Hazy IPA vs. NEIPA

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I think there is a difference.
I've had some Hazy IPAs from the West Coast that are distinctly different than NEIPAS from Treehouse, Trillium, Hill Farmstead, or The Alchemist, and possibly some others in that region. The West Coast cousins all seem to miss that ultimate pillowy softness, that milkshake-like thickness, while they tend to be a bit more assertive bitter. Many other East Coast Breweries' NEIPAs have similar characteristics as the West Coast offshoots, so it can be just really difficult to replicate real New England NEIPAs.

Also, there is no West Coast based NEIPA I know off that matches the signature of the former 4, which are the NEIPA trademark and unique in that, IMO.
 
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I guess they can be different, here is an excerpt from one article supposedly quoting the new style guideline:

  • Juicy or Hazy Ale Styles: The addition of this trio of styles include representation of what may be referred to as New England IPAs or West Coast Hazy IPAs. The styles will be identified in the guidelines and Brewers Association competitions as “Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale,” “Juicy or Hazy IPA” and “Juicy or Hazy Double IPA.”


I would assume they are similar with the WC style having greater bitterness?
 
I think there is a difference.
I've had some Hazy IPAs from the West Coast that are distinctly different than NEIPAS from Treehouse, Trillium, Hill Farmstead, or The Alchemist, and possibly some others in that region. The West Coast cousins all seem to miss that ultimate pillowy softness, that milkshake-like thickness, while they tend to be a bit more assertive bitter. Many other East Coast Breweries' NEIPAs have similar characteristics as the West Coast offshoots, so it can be just really difficult to replicate real New England NEIPAs.

Also, there is no West Coast based NEIPA I know off that matches the signature of the former 4, which are the NEIPA trademark and unique in that, IMO.

Monkish

I wouldn’t personally put Alchemist in the same category as the others. I wouldn’t call their beers pillowy, or soft, or lacking bitterness. They are just unfiltered IPAs made with a weird/fruity English ale yeast instead of 1056.
 
I wouldn’t personally put Alchemist in the same category as the others. I wouldn’t call their beers pillowy, or soft, or lacking bitterness. They are just unfiltered IPAs made with a weird/fruity English ale yeast instead of 1056.
You're absolutely right, I don't know why I added The Alchemist in the line-up, most of Kimmich's beers aren't that similar to the other three breweries. I did have an odd one that would qualify, not sure what the name was.
 
Here in New England it depends which brewery you are in, and how they want to describe their beer. I've seen Hazy IPA and NEIPA used interchangeably. I guess it would differ if you're not in New England. But I would absolutely group in Alchemist's Heady Topper, Focal Banger and Crusher into the NEIPA group. FB and Crusher tend to clear out over time, so maybe hazy isn't the best description, but Heady tends to be pretty darn hazy in the can for awhile.

The biggest difference in comparing Tree House with Trillium, The Alchemist and HF is sweetness. I never noticed it before I started home brewing and really comparing beer in flights, but TH beer is SWEET. Julius, one of my favorite beers, is really sweet. I was sampling my NEIPA over Christmas time with some friends who wanted to drink it next to Julius (thanks guys, it's like Superman fighting my cat), but my beer held up. I was shocked. The biggest difference between my neipa and Julius, and this is quoting my friends, was Julius was super sweet. The general public tends to love sugar and sweetness ie USA's love for soda. In no way am I saying that I brew better beer than TH, but it was a revelation for me to find this out. Mine was more "refreshing" they said. That being said, they had been drinking TH for about 3 days prior to me bringing over a growler of my beer, so they could have just had TH palate overload.
 
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I think there is a difference.
I've had some Hazy IPAs from the West Coast that are distinctly different than NEIPAS from Treehouse, Trillium, Hill Farmstead, or The Alchemist, and possibly some others in that region. The West Coast cousins all seem to miss that ultimate pillowy softness, that milkshake-like thickness, while they tend to be a bit more assertive bitter. Many other East Coast Breweries' NEIPAs have similar characteristics as the West Coast offshoots, so it can be just really difficult to replicate real New England NEIPAs.

Also, there is no West Coast based NEIPA I know off that matches the signature of the former 4, which are the NEIPA trademark and unique in that, IMO.

there are plenty of west coast brewers doing the thicker, full opaque style. Monkish, Pure Project, Brouwerij West, Great Notion, Three Magnets, Matchless, etc etc.

Hazy IPA has become interchangeable with NEIPA, but there are dramatic differences.

Alchemist really started the style, but ultimately now those beers would be unfiltered English yeast driven IPAs. They have bitterness and don’t have much adjunct (oats/wheat/lactose) in their malt bill. I also find the conan yeast tends to dry out the beer more. Other early hazy ipa makers like Hill Farmstead, Bissel Bros, or the early Tired Hands beers like Alien Church fit this descriptor. I’ve heard people start calling these “Vermont IPAs” to differentiate from the now thick opaque NEIPAs.

Now, when people think NEIPA, they are thinking more about the Treehouse, Trillium, Other Half, Veil, etc of high oat/wheat content and usually a less attenuating estery English yeast like London III which leaves more residual sweetness enhancing the juicy character. Usually much thicker in body as well, generally trying to mimic the creamy mouthfeel quality of Treehouse (though treehouse finishes lower and uses less adjuncts. Seems to be more water and fermentation character).
 
There’s no difference in style to be honest. Beers obviously can be different. But the terms are used synonymously. There can be slightly more bitter NEIPAS than others. The only difference is what the brewer names it. It’s like pastry stouts verses imperial milk stouts.

I think Shakespeare said it best.... A NEIPA by any other name would smell as sweet"
 
Why is NEIPA an acronym for New England IPA and Northeast IPA?
Because that’s where they originated. Same reason breweries out west just call their elevated ibu ipas, just ipas but those who want to mimic them call them west coast ipa.

Treehouse for example call their ipas, Ipas or Double ipas. Never will you see them market it as a hazy ipa or NEIPA but they are one of the breweries that created the NEIPA style
 
The breweries who started making what people think is this “style” all just call their beers IPAs.

Tired Hands, Hill Farmstead, Bissell, Tree House, Trillium, etc.

The monicker NEIPA was created by people in other parts of the country trying to replicate what these other breweries were doing... and what all these other breweries started doing is sadly what so many people think this “style” is... thick, sweet, beers that are chalky and smell like rotting fruit.

Just make the best hoppy beer you can.
 
I’d have to say I agree with the above points made, but having enjoyed many beers under both monickers, I believe that there is a bit of difference.

‘Most’ of the hazy ipas in my region tend to be unclear/ hazy beers that have been hopped late and whirlpooled. For me they tend to still have a much more noticeable bitterness. Whereas on the other hand most of the beers I have tasted under the neipa tag have a much softer mouthfeel and are usually pretty sweet. To me I think the difference lies with the breweries water and yeast that is used. However I do agree that the descriptor used for the beer ultimately depends on what the brewers want to call it. In my opinion from a marketing perspective, ‘hazy ipa’ will reach a wider audience compared to ‘neipa’.
 
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