The Hazy, Crazy Beers Of New England
April is a bittersweet month. The weather starts to turn warmer, but it also means a lot of work to prepare for the upcoming summer season. This year was perhaps a little less bitter than normal. That is because I received so many New England-style IPAs in the repertoire of beer samples from my local beer distributors. I thoroughly enjoy this style, which looks a bit ugly in the glass but goes down smoothly and features all of the juicy tropical hop characteristics of an IPA without the overwhelming bitterness. In many ways the style personifies the dog days of summer, when the sidewalks are burnin’ and you feel like you can reach out and grab a glass of the humid mist filling the sultry sky.
Just like the juicy hop flavors of beer, this style has recently exploded into the mouths of many an avid beer fan. It has become so popular that the Brewers Association has now officially recognized “Juicy or Hazy IPA” as an official beer style. The style originally grew popular in Vermont with The Alchemist brewery’s most famous beer – Heady Topper – which it has been serving since 2003. Head brewer John Kimmich learned about brewing and obtained the yeast strain for this beer while at Vermont Pub & Brewery under Greg Noonan. Other breweries like Hill Farmstead, Trillium and Tree House were other early adopters of the region, and hazy IPAs eventually became so ubiquitous throughout the New England region that they started to become known as “New England Style IPA” or “Vermont IPA.” As brewers nationwide have looked to capitalize on every version of IPA from here to Neptune over the years, they have most recently seemed to stumble upon this Northern variety and started producing en masse.
Most beer you drink is filtered after fermentation to remove suspended yeast and other proteins that would otherwise leave the beer cloudy. But these beers are unfiltered on purpose and often look like a nice, freshly squeezed glass of orange juice.
Brewers around the country are using different techniques to attain this hazy quality. The three methods are: 1) Using a yeast strain that does not readily drop to the bottom of the tank; 2) Using higher-protein malts like oats and wheat in the malt bill; 3) Extreme hopping in the end of boil or dry hopping, which leaves higher than normal hop polyphenols in suspension.
For this reason, there is a good amount of variation among breweries when it comes to flavor profiles within the style, but typically these beers tend to have thick, “chewy” bodies loaded with hop citrus. You might call them “hoppy juice bombs.” Suspended yeast and protein acts like a buffer against the bitterness of the hops, kind of like the cooling effect of milk after some spicy hot wings, so the other thing they all have going for them is an innate smoothness that is very appealing on a hot summer day.
Don’t let the look of it shock you, one sip of these beers and you will become a believer. Here are some of the best examples of NEIPA that I have tried over the last few months:
Heady Topper (8%, The Alchemist) The cult classic and original NEIPA, this beer is a must-try for any craft-beer geek worth their salt. Bursting with tropical and citrus flavors of all kinds, this juicy Imperial IPA drinks very smoothly for such a high abv, and balances the hop flavors with biscuity malts and dank yeasty aromas. The label says to drink it straight from the can and many will agree it tastes better that way. I tend to agree, but it tasted pretty darn good from the glass as well.
Hazy Little Thing IPA (6.7%, Sierra Nevada Brewing) Yellow gold with short, stiff head, hazy but not totally clouded liquid. I picked up some hints of papaya and tangerine and it finished with a citra hop buzz. Noticeable bitterness from start to finish but rounded off nicely by the funky, yeasty body. There was some vegetal quality apparent, but not in an unpleasant way. Overall, an easy-drinking version of the style.
Tuckahoe Quatrain (6.4%) Cloudy orange-yellow in color, with a pillowy thick white head. This is my favorite offering from Tuckahoe in years. Spicy hops, pleasant phenols and booziness blend together, leaving me wondering if it is Belgian Ale or IPA. One thing is for sure: This is a delicious hazy beer with a lingering bitterness that goes down very smoothly.
Sam Adams New England IPA (6.8%) Though its Summer Ale is slightly hazy and a longtime fan favorite, this offering from the New England-based brewery might just satisfy those craving more of a hop kick. The beer is loaded with Galaxy and Mosaic hops that leave this beer bursting with pineapple and grapefruit flavors. Sam did a nice job with this one and represents the region well for a mass-market producer.
Blue Point Hazy Bastard IPA (8%) For an AB brewery best known for its Toasted Lager, this is a surprisingly powerful beer that lives up to the name. They packed 3.5 pounds of hops into a barrel to make this beer, and the notable bitterness comes through in the finish accompanied by some hints of tropical fruit flavors typical of the style. You know you are drinking a strong beer after the first sip, and that’s either good or bad depending on your preference.
