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CJ Coyne & Nicole Simeone
New England IPAs
How does the saying go? There are more IPAs than you can shake a stick at. Depending on what store you go to, that might be the only beer you find. And on the right day, that’s exactly what I’m reaching for. Which happens to be today. Specifically, a New England IPA.
For anyone regularly following Thirsty Thursday, me taking the New England side of this debate seems a bit unlikely given the opinions I’ve expressed on Heddy Topper, Trillium, and Treehouse. In Heddy Topper’s case, I think my biggest issue was with the drinking instructions rather than the beer itself. The lack of regular availability where I am doesn’t help either.
As for the other two, well, that is a different story. Both breweries churn out delicious New England IPAs. I wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell arguing that they don’t. But the process of getting a hold of their beers is more effort than I’m willing to put in most of the time. Obviously, I’m saying their products are delicious. Which tells you I have stood in Treehouse’s line and made my way over to one of Trillium’s locations. But I haven’t made it a habit. Especially since there are other breweries creating brews that are just as good.
There I said the controversial thing craft beer fans within driving distance of these locations shouldn’t say.
Anyway, back to New England IPAs and why they’re the perfect variation of the larger style.
We’ve all heard someone proclaim with their face contorted in disgust, “I don’t like hoppy beer.” Taking the statement in a literal sense would mean the person didn’t like beer in general since, well, all beer varieties have hops. The implied meaning is that IPAs are the target of their dislike, specifically the bitterness inherent in the style. But NEIPAs subvert the expectations of IPAs by manipulating the very ingredient that gets the most shade.
Without hops, beer would be little more than alcoholic sugar water. Their bitter quality isn’t the only thing they’re good for, though. New England IPAs lean heavily on hops with fruity- specifically citrus characteristics. Citra, Amarillo, and El Dorado are three common ones, although there are gobs of others.
These hops are not exclusive to NEIPAs however brewers leverage these varieties to create a variety of IPA that focuses on intense aromas and bold, citrus flavors. The end result is a juicy, fruit salad in liquid form. Orange juice is a frequent and the most common association with the style. But, NEIPAs take advantage of fruit combinations ranging from mango to lemon. They are rich and refreshing beverages from beginning to end.
NEIPAs are a clever twist on the original recipe. The style creates a gateway option for the larger IPA umbrella of beer, which previously didn’t exist. I can’t think of anyone who wet their teeth on IPAs. This was a style drinkers grew into over time. A majority of the current IPA faithful probably began their craft beer journey disavowing IPAs because of their hop content. But I imagine that is starting to change with the palette accessibility NEIPAs provide. Drinkers can be brought into the IPA fold without the jarring entry other IPAs offer.
All of that said, the fruity accessibility that NEIPAs bring to the beer world isn’t without controversy. From the very beginning, the style had an uphill battle on its hands. In the beginning, these brews were dismissed on the basis that they were not a style in their own right. Instead, they were merely a creative misappropriation of the word IPA. These beers weren’t real IPAs. But that argument was settled in 2018 when the Brewer’s Association gave NEIPAs the official stamp of approval.
Did that stop the naysaying? Of course not. Haters got to hate, right?
In preparation for this article, I went leafing through the Interwebs to collect a bit of history and some opinion pieces on this very subject. It wasn’t much of a struggle to pull together posts on people’s takes on NEIPAs. A common riff ran through many of the pieces trying to explain NEIPAs popularity is the reduced bitterness inherent in the style that I read. Those folks who prefer NEIPAs can’t hang because NEIPAs aren’t real IPAs. Which, by extension, is saying that NEIPA drinkers aren’t really IPA fans.
Where’s the Blue Fairy and Jiminy Cricket when you need them?
In a way, these detractors have a point- NEIPAs are not traditional IPAs. This is extremely evident in the end product, but they are still very markedly in the IPA wheelhouse. I am not sure why there needs to be such a big deal about the play on the traditional recipe. If the beer industry tells us anything, it’s that experimentation and evolution are crucial to longevity. Reinheitsgebot be damned. Yep, I said that. And I am sure I will pay for that one at some point.
As for people liking the end result of the manipulation, well, like so many other things, people like to maintain a certain amount of exclusivity. Having an IPA that is more accessible to a broader audience is going to ruffle the feathers of those who want to feel they are in an IPA club shrouded in a veil of mystery. Flinging the doors wide and letting people join in the fun is not on the agenda. I get there is a certain appeal to relishing in bitterness. The whole reenacting the late-night bar scene of Casablanca, Rick is getting drunk, lamenting Ilsa and wanting to be left alone to pick at his scabs.
Spoiler alert. (If you can have a spoiler alert for a movie that came out in the 40s) If you’ve ever made it to the end of Casablanca, you’d know that even Rick gives that up. There is more to life, and beer, than bitterness. Which, I think a lot of folks forget, particularly with IPAs. Yes, IPAs are more bitter than other beer styles, but that isn’t their only defining quality. In fact, those who are only identifying an IPAs bitterness would say that perhaps you have a sensory issue that needs looking to.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we should enjoy what we can. There’s enough bitterness in the world as it is, and sometimes we just need a break. With travel as restricted as it is now, a NEIPA can bring the tropical delights straight to your front door. What do you have to lose?
“Anyway, back to New England IPAs and why they’re the perfect variation of the larger style.”
Sorry Nerdy girl gotta stop ya right now. I think you mean the worst variation of the larger style. There, fixed that for you. Seriously, all over the New England products, why are Neipas the one thing that is being exported all over the damn country. As you all know from my posting history, I live in SoCal (by way of Massachusetts), and I’ve written extensively on the differences (and often my displeasure about this) between the two coasts. Lots of things are terrible about Socal: the traffic, the pollution, the incredibly high cost of living, and the resulting homeless population. It’s terrible.
Generally, my main gripes about SoCal are the lack of actual autumn weather, no apple picking in early October, no snow, no pumpkin beers, and no Market Basket – the holiest of holies. As you can see, the list is all New Englandy type things. So obviously I am entirely unopposed for East meets West, but why oh why did the one thing that makes its way is fucking New England style IPAS.
Fuck. This is the West Coast.
The hallmark of a West Coast IPA is one of piney, bitter resin. Generally accompanied by a lovely clear amber liquid. My favorite LA brewery menu is like 85% NEIPAs, with only one or two West Coast style. What. The. Fuck. It’s becoming the norm to see NEIPAs dominating the breweries out here, this is a travesty! This is the West Coast, and I demand astringent bitterness!
I hate Neipas. I tried so hard to develop a taste for them. I drank case after case of Wachusett’s “Wally Juice,” thinking maybe the taste would eventually spark joy. It did not. Fortunately for Wachusett majority of their IPA lineup is the west coast style, so I won’t hold Wally against them. Sorry Wachusett, even you can’t save the gross abomination that is the NEIPA. They are often referred to as “juice bombs,” oh my goodness, how terrible. Juice has no place in beer! No NEIPAs, no radlers, no shandys. No nothing!
Now I know what you’re thinking, oh, but CJ all you do is annoyingly pontificate about how amazing fruited sours are. How could you hate another style of fruit beer?
Well, I do, so suck it. IPAs should taste of pine, and resin, and be so bitter my mouth puckers. The only fruit I want to dance upon my tastebuds is that of a bitter grapefruit or similar citron. Fruity aroma is fine, I love to waft up notes of orange blossom, passionfruit, and even pineapple. As an IPA flavor, forget about it.
These fruity, sweet floral aromas come when hops are added towards the end of the worts boil, or added while the beer has its secondary fermentation (this is called dry hopping.) Now I don’t mind a floral aroma in my beer, I love flowers! But pair a sweet scent with a sweet, bitter taste, and there I draw the line you sickos.
Citrus is the only acceptable fruit accompaniment for bitterness. I had a beer from Jacks Abby (an East Coast favorite) that advertised tropical papaya and guava in the tasting notes. I tried it and wanted to barf. Sweet tropical fruits belong in sours and frozen daiquiris. These sweet flavors mix with the bitterness and taste like really shitty cough medicine. If I wanted that, I’d just chug a bottle of Robitussin. Breweries achieve this vomit like flavor from adding fruit purees, and fresh fruits at various stages of the fermentation process.
I demand bitter!
If you cannot handle dry and bitter then drink a fruity wheat, don’t taint a beautiful IPA. Even worse is when you order an IPA, thinking it’s going to be the correct style, and there is appears on your table. Hazy as fuck. The only beers I want hazed up are hefeweizens and dunkels. An unfiltered hard cider is also acceptable. Just the look of the haze turns my stomach, because I know I’m in for a sludgy, stodgy mess.
Some brewers actually go so far as to use pectin in their brews to achieve this syrupy sop. Pectin is a starch that occurs naturally in the cellular walls of fruit. It’s what makes jam and jellies thicken. Add extra pectin, and all those little fruity particles become suspended in liquid, thus achieving the unfortunate appearance some low rent beer drinkers (Nerdy) apparently enjoy.
Gosh, and don’t even get me started on fucking milkshake IPAs. You can’t swing a dick around here without seeing multiple milkshakes or smoothie IPAs on a tap list. These abominations of beer are created by adding lactose to a fruity, hazy NEIPA, resulting in a rich, creamy sweetness. Ugh just typing that gave my stomach waves of nausea.
Sorry Nerdy, but your love of Neipas is wrong. For the love of all that is good, get rid of them! Bring back the bitterness!
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