But where did the popularity of hazy IPA come from and what exactly is a New England IPA anyway?
IPA or India Pale Ale is a British-born style that has history stretching back to the British Raj in India, where strong well-hopped beers were shipped out to India for the enjoyment of British officers.
Whereas British India Pale Ale uses spicy, earthy, floral British hops when the American craft beer revolution began to boom in the 20th century the style was ramped up with big punchy, citrussy and piney American hops.
Starting in California but quickly spreading to the west coast, specifically Oregon and Washington, the original American IPAs were big, bold and very bitter beers with a clear body and rich sweet malt flavours that balanced against the huge punch of hops.
Fast-forward to the early 2000s and on the east coast of America a very different kind of IPA was being created; the New England IPA - softer, fruitier, hazier and while still chocked full of hops, a beer without the rasping piney bitterness of West Coast-style IPA.
Heady Topper from the Alchemist Brewery is largely agreed to be the first true ‘New England IPA’ and is still brewed to this day to much acclaim. The beer goes big on hops towards the end of the brewing process, meaning you get loads of aroma and hop character without too much bitterness in the beer.
A careful use of hops combined with the inclusion of oats and wheat give a big mouthfeel and haze to create something very different to the bright and resinous West Coast IPAs that came before.
Advances in global hop availability and logistics have now made it possible for breweries around the world, including the UK, to get access to the same superb American hops used by the likes of the Alchemist and other Vermont breweries to brew world-class examples of the NEIPA style.
In fact, many British breweries are now competing against the Americans at their own game and producing some of the best NEIPAs on the planet.
Here’s my pick of some great examples from across the UK;
Verdant – Even Sharks Need Water (6.5% ABV)
Verdant is one of the best in the UK when it comes to packing delicious hop character into big, juicy, New England-style IPAs, and its infamous Even Sharks Need Water is perhaps their most renowned. Expect massive juicy-fruit and apricot flavours that come, of course, from the American hops but also its in-house yeast strain that gives distinct soft stone-fruit (peach and apricot) flavours to its beers.
Vocation – Love & Hate (7.2% ABV)
Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is the home of the superb Vocation Brewery, which has a range of beer styles in its repertoire and also make what I think is easily one of the best and certainly the most consistently delicious supermarket NEIPAs. Super juicy and tropical, it’s packed full of mango and passionfruit character and dangerously drinkable for 7.2%.
Attic Brew Co – Orders NEIPA (6.6% ABV)
Attic Brew Co in Birmingham makes a range of great hazy pale ales, IPAs, and other classic styles, but its Orders NEIPA that’s the brewing team’s favourite, and mine too. It’s got good bitterness for the style, which I really enjoy and delivers moreish flavours of juicy orange flesh, candied orange peel and bright lemon sherbet flavours in abundance.
Loch Lomond – Zoom Time Session NEIPA (4.2% ABV)
Most NEIPAs tend to be on the stronger side, around 6% to 7% ABV but this session-strength version from the superb Loch Lomond brewery delivers all of the mouthfeel and juicy hop flavour of the style in a lower alcohol package. Expect the classic NEIPA stone-fruit flavours as well as pineapple, citrus and a juicy, refreshing finish.
BEAK x TOTOPIA - EDA (6.5% ABV)
This collaboration between British indie brewers Beak and Totopia Brewing in Nagakute, Japan, showcases three of my favourite hops - Cashmere, Citra and Nelson Sauvin – which combine to create a big, fluffy NEIPA that manages to taste of melon, citrus, tangerine and even some strawberry and coconut. A really interesting and unusual beer for those wanting to try something a little bit different.
- Neil Walker is a beer sommelier and Head of Communications at SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates, who recently launched the much-heralded Indie Beer campaign. The campaign seeks to make it easier for customers to discover beer from genuine independent breweries and you can find out more via www.indiebeer.uk
