Imperial Stout viscosity with flavors of newer breeds of hops. It's not as refreshing - on a super hot day I'll probably go for a lighter bodied beer - but it's a nice experience for me.

 

SNPA is a beer with no flaws period and perfectly balanced IMHO. I am 38

 

@JackHorzempa @LeRose

You both definitely have much more knowledge than I do on the topic, thanks for the great insight. So is running beer through a centrifuge not considered filtering a beer?

 

The BJCP guideline says IPA's should be clear but a slight haze may be acceptable.

That means that the opaque turbidity of NE IPA's do not fit the BJCP guidelines...

BUT NE IPA would be listed as a Specialty IPA and so be judged separately.

 

My opinion/answer to that question is no, a centrifuge is not equivalent to filtering.

My rationale here is that if you filtered Trillium beer thought a filter (e.g., a diatomaceous earth filter) it would come out crystal clear. Needless to say but Trillium beers (centrifuged) are not crystal clear.

A number of years ago Sierra Nevada got rid of their filters and switched to using a centrifuge. The reason for making this switch is that the head brewer did not like the fact that some flavor(s) were stripped from the beer via the filtering process.

Cheers!

 

90% of the "craze" is many trying to wrap their heads around the infiltration of these beers on the top 250 beer list. It's like the good ol boys club can't quite see the changes that are upon them.

We see it with music and technology and such. Genre changing alterations may receive some backlash, but what we are seeing is a crazy localized contingency of reviewers who are going the total opposite of backlash and embracing these beers. I know many people who weren't into craft beer at all two years ago. Now all they drink are big time IPA/DIPAs. They're doing something right on a flavor front. To go from never sniffing hops to waiting in line for 7 hours is no small accomplishment for a brewery to achieve.

Bottom line, I think many can agree they are good, but that good? I think the standard for years was HT and PtE as the top dogs, and that has been turned around. I don't know if its a taste war as much as it is about the presence of these beers on top lists.

 

I mean, you've got multiple responses in this thread already from people telling you why they (we) like NE style IPAs more than something like Pliny (which I really do like, on the rare occasion I can get some). It's fine for you not to like this style of beer, it really is, but any time someone goes on a "I just can't fathom how anyone likes this," and that sentiment continues after people have expressed why they like it, then what further value is to be gleaned from the conversation?

I, too, love clean beer. However, I love hazy IPAs from Trillium, Bissell and Tree House more. I like the viscous mouthfeel. I like the fact that they always seem to be very hop-forward with comparatively minimal bitterness. I like that they so often seem to center around more tropical or citrusy hop variants.

 

Yep, but kombucha is the shit! Prunes are so yesterday.

 

You obviously have a 'sour tooth'.

Cheers!

 

my wife has been to over 50 breweries with me and has always tasted but not liked IPAs until these hazy ones started to appear, the bitterness is all but gone and they drink much smoother than other IPA styles to me they are kinda hef/wheat like with the many fruit type flavors from the various hops. Whatever it is they are using that is bringing wider audience I don't care, I would much rather see everyone drinking a hazy ipa or a west cost than any InBev product. Keep making them and I will keep drinking them....pretty sure im not going to be the only one.

 

You certainly do, it just seems that every few months a thread comes up with someone decrying the rise in popularity of some type of beer that they don't personally like. Please understand, it's frustrating having people insinuate that what I like in a libation is the result of some sort of "cool" or "hype" factor.

As I said, I really enjoy NE style IPAs. If they're done poorly, the graininess is nasty and homebrew-y (that's happened with a couple of Trillium releases in recent memory), but if they're done well the mouthfeel is pillowy-soft with a viscosity that I find very pleasing.

I also think a lot of the "eye also eats" part of enjoying beer for its looks comes from one's experiences with beers that look a certain way. Drink a bunch of Tree House, and you'll associate the look of extreme haze with a particular set of flavors and mouthfeels. If the best beers you've drank are all clear, then you associate quality with clarity.

 

Or take the two point hit on appearance...

 

In my professional opinion from the fruit industry (and 35 years), I would call a centrifuge a method of clarification, but it isn't filtration. Filtration implies passing through some kind of media. So, I run my fruit mash through a decanter centrifuge to remove pulp and particles of fruit resulting in a juice that is still far from clear. I get a solid material and juice that still has a significant amount of pulp that the centrifuge can't drop. Then I run through a membrane filter to polish the juice and make crystal clear fruit juice. The membrane filter removes pulp, really fine particulates, yeast, etc. We used to use...gasp...Diatomaceous earth. (The "gasp" is a sarcastic throughback to the recent spate of "there's poison in my beer" threads).

So it is somewhat semantic and a matter of degree, but I would not call a centrifuge a filter.

 

We are a nation of extremes. I do not see anyone coming on here and bitching about the Gravity of imperial stouts. I know you say you aren't here to call anyone out, but instead of calling beers out, why not come on and talk about a beer you love?

 

And for what it's worth, the only beer I've had that looks like that Mango Double Milkshake picture was one of Trillium's misses, Never & Again. My idea of a NE IPA looks like this: