This happened again to me this evening. Went to a new small brewery in town. Indicated I was not interested in a hazy IPA, received blank stare...
“What do you consider hazy? We’ve got this pale ale which is only a little hazy...” WTF? I’m more convinced than ever the NEIPA have just created an excuse to not care if beer is properly conditioned.
I opted for a flight and both the IPA and pale ale were clearly influenced by the NEIPA thing. A little hoppy, not very bitter, and a fuller mouth feel.
Strangely the pale ale was reminiscent of horse radish. I think it was some strange combination of oniony and aromatic hops...? Both were not either a pale ale or an “American IPA”, yet I, the consumer, could not discern without actually trying them. The bartender was clueless to discern the difference between a west coast and east coast IPA.
I’ll say again, if you like NEIPA, and have access to the magical brews that I’ve never been lucky enough to try, good on you. For the rest of us try not to ruin the entire craft beer industry for us.
What’s next? Cloudy Bud Lite?