Make IPA Clear Again

[applescrap]

If you drop the "stupid" reference, its saying that a lot of folks do what the in-crowd does even if they might question it.



There are certainly good and bad clear IPA's out there. But I have to say I've had more bad murky beers than clear...

However, this thread isn't really about good -vs- bad beer. Its about IPA that's supposed to be CLEAR! The proliferation of the murk water beers, most of which arent very good, and the association with IPA as a style needs to change its course.

Move these beers into a cloudy ale category of their own and MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN!

At this point hope you will share the names of some names of the bad ne ipas you have had. Iirc, you used can o bliss early in this thread as an example. The beer that is 7.99 a six pack at king soopers. I can tell you all the average cheap clear ipas that I have had. Here's what I am drinking tonight. What are you drinking tonight?

 

[shoreman]

To sum it up, you don’t like poorly made NEIPAs. I don’t think anyone does, but that doesn’t mean that the really top notch versions of this beer (I can list them out) shouldn’t be considered IPA and only “clear” IPAs should be worthy of the label. Doesn’t make sense.

 

[deadwolfbones]

To sum it up, you don’t like poorly made NEIPAs. I don’t think anyone does, but that doesn’t mean that the really top notch versions of this beer (I can list them out) shouldn’t be considered IPA and only “clear” IPAs should be worthy of the label. Doesn’t make sense.

To more accurately sum it up, the OP is a troll who doesn't like hazy beer and is trollin' hard.

 

[Beerwildered]

It’s almost like people are willfully refusing to read what the OP has written. Or at least intentionally misunderstanding what he has written.

Here’s the summary:

OP isn’t bashing Hazy beverages.

OP isn’t opposed to the existence of Hazy hoppy juicy fruity or new.

OP would prefer for those beers to exist in a different category.

OP would like to be able to order an IPA at a bar or restaurant and be able to easily differentiate between IPAs that’s conform to the style guide and those that are, let’s say, pushing the envelope by eschewing bitterness in favor of aroma.

I happen to agree with OP. But even if I didn’t, I’m not sure of the value 33 pages of willful ignorance.

 

[deadwolfbones]

OP thinks his opinion is more important than others' equally valid opinions and isn't interested in actually debating whether hazy IPAs are IPAs, prefers instead to simply repeat his pilfered catchphrase over and over.

 

[Beerwildered]

OP thinks his opinion is more important than others' equally valid opinions and isn't interested in actually debating whether hazy IPAs are IPAs, prefers instead to simply repeat his pilfered catchphrase over and over.

Isn’t that the purpose of an opinion? You get yours, he gets his. You think your opinion is superior or else you’d change.

 

[NeoBrew]

I think what you're saying is "IPAs are my lawn. Now get off my lawn you intense hop flavor enjoying whippersnapper" while waving your cane in the air for emphasis.

Trying to claim that hazzy beer has the only "intense hop flavor" is ludicrous.

 

[applescrap]

I found a beer you would like I think nagrog. Don't know how much it was, didn't ask or look, but clear and hoppy. Nothing to the pina colada.

 

[applescrap]

In a word, amazeballs.

 

[MrTimV]

But NEIPA is a style under the IPA type. Seems like where you're ordering these terrible NEIPA's from simply needs to start differentiating, or the question of what style of IPA is it needs to be asked.

Honestly I take more issue with things like Alexander Keith's being called an IPA then I do with the murky beers here. Although NEIPA is much less common here so maybe I'm just not getting some of these terrible examples.

 

[BBQB]

One thing that has bugged me for years is that many ‘mug clubs’ have you drink out of ceramic mugs. This has always bothered me because I want to see what the beer looks like. How does this fit into the conversation? Does it solve the hazy (possibly murky) debate since you can’t see it?

 

[SEndorf]

One thing that has bugged me for years is that many ‘mug clubs’ have you drink out of ceramic mugs. This has always bothered me because I want to see what the beer looks like. How does this fit into the conversation? Does it solve the hazy (possibly murky) debate since you can’t see it?

It doesn't fit into the conversation at all, which is quite refreshing I might add.
It's firmly established that only barbarians drink beer from anything other than a clear beer glass.
However Toby Keith claims that men who drink beer from a glass rather than a "Red Solo Cup" do not have testicles.
Go figure...…..

 

[Beerwildered]

Toby Keith claims that men who drink beer from a glass rather than a "Red Solo Cup" do not have testicles.
Go figure...…..

I don’t take drinking advice from anyone who doesn’t make their own beer.

 

[Brooothru]

I think it was actually beer with mythical "artesians" in it, wasn't it?. I believe Miller brought about the extiction of the artesians when they bought out the brewery and moved operations to California which proved to be too harsh an environment for them.

Ahh, yes. Oly, circa 1980s.

"Artesians....I seen 'em."

Another regional beer lost on the trash heap of Big Brew. Seems like yesterday we were quaffing them on Whidbey Island. (sigh)

Brooo Brother

 

[day_trippr]

Wow. Talk about triggers - thanks for the trip in my personal way-back machine

I lived on Hood Canal for a couple of years in the town of Lilliwaup (population in 1971-72: 60) and saw a lot of Olympia ("It's The Water") and lesser local lights (Rainier comes to mind).

As well, I was fortunate to know a daughter of a family on Whidbey with a seaside estate (with indoor swimming pool the size of a tennis court and enough rooms to sleep at least 6 couples) and their own freakin' seaplane. That was majorly rarefied atmosphere for someone fresh out of college The parts of Whidbey I saw were storybook lovely...

Cheers!

 

[SEndorf]

Wow. Talk about triggers - thanks for the trip in my personal way-back machine

I lived on Hood Canal for a couple of years in the town of Lilliwaup (population in 1971-72: 60) and saw a lot of Olympia ("It's The Water") and lesser local lights (Rainier comes to mind).

As well, I was fortunate to know a daughter of a family on Whidbey with a seaside estate (with indoor swimming pool the size of a tennis court and enough rooms to sleep at least 6 couples) and their own freakin' seaplane. That was majorly rarefied atmosphere for someone fresh out of college The parts of Whidbey I saw were storybook lovely...

Cheers!

I spent some time at Oak Harbor. Often wondered how much net worth was required to turn "summer" into a verb. E.G. "We summered at Whidbey"...

 

[shoreman]

It’s almost like people are willfully refusing to read what the OP has written. Or at least intentionally misunderstanding what he has written.

Here’s the summary:

OP isn’t bashing Hazy beverages.

OP isn’t opposed to the existence of Hazy hoppy juicy fruity or new.

OP would prefer for those beers to exist in a different category.

OP would like to be able to order an IPA at a bar or restaurant and be able to easily differentiate between IPAs that’s conform to the style guide and those that are, let’s say, pushing the envelope by eschewing bitterness in favor of aroma.

I happen to agree with OP. But even if I didn’t, I’m not sure of the value 33 pages of willful ignorance.

That’s generally referred to as a west coast IPA in craft beer and now we have Brut IPA which is clear in appearance as well. So I’d tell the OP to look for those descriptions - you can also ask the server.

These styles are plainly spelled out in the Bjcp style guidelines in the IPA category and I would think that especially as a homebrewer you would be aware of them.

 

[applescrap]

I don’t take drinking advice from anyone who doesn’t make their own beer.

Making ones own beer is cool, but I cant agree with this. My buddy Ricky distributes like 300 beers and has been in the industry 20 years. I take his advice all the time. He lives in an apartment and doesn't brew and likely never will. Since he tastes everything and distributes others his advice has been awesome.

 

[applescrap]

Ahh, yes. Oly, circa 1980s.

"Artesians....I seen 'em."

Another regional beer lost on the trash heap of Big Brew. Seems like yesterday we were quaffing them on Whidbey Island. (sigh)

Brooo Brother

Ah man, the good ol days of Oly. We used to throw shots of vodka in them and chug them down while blaring inagoddavita. I think things will work out ok with oly gone, no?

 

[wepeeler]

This thread is ridiculous. For those craft beer drinkers unfortunate enough to not live in New England, I guess I can kind of see why you'd be turned off by hazy beer. You've been told all your life that hazy beer is lazy beer. The neipas you've been able to taste are most likely not up to par with what we can get on a daily basis. While I agree that murky isn't desired, hazy and juicy sure is. As long as the color is light ie 4-6 SRM, the aroma is popping and it tastes wonderful, haze should not be the deciding factor on not wanting to drink it. Sure you can drop a neipa clear after a few months in the keg, but the hop flavor and aroma dissipates. So you're ok with losing the 2 most important factors of a neipa because it's hazy? Come on...

And for the record, the style has been added by the BJCP. So yeah, take it up with them.

 

[BBQB]

It doesn't fit into the conversation at all, which is quite refreshing I might add.
It's firmly established that only barbarians drink beer from anything other than a clear beer glass.
However Toby Keith claims that men who drink beer from a glass rather than a "Red Solo Cup" do not have testicles.
Go figure...…..

 

[snarf7]

Honestly I take more issue with things like Alexander Keith's being called an IPA then I do with the murky beers here. Although NEIPA is much less common here so maybe I'm just not getting some of these terrible examples.

That's because the definition of IPA has changed many, many times over the years. They've been brewing Keiths since 1820 and it would have very much been similar to the style in England at that time because that's what was cool then. Supposedly they've kept the recipe mostly intact since then so you're drinking a little piece of history. What you think of as IPA today didn't really start until the 80s in the U.S. and it's gone through all kinds of crazy ups and downs since as brewers push the limits on bitter and fruitiness to try new things. That's all NEIPA is, just another phase, give it 2 years and they'll be off on something else.

 

[Blazinlow86]

If you drop the "stupid" reference, its saying that a lot of folks do what the in-crowd does even if they might question it.



There are certainly good and bad clear IPA's out there. But I have to say I've had more bad murky beers than clear...

However, this thread isn't really about good -vs- bad beer. Its about IPA that's supposed to be CLEAR! The proliferation of the murk water beers, most of which arent very good, and the association with IPA as a style needs to change its course.

Move these beers into a cloudy ale category of their own and MAKE IPA CLEAR AGAIN!

Just like you were doing when clear ipas were the in-crowd brew of choice. You should question why your stuck in the old clear beers better mentality. Remember you don't have to do what the in-crowd does even if it's the old in-crowd.

 

[snarf7]

Making ones own beer is cool, but I cant agree with this. My buddy Ricky distributes like 300 beers and has been in the industry 20 years. I take his advice all the time. He lives in an apartment and doesn't brew and likely never will. Since he tastes everything and distributes others his advice has been awesome.

But haven't you heard from the wise old grandpa squad? It's impossible to know or appreciate anything about beer unless you do it EXACTLY the way they tell you to. Doesn't matter if they're needlessly restrictive, or as is often the case, just plain wrong...it is the way it is done, it is the way it has always been done, amen.

OK enough with the sarcasm lets be serious for a moment...this notion that your opinion has no value just because you don't homebrew or haven't been homebrewing for decades is completely f-ing stupid. Case in point, I have a buddy who recently earned the title of 'Advanced Sommelier' which is just one level below the 'Master' designation. To give you an idea how prestigious that is, there are only about 200 Master level in the entire world, so its quite the accomplishment. I'm amazed by his palate...he can not only tell you the grape variety and the country it came from, he can tell you the exact region, often the exact TOWN or even vineyard it came from! It's impressive. And somehow he gained this amazing knowledge without ever having made wine in his life (not even from a kit)

 

[GnenieGone]

Now I feel bad. Have a Tropical Milkshake NEIPA planned using pinapple, mangos, and apricot. Bad Pianoman, Bad Bad Pianoman!

 

[Nagorg]

Now I feel bad. Have a Tropicl Milkshake NEIPA planned using pinapple, mangos, and apricot. Bad Pianoman, Bad Bad Pianoman!

Shame on you... Make that IPA CLEAR AGAIN! LOL

 

[Beerwildered]

Making ones own beer is cool, but I cant agree with this. My buddy Ricky distributes like 300 beers and has been in the industry 20 years. I take his advice all the time. He lives in an apartment and doesn't brew and likely never will. Since he tastes everything and distributes others his advice has been awesome.

Ok. I’ll agree with that.

I’m certainly not taking Toby Keith’s advice. I’ve eaten at his restaurant...once.

 

[applescrap]

Now I feel bad. Have a Tropical Milkshake NEIPA planned using pinapple, mangos, and apricot. Bad Pianoman, Bad Bad Pianoman!

Sounds awesome. That weldwerks pina colada is amazeballs. Lactose, pineapple, and toasted coconut with vanilla.

 

[applescrap]

Ok. I’ll agree with that.

I’m certainly not taking Toby Keith’s advice. I’ve eaten at his restaurant...once.

I'll cheers to that, good on you bro.

 

[GnenieGone]

Sounds awesome. That weldwerks pina colada is amazeballs. Lactose, pineapple, and toasted coconut with vanilla.

Coconut and vanilla crossed my mind. Maybe next time. For the record got a Heady Topper and Pliney clone planed by summer. Pliney is pretty clear.

 

[Brooothru]

Wow. Talk about triggers - thanks for the trip in my personal way-back machine

I lived on Hood Canal for a couple of years in the town of Lilliwaup (population in 1971-72: 60) and saw a lot of Olympia ("It's The Water") and lesser local lights (Rainier comes to mind).

As well, I was fortunate to know a daughter of a family on Whidbey with a seaside estate (with indoor swimming pool the size of a tennis court and enough rooms to sleep at least 6 couples) and their own freakin' seaplane. That was majorly rarefied atmosphere for someone fresh out of college The parts of Whidbey I saw were storybook lovely...

Cheers!

I absolutely love it up there in that corner of the country. Whidbey is still just as I remembered it when I flew in and out of NAS Whidbey Island back in the day. Wife and I took a road trip detour through the area two summers ago on the way back from a nephew's wedding up in Banff. And yes, I remember Rainier Beer just as I do Oly. We're headed back that way on another cross country/beer safari visiting hop farms and wineries in Yakima and the Willamette Valley.

I've been living on the wrong coast way too long.

Brooo Brother

 

[MrTimV]

That's because the definition of IPA has changed many, many times over the years. They've been brewing Keiths since 1820 and it would have very much been similar to the style in England at that time because that's what was cool then. Supposedly they've kept the recipe mostly intact since then so you're drinking a little piece of history. What you think of as IPA today didn't really start until the 80s in the U.S. and it's gone through all kinds of crazy ups and downs since as brewers push the limits on bitter and fruitiness to try new things. That's all NEIPA is, just another phase, give it 2 years and they'll be off on something else.

They've actually, admittedly changed the recipe a fair bit in the past century. The older recipes from the mid/early 20th century were heavier on the hops. Modern is lightly hoped and so on. All that's really the same from the original nearly 200 year old recipe is the name.

 

[Beerwildered]

I absolutely love it up there in that corner of the country. Whidbey is still just as I remembered it when I flew in and out of NAS Whidbey Island back in the day. Wife and I took a road trip detour through the area two summers ago on the way back from a nephew's wedding up in Banff. And yes, I remember Rainier Beer just as I do Oly. We're headed back that way on another cross country/beer safari visiting hop farms and wineries in Yakima and the Willamette Valley.

I've been living on the wrong coast way too long.

Brooo Brother

Go Navy!

 

[Brooothru]

Go Navy!

Beat Army!

 

[Beerwildered]

Beat Army!

Finally this thread makes sense to me.

 

[GnenieGone]

clear enough?

 

[BobBailey]

At the risk of backlash, yes I'm posting this! Am I the only one (or one of a few) that isnt on board with the Haze Craze?

I might be open minded to the "style" if it weren't for the association with IPA... Other than the large qty's of hops used, I dont think these beers are characteristic of IPA at all. Personally, the lack of clarity is off-putting and I believe its damaged what a lot of folks think beers should look like. For example, now you can be served a glass of yeast and nobody thinks there is anything wrong with the pour!

I'll admit that I have tasted some that were pretty tasty and had a good aroma but still... IPA?? Really??? Can we just not have a "Hazy Ale" category instead of bastardizing IPA?

MIPACA.... I need to make some hats!

I'm not a fan either. I really don't care what they call it What does piss me off is when you order what is purported to be a double IPA from the menu and they bring you something that looks like spoiled orange juice.

Another thing that I don't like is going into a brew pub that has 6 or 8 APAs and IPAs n their list and every stinking one is a hazy beer. You ask the bartender why and he tells you that's what's hot.

Fine, have a couple on tap to celebrate the latest craze, but don't forget the masses who enjoy beer. Damn, I'm glad that glitter beer wasn't a big thing.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Breweries do what sells. Stay relevant or perish. I don't inherently fault breweries for having 8 hazy IPAs, one pastry stout, one fruited kettle sour, and one "other" for the lads (have to wonder how many big name craft lagers started as the brew crew shifty beer).

If you wanna blame anyone, blame drinkers.

And blame social media.

But mostly blame Untappd, RateBeer, and BeerAdvocate.

 

[Nagorg]

clear enough?

YES and THANKS for posting a pic of that beer specifically. Community is a local brewery and I love their Mosaic IPA. They do an oaked version that's really good too.

I've seen that double dry hopped version and have been naturally curious since I like the base beer a lot. But, I've resisted buying it because of the trend induced assumption that it was going to be another OJ beer. Thats what this trend has done to me. I've had to align descriptor words (juicy, tropical, double dry hopped) to the current NEIPA trend since I cant count on a brewery to differentiate on the label. So, I just avoid the beer completely unless I can find it on tap somewhere to try it first (a sample of course)!

Now that I know the DDH Moasic is clear, I'm going to have to grab some if I can find it again!

 

[shetc]

clear enough?
View attachment 621331

Yep, I can see right through that beer and there's a finger...hey, WTF