Make IPA Clear Again

[Wayne1]

"...from Matt Curtis for the blog of marketing agency Mash, comes a guide designed to help brewers label their IPAs in ways that will avoid irritating or disappointing consumers: I can’t state this clearly enough: In a global market of over 20,000 breweries, you need to label your beer in a way that accurately describes to your customers what it’s going to taste like. If you’re going to sell an expensive ticket, the ride should be as advertised. "

 

[NTBeer]

"...from Matt Curtis for the blog of marketing agency Mash, comes a guide designed to help brewers label their IPAs in ways that will avoid irritating or disappointing consumers: I can’t state this clearly enough: In a global market of over 20,000 breweries, you need to label your beer in a way that accurately describes to your customers what it’s going to taste like. If you’re going to sell an expensive ticket, the ride should be as advertised. "

THIS. 1000 times this. Give me the beer I'm expecting.

 

[NeoBrew]

I accidentally bought a hazy the other day. I was reaching for a lager from a stack of 12 packs and didn't notice until I got home that it was actually a hazy in the same color packaging as the lager. (I'm not always the most detailed guy!) I'm not sure if the sign was wrong or they were just stacked right next to each other.

It's actually not that bad. If I pour really slowly and leave about 2 oz in the bottom of the can, It pours bright, has a great aroma and enough bite to be refreshing on the palate. If I pour the dregs out of the bottom of the can it's muddled thick and cloudy. The difference is night and day in my opinion.

 

[Saunassa]

A NEIPA in itself is fine, if the brewer's intent is to create a hoppy, low bitterness beer. But some are obsessed by recreating the hazy orange juice side effect, which is a contrivance. In those instances, I think the mockery is well-deserved.

This is one of the reasons I like the NEIPA from the two small town breweries near me. Both do a neipa style beer and both have a bit of a haze from the hops and not murky like someone dumped corn starch in it.

 

[dnr]

I accidentally bought a hazy the other day. I was reaching for a lager from a stack of 12 packs and didn't notice until I got home that it was actually a hazy in the same color packaging as the lager. (I'm not always the most detailed guy!) I'm not sure if the sign was wrong or they were just stacked right next to each other.

It's actually not that bad. If I pour really slowly and leave about 2 oz in the bottom of the can, It pours bright, has a great aroma and enough bite to be refreshing on the palate. If I pour the dregs out of the bottom of the can it's muddled thick and cloudy. The difference is night and day in my opinion.

What were you intending to buy vs what you got?

 

[NeoBrew]

This wasn’t a deceptive labeling thing. There was a sign for Surly Hell, a lager, and a stack of Surly Rocket Surgery Haze Ale right next to it. I don’t bought I was buying the lager. The box I bought is clearly labeled as a hazy. I just grabbed the wrong box and didn’t notice until I got home.

The two products DO both use a green, gray/silver and black label, but I think that is just coincidence.

 

[Mtrhdltd]

I've only started reading this thread but I feel so much better that I'm not alone! Im a hop head, at least that's what I used to be. Now I'm a bitter hop head, more ways than one. I've quit trying new beer because I want a bitter hopped beer with some citrus notes, not the other way. It's a shame too, who knows how many good beers im missing because I don't want juice. Im not saying they shouldn't exist, but they didn't have to replace what I like.

For those saying looks don't matter, what would you do if you ordered t- bone steak and it came out looking like ground beef? We eat with our eyes too! Every chef knows that, shouldn't every brewer too?

 

[Nagorg]

I've only started reading this thread but I feel so much better that I'm not alone!

You are NOT alone. Sadly the madness continues.

One of my most recent disappointments... The term "Mango" should have been a dead giveaway but I was drawn in to "Hatch Chile" and "IPA".

So sad. I really like this brewery and they have two solid IPA's but this beer disappointed on so many levels.

 

[balrog]

You are NOT alone. Sadly the madness continues.

One of my most recent disappointments... The term "Mango" should have been a dead giveaway but I was drawn in to "Hatch Chile" and "IPA".

So sad. I really like this brewery and they have two solid IPA's but this beer disappointed on so many levels.

View attachment 695588

Looks like it coulda used some donut bourbon barrel vanilla aged pastry milkshake avacado toast infused lacto pedofile soured smooth churn wet hopping. And prison. And mamma and rain and pickup trucks.

The country western ipa. You saw it here first.

[Edit: with apologies to country western songs everywhere. Because avacado.]

 

[NewJersey]

The future of IPAs

 

[Broothru]

The future of IPAs

Yeah.... that looks about right.

 

[grampamark]

The future of IPAs

I think I saw that in the “premium beer” cooler at Winco last week.

 

[NewJersey]

I think I saw that in the “premium beer” cooler at Winco last week.

All the fanboys who got into beer with NEIPAs will surely gravitate to this if the right "it" breweries of the moment release it for $25/16oz 4-pack

 

[NewJersey]

"oh, you're still into hazy? It's all about chunks and lactose now, get with it"

 

[bwible]

Ron Pattinson always has an interesting take, and writing style on... well.. everything..

IPA "inflation"...

Why PA?

I just bought 2 of his books - ‘Bitter’ and ‘Mild’. The Bitter book looks awesome, I cannot believe how thick it is. Been reading some of his stuff online and it is really interesting.

 

[ajbosley2015]

I actually made a 259 IBU Hatch Chile IPA that was 2nd at the best in show table at a national competition. Y’all just sound pretentious and silly tbh

 

[bwible]

Playing devils advocate here . What about IPAs that are less then 5.5 abv . They call them session IPAs . However IPAs were originally made higher then 5.5 , so are they not IPAs?
...
If I feel like a NEIPA I drink it.

The difference is that “Session IPA” is just about always clearly labelled as “Session IPA” (because the low alcohol is a selling point) and even if it wasn’t you can read the label and see “IPA” and the listed alcohol percentage and know what’s in your hand. Unless its a “Session NEIPA”, I suppose. The biggest complaint is that NEIPAs are far too frequently not labelled using those words or that designation. People just want to know what they are buying when they spend their money.

 

[bwible]

Imagine being served a pale crystal clear stout, wouldn't that be odd and off-putting?

Don’t have to imagine. It’s a thing. People are actually making blonde stouts. And Imperial mild. There is no sanity anymore.

https://www.craftbeer.com/editors-picks/golden-stout-oxymoron-or-legit-beer-style

 

[day_trippr]

[...]There is no sanity anymore.[...]

So true...

 

[bruce_the_loon]

It's all because we never took the first person who used pumpkin spice outside of actual pumpkin and strung them up from the Washington Monument as a warning to everyone.

 

[Jeff Kroosz]

The consumers drive American craft brew. Until they stop buying them, hazies will persist.
Look at seltzer, still trending, and expanding into craft taprooms.

 

[NeoBrew]

The consumers drive American craft brew. Until they stop buying them, hazies will persist.
Look at seltzer, still trending, and expanding into craft taprooms.

Like so many in this thread, this misses the point. It's not about trying to get rid of hazies, it's about not labeling them the same thing as a west coast IPA or any other IPA.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

The future of IPAs

I don't want to say this is disgusting because I don't want to offend the brewer but I would never drink that, chouder itself doesn't look tasty for me

 

[Jeff Kroosz]

Like so many in this thread, this misses the point. It's not about trying to get rid of hazies, it's about not labeling them the same thing as a west coast IPA or any other IPA.

My question is...what beer would you brew to keep the lights on, if you were opening a taproom tomorrow?

 

[bwible]

My question is...what beer would you brew to keep the lights on, if you were opening a taproom tomorrow?

You want to have a lineup - not 7 taps with the same beer.
The brewpub near us has a blonde ale, a red ale, a honey brown ale, a west coast ipa, a stout, a porter, and even sources a cider. They do have one neipa and also a saison. That’s a pretty good lineup that offers something for everybody.

 

[IvanCAllen]

Looks like it coulda used some donut bourbon barrel vanilla aged pastry milkshake avacado toast infused lacto pedofile soured smooth churn wet hopping. And prison. And mamma and rain and pickup trucks.

The country western ipa. You saw it here first.

[Edit: with apologies to country western songs everywhere. Because avacado.]

100% what you said. ----- 0h-- and trains.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

My question is...what beer would you brew to keep the lights on, if you were opening a taproom tomorrow?

You want to brew a range of beers that you think people will enjoy, but you want to pay the bills too, so I would personally brew something "hazy" or better said, something juicy and soft

In fact I'm interested in opening a brewery, things are at a stop now because you know, the virus and all, and a hazy is on my mind for sure

 

[NeoBrew]

My question is...what beer would you brew to keep the lights on, if you were opening a taproom tomorrow?

I'm not questioning anybody's right to brew whatever beer they want. I just want, as a consumer, to be able to tell what I'm getting into before it shows up.

I personally don't care much for this hazy craze. I just want to be able to avoid them, but if other people love them, then that is their business.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

I'm not questioning anybody's right to brew whatever beer they want. I just want, as a consumer, to be able to tell what I'm getting into before it shows up.

I personally don't care much for this hazy craze. I just want to be able to avoid them, but if other people love them, then that is their business.

I get your point, but a west coast is not exactly the same as an historical IPA, do we stop calling them IPAs too?

I understand your point in pastries, which in my opinion should be called pastry blond, or pastry pale or whatever as they are not hop focused as an IPA (an american, the original wasn't that much hop focused) should be, but you regular NEIPA it's just a result of a better management of both brewing water and hops to extract its best potential, is it wrong to call them IPAs? I don't thing so, I particularly think west coast and NE should be different in name, but without stripping any of them from the IPA surname

I myself have suffered the feeling of thinking I was going to enjoy a West Coast as I was feeling like that at the moment and finding something called IPA was in fact a NE and the reverse way too, there is a brewery in my country that doesn't differentiate too much their IPAs, they do it sometimes but not always, I bought an IPA that was supposed to be a NEIPA as they mostly brew that, I wanted a NEIPA that day and I got something piney and bitter, it ruined my day, well not really, but I wasn't happy about it

 

[NeoBrew]

I get your point, but a west coast is not exactly the same as an historical IPA, do we stop calling them IPAs too?

I understand your point in pastries, which in my opinion should be called pastry blond, or pastry pale or whatever as they are not hop focused as an IPA (an american, the original wasn't that much hop focused) should be, but you regular NEIPA it's just a result of a better management of both brewing water and hops to extract its best potential, is it wrong to call them IPAs? I don't thing so, I particularly think west coast and NE should be different in name, but without stripping any of them from the IPA surname

I myself have suffered the feeling of thinking I was going to enjoy a West Coast as I was feeling like that at the moment and finding something called IPA was in fact a NE and the reverse way too, there is a brewery in my country that doesn't differentiate too much their IPAs, they do it sometimes but not always, I bought an IPA that was supposed to be a NEIPA as they mostly brew that, I wanted a NEIPA that day and I got something piney and bitter, it ruined my day, well not really, but I wasn't happy about it

I suppose I would have to concede that point. Out of pride I'd prefer to call the west coast IPA and American IPA, but the NEIPA has gotten enough foothold and market that it should at least stand alongside the west coast version.

To be honest, I don't really care what names things are given or the hierarchy. I just want to be able to tell the difference from the label so I can get what I want.