You have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the insane demand for the New England IPA. I have no doubt that somewhere, right now there is a line forming for the latest and greatest NE IPA to be released. You might even be waiting in line as you read this. If that is the case, get me some!
But why has this style blown up? Is it really that different from a standard IPA or Double IPA?
While they are still an IPA, they are very different and I will go on record saying the hazy IPA hype is real.
What is a New England IPA?
Aroma and Flavor
The intense citrus flavors are created through the use of specific hops. Some of these include Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic, Nelson, Simcoe among others.
Breweries use dry-hopping methods to impart even more of these flavors. Dry-hopping is the method of adding additional hops after the boiling portion of brewing.
This adds hop aromas without the bitterness – more on that next.
These brews typically will not have a floral or piney aroma and flavor like some other IPAs. But brewers are continually experimenting and imparting new flavors into this style.
IBUs
As stated above, this is achieved by only adding hops late in the process to avoid pulling the alpha acid out of the hops.
For many, this is very appealing as the harsh bitterness may have been what prevented them from enjoying IPAs in the past.
In fact, it is quite contradictory to what most expect out of an IPA which has many arguing that these NE IPAs should be in a category of their own.
Appearance
The look of the beer is quite different as well. New England IPAs are praised for having a hazy, cloudy, or murky look to them.
They are opaque and lack any clarity. Many think of an unfiltered wheat beer when they see it for the first time.
Social media has craft beer fans going crazy over pictures of beers that look more like orange juice than beer. While the appearance does not guarantee a good taste, it is something that everyone is looking for in a NE IPA.
Why is everyone so crazy about hazy IPAs?
So why are people lining up for this style beer? What is driving such demand?
Hops
I am not an expert on hops but what I understand is new hop varieties are continually being created. These new hops often bring new or more intense flavors to the beers they are used to brew.
Availability is an issue with any new hop variety. Hop growers are unable to produce high volume of the new hops as it takes years to increase the harvest.
During this time, the new hops are expensive and hard to get which drives demand for beers that use them.
Quantities and Shelf Life
Breweries are not able to secure a limitless supply of the hops that they want to use in these NE IPAs. Less hops means smaller quantities of beer.
Basic supply and demand principles start working; driving demand and costs. Most breweries are easily able to sell out of their latest canned New England IPA the same day it goes on sale.
In addition, IPAs are not typically brewed to last a long time. Many recommend drinking IPAs as quickly as possible or at least within a month from being canned. This is not a lot of time.
This helps drive the demand as consumers want to enjoy these New England IPAs as fresh as possible which means they are ready for the next release.
Continual New Releases
Since hops can be limited, brewers must be able to use what is available to them. This creates many different variations of the New England IPA at each brewery.
They may release a simcoe and galaxy hopped beer this week and a simcoe and citra hopped beer next week. While the beers will be similar, they are very different too.
They will be packaged, named and marketed separately. This creates a continual stream of new releases for the brewery.
And craft beer fans want to try every new beer so they will go back and line up once again. Many of these beers are only made once or at most released just a few times a year.
Trade Hype
It doesn’t take long for the word to spread that a brewery is making excellent beer. And when that happens, trade value starts increasing.
Beer trading is very popular and if you can get your hands on a great local beer, you are able to trade for just about anything you want.
When these hard to get New England IPAs are shipped around the country, the demand starts to grow fast.
In Ohio, Hoof Hearted and Listmerann Brewing are two highly desired breweries that that brew New England IPAs. In other areas, it may be Trillium, Treehouse, or Monkish. Every state has their local breweries that are driving demand nationwide.
But maybe the most important reason behind their popularity is they are really good.
The citrus flavor, low bitterness and drink-ability makes this style one of the best around.
Read More About New England IPAs
Where does this style go from here?
I have had Heady Topper and a handful of other beers that fall into this category.
What I have noticed is they continue to increase in citrus and tropical fruit flavors. And I think that will continue for the foreseeable future.
The juicy, hazy New England IPA is dominating the craft beer world right now. I have a feeling that we may be nearing the peak of it’s popularity but that doesn’t mean the demand will drop.
Instead, I think the demand will level off. The best of the best will always be traded and sell out fast but more and more breweries are getting into this style.
Fans will continue to buy the new releases from their favorite breweries as they search for new, bigger, hazier drinking experiences.
But even with a few breweries making New England IPAs, the demand still outweighs the supply. Even the large national and regional brands have started to make them.
In many ways, the increased availability will only cause more awareness and demand for the New England IPA – as long as they are high quality.
The IPA is a continually changing style that is driven by innovation and new hop varieties. This will not change so I fully expect to see brewers push the New England IPA style even further.