Are New England IPAs overrated?

What year did the haze in hefe become appropriate?

What year in the future do you think it will be when the haze in some IPA becomes appropriate?

 

The thing that absolutely kills me every time I see this thread pop up is the question itself.

"Are NE IPAs Overrated?"

Like any style, there's fantastic, well made, high quality examples of it. And there's also some shitty ones too. You never see a thread about "Are BA Stouts Overrated?" because we would recognize that blanket statement as an asinine question.

I think that too many people who are not familiar with the style, or who maybe don't have access to many breweries who brew the style, just assume that all NE IPAs are the same, and that can't be further from the truth. Just because your local brewery out west makes a sub-par NE Style IPA, doesn't mean that it's an accurate representation of the actual beers from New England that have all the hype. I'm also not going to pretend that my local brewery's BA stout is on par with some of the big boys from around the country that I cant get ahold of.

 

This is very true...even right here in New England. Many brewers are trying to capture the magic of Tree House, Trillium, etc., but are falling very short. They love writing Juicy or NE Style on the can, but most of the time there are major flaws in the beer.

 

To be honest, having these readily available have ruined most other IPA's for me. I don't bother getting beer from, say, California, like I used to, when these are in my backyard. They just don't stack up.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Best in the world? Of the one's you've tasted. I think Nightshift and the Alchemist are tops, IMHO. The point is that there are SO many great local, fresh brews that so many people have access to. The best? I just pick up off the shelf at my packy.

 

No, I ilke seafoam

 

What can I say, chunky hands, small glass diameter, and poor household water pressure. Add to that large chunks of yeast sediment. Yes a lot of elements at play but I have never had this happen with any other style.

 

I agree with you that the flavor is the real drawing factor here. but, both home brewers and commercial brewers alike have commonly been adding adjuncts like flour or adding oats just to get the hazy look. The idea behind the yeast in suspension is hypothetically to keep more of the hop particles in suspension as well- not just to create a gross looking hazy beer. haha.

This, along with the massive hype, and general misunderstanding of the style, is why I think its overrated and generally think its sort of ridiculous.

The unfiltered Stone enjoy by for example- people were complaining it wastn' "hazy" enough.... rather than evaluating the actual flavor, aroma, etc.

These are the sort of folks that evaluate beer as "solid" and "crushable"- bro.

 

Yeah PBW is a bit extreme here... maybe try windex

 

Cloudy, unfiltered & uber Fresh!

 

Well I suppose since the haze in hefe is a result of the excess proteins from the wheat, and it is a traditional style of beer I would say awhile, but I bet Wikipedia could give you an approximate date.

 

Maybe next year when the Brewers Association updates their style guidelines?

Just think of it: three more medals they can award to their member breweries!

Cheers!

 

"Dubstep? That's not even music!"
*rewind 25 years*
"Hip-hop? That's not even music!"
*rewind 25 years*
"Rock and roll? That's not even music!"
*rewind 25 years*
"Jazz? That's not even music!"

BA forums don't go back 30 years, but I'm sure if they did we could find someone talking about how Celebration is ridiculous, not even a real IPA, Cascade and Centennial are way too bitter to be used in these quantities, where's my East Kent Goldings...

 

I bet back then there were the kristalweizen folks who complained that the hefeweizen brewers were adding flour to get that hipsterish cloudy look.

 

I should clarify, no pun intended...maybe a small pun, I don't dislike the style. When I first started homebrewing it was the only style of IPA I could make, all by complete accident mind you, but there is a touch of nostalgia when I drink these.

 

Although I'm not sure I could bringing a 6-pack of Jockstraps to the party would get me reinvited anytime soon.

 

Maybe it would be a hit at a party with lots of wrestlers!?!

Cheers!

 

Um, I wrestled a bit in college, no this would still not go over well. It would just be never ending merciless pranks on whoever brought that

 

Maybe football players would be more appreciative here!?!

Cheers!

 

Not at all. They're delicious! They're a huge fad, yes. But some are really that good.

 

I use a bottle brush and super hot water. Neither hands nor water pressure typically come into play. I also use a "free and clear" dish detergent as well, but the hot water tends to sufficiently get that out of the glass so that I don't have ongoing residue problems.

 

Its all relative to one's taste. To be honest I don't get the big deal about IPA overall and I'm probably the only person outside of the UK who tends to like English IPA over the American variety. But that's me.

 

NE IPAs, just the latest breakfast fad beer. 6 months from now, they'll be around, but we'll all be drinking something else.

We tried the macro extreme of watery beers for decades-> milk stouts->coffee beers->bacon beers->donut beers->waffle beers->maple syrup beers->now we are on orange juice beers. Really the last things to do for a balanced breakfast item are egg beers and yogurt beers.

 

Simple answer: no
Hazy IPA's (and PA's) seem to have more flavor.

 

There needs to be some serious R&D put into a Bloody Mary beer and really kill it with the brunch crowd.

 

Is this thread a joke?
No?
You sure?


You sure?

 

I agree completely. I love many of the newer cloudy styles and it's not the cloudiness that matters. It's the flavor retention from the particulate of brewing made palatable. But, the visual aspects of a perfectly poured beer, beads cruising upward, refilling a nice billowing cap, together with the flavors and aromas of a well made beer that combine to make us all love beer. I do think turbid beers are possibly necessarily ugly, that it has become a look and profile that has caught on because the beers taste damned good. But as Dale says, the cloudiness isn't the only thing going on here. Good beer is good beer. I'll go back to what my best friend's Dad said to us- three 18 year olds bound for The Atlanta Pop Festival 1970- in a truly magical moment, pouring Heineken into four nice pilsner glasses; hoisting his glass skyward: "Boys, just always remember, this is liquid gold. Look how beautiful that is!" It is still a thrill to look at the golden clarity of well made beers.

 

must be the altitude -- or maybe you are drinking those CO NE IPAs out of glass water droppers?

 

I find the haze actually takes away from the flavour in a lot of cases, or at least softens the flavour and moves to a more one dimensional beer. As the haze settles, I find the beers are better and move flavourful so I'll keep em for a few weeks in the fridge, sometimes longer. I also find that it overshadows the malt, which also sucks. I'm referring to purposely hazy beers vs plain old unfiltered versions. I've found some of the more clear, less intentionally hazy NE IPA's to be quite delightful.

 

I find I am having a bit of a problem figuring out which are the ones that are unintentionally hazy and are good and the ones that are intentionally hazy and aren't as good that you speak about. Perhaps you could give some specific examples to clear it up for me, and presumably others who are equally not as intuitive as me?

 

Not my experience at all. IMO it's more a visual event than a taste altering event even when the floaties settle into the last sip. If there's a difference I can't detect it, perhaps my palate isn't all that sensitive.

 

I'd say yes in that any hazy / hoppy mess labeled as being a NE IPA by any brewery, good or not, tends to generate hype and lines upon release to a much greater extent than other styles do at this current point in time. Like pretty much every single style, the best examples of the NE IPA style are spectacular, but there is a lot of utter crap out there too.

 

One of my favorite parts of good NE IPAs is the pillowy mouthfeel. I always assumed hazy-to-cloudy, particulate-laden brews contributed to that. Any evidence for or against that theory?

 

"Hipsterish cloudy look" lol nice description and really nails it

 

No, but magical drops of Tom Brady sweat contribute to this. It's scientific. look it up

 

Don't forget Dogfishe's use of scrapple.... didnt' even know what that was til I saw it on the beer label.

 

Yeah I'm in the same boat. My experience as a homebrewer with yeast sediment or yeast suspension has always been that this detracts from the flavor rather than adds to it. I recall a few commercial Belgian beers with heavy yeast suspenstion that were visually unappealing to look at as well because of all of the "floaties"- Abbaye des Rocs Brune, and Liefman's goudenbond- I love the later but still find it a bit tough to get through drinking something that has so many solids in it.

I agree that it's a bit tough to discern when this is intentional or not.

 

Indeed.
You could ask the brewers, but they would probably just lie, and say something like they dry hop during active fermentation to provide great aroma and taste, and they use Conan or London ale III because they like the flavors they throw and their attenuation characteristics.

 

I heard Brady sweat makes beers a little flat.

 

Well done!!! :O)