WTF is an NEIPA?

It's all in the mouthfeel, and what they do to get it- that's the fundamental and defining aspect to me. And that's why I don't consider Heady to be in this category. All the other talk about bitterness and hop flavors is just dancing around the issue.

 

I feel like a lot of the companies that actually put NE style IPA on the package are the ones trying to piggyback on the success of the style but the product tends to be inferior. Breweries like Trillium, Treehouse, Veil, etc. obviously don't need to label their beer that way because its just a given.

 

I am drinking one now that I think is a bonafide not turbid but very hazy appearance, citrusy - uses all big american hop bomb favorites, and instead of oats is using munich malt and 2 row. It's called big broadcast dipa and it showcases these attributes from the following hops - rose petal from mosaic, spice form the chinook and lemon from centennial. I would say that is a show case worth mentioning.

 

I've had Heady. I find it more bitter than King Julius, for example. Not horribly bitter, but more... balanced.

 

It's subjective of course, but I don't think of Heady or HF when I think of NE style (D)IPA at all. If anything those are adjacent to the style, obviously geographically they are from NE.

Aslin, Tree House, Tired Hands, Trillium, The Veil... it's the whole package: Malt bill, yeast, dry hopping... and while I like the style occasionally, more than one a night is a burden, and I'd also say there been a few from these producer's that I'd consider 'misses'

 

No I agree. I'm just saying that heady started the craze, even though its totally different. Basically what I was trying to say ha.

 

To me when I think of NE IPA i think of:

Appearance: Cloudy unfiltered and uniform haze that remains in suspension.
Mouthfeel: Soft and creamy while being full but not heavy.
Bitterness/Aroma: Lower perceived bitterness, with a focus on massive amounts of Dry hopping.

 

what actually makes them hazy?

 

Mainly high protein malts in the grist (wheat/oats) - same things that make a traditional hefeweizen cloudy. Heavy dry hopping and hop interaction w/certain types of English yeast strains also can contribute to the turbidity. There are threads in the home-brew forum on this topic complete w/microscopic photos of all the little particles floating around in there.

 

Are people honestly still butthurt over NEIPA...

 

valid question. but when it comes down to it, if it tastes awesome I don't give two damns.

 

oats/wheat in grist
high ester British yeast
2:1 Chloride to Sulfate
low amount bittering hops
Whirlpool/hopstand/ Dry hop the living fuck out of it!
Minimally most of these style breweries hop at 3 lbs a barrel
Voila! NE style bro.
(make sure to use sexy hops like mosaic/citra/galaxy/nelson, etc...)

 

Don't over complicate this. It's just unfiltered and hazy IPAs. Usually juicy, low on bitter but still can have pine notes.

And lol at clumps.

 

I've had folks balk at my notion that Smuttynose Finest Kind had an unfiltered edge (with floaties) that was variable batch to batch, and was perhaps a forerunner to some of this most modern New England craze. Finest Kind is still a great (and bitter) beer.

 

Equally to the point about piney, just because something has a screaming high IBU doesnt mean that the perceived bitterness will be any higher depending on how the other characteristics interact.

 

Figured this question is appropriate for this thread; why does a NEIPA can,3-4 weeks old, leave a gunk residue in the bottom of the can?

 

Even a Wyoming brewer went NEIPA and I reckon they did it good.

 

...because many are unfiltered. If it's tasty, drink it. If people don't like the appearance, don't. Yum yum...and cheers!

 

Classic example..120 Minute.