Never had a NEIPA

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Yeah Clint Yeastwood that pretty much mirrors how I feel about them. They just don't trip my trigger. And all I can think about when drinking one is, they made some mistakes and selling it anyway.
 
I expect most IPA fans would avoid buying 4 month old examples, bright or hazy.
So there's potentially the old/abused thing to consider.

But, beyond that, everyone I know enjoys Hazy Little Thing. It's actually one of the lightest examples of the style, hence why I called it "entry level"...

Cheers!
 
Well, most people I have known enjoyed things like Bud and Miller Lite, so there's that.

I Googled around, trying to find out what the official shelf life of this beer is. I found a secondhand reference purporting to be written by Sierra Nevada. It says 150 days. That means that if this beer was treated well, it is still considered fresh until March 21. If the reference is valid.

This beer isn't 4 months old. It's slightly under 3 months old.

I know my local NORMAL grocery stores are not always great at handling refrigerated items. I have had some refrozen ice cream. However, I got this beer at a pretentious organic place where I have not had any problems in the past, apart from disappointing baked goods and being forced to use paper bags. The other beers I've bought there seemed to be in good shape, although some were not great.

I can't see blowing another $13 to see if a second 4-pack is better. Maybe I'll come across a different brand locally.
 
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Clint Yeastwood said:
I tried Hazy Little Thing. Now I'm here to offend everyone who likes it and provoke hostile comments.

The wife seemed to like it better than other beers because she hates bitterness. I think the sweetness masked it for her. It is not a great testimony to a beer's quality when my wife likes it.

If I went to a friend's house, and they served this with lunch, I would drink it and be okay with it. It's much, much better than no beer at all. But I am not motivated to drink the remaining 5 cans any time soon. After I had drunk half the can, I really wanted to pour the rest out and pour myself a different beer.

Is it possible they tried to push beer farther than it can reasonably go? Is that why some people don't like this style?

I wouldn't brew something like this for myself, but I could see doing a hazy to get my wife into beer. Maybe sneak some Splenda or something into it. Maybe I could go easier on the dry-hopping to prevent those weird aftertastes.

Or maybe it was just old, and it's supposed to be better than this.
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Dude… that is the most honest and entertaining beer review I have ever experienced. The wife comment nearly got me a Saison sinus rinse. I have tried a lot of Neipas in the last year - mostly on tap - and I have found a couple that were pretty good - the last one I enjoyed was by Clown Shoes I think - but nothing I would order again or brew. I’m not an American IPA fan. I brew and drink them mostly because I have friends who love them. Brit IPAs are more my style. Neipas strike me as a brewing experiment that went a bit off and everybody just tries to make the best of it by calling it a new style. Tropical, hazy and fruity are not positive characteristics in a beer for me. I speak only for myself, of course. Thanks for the laugh.👍
 
I had to go back and read what I wrote, because I never intended to be funny. Now I guess the NEIPA fans are mad at me. I'm making a serious effort to find out what the style is all about.

I emailed Sierra Nevada to see if they had any input. I was dismayed by the requirement that I provide my phone and address, so I gave them information pertaining to the nearest Best Buy.

I think the way the hops are used must be the source of the aftertastes. Maybe there is a NEIPA out there that has more finesse. This beer makes it seems like a bunch of already-drunk frat guys were brewing, and one said, "Hey, let's empty the hop fridge into this one!"

I like IPA a lot, and I can see how I could enjoy something like this if they just toned it down and killed those off-flavors.
 
The thing about "off flavors" is that one man's (beer's?) feature can be another man's bug. I'm not a big NEIPA fan myself but I don't have anything against people who enjoy them. I also have nothing against people who hate them. De gustibus non disputandum est.
 
No hate here. I like the Hazy Little thing IPA. I don't see it as being overly bitter and enjoy the taste. I was a Racer 5 fan for a long time. I would always have that in the fridge. The last six pack I tried had a very different taste to it. So, it fell on the list. Bear Republic makes a Racer 7 that I enjoy as well. It is also a hazy IPA. A small brewery in Oregon, Wild Ride, made a hazy pale ale that I really liked as well. So, to me, if you like it drink it. If you don't give it to me. LOL. I will take those 5 cans off your hands. LOL
 
Beers like most things have a wide range of appeal, some appeal to the masses while others appeal to a much smaller audience. I simply don't care for the hazies. I also don't care for wheat beers. Doesn't mean I can't appreciate a well made beer of either category. I'm simply not going out to purchase beers I don't care for to have stocked in my bar. With that said I have already compiled my brew list for 2024 and I a scheduled to brew a wit beer in May. I am part of a huge family who annually enjoys a big family reunion week in June. We have a few, mostly females, who request wheat beer at our gatherings. Therefore we will make one this year and if there is any left over I'll save it for next year, lol.
 
Clint Yeastwood said:
I had to go back and read what I wrote, because I never intended to be funny. Now I guess the NEIPA fans are mad at me. I'm making a serious effort to find out what the style is all about.
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Understood. It was definitely well thought out and provided solid background for your deductions. Carefully stated. To the point. Not snarky. I referred to it as a review because it was one. And a good one. The part where your wife liking it was not necessarily a good thing is what cracked me up. I can relate.
 
You are better off finding one at a local brewery to try then to buy one off the shelf at a store. Hazy's from Sierra Nevada and New Belgium are readily accessible but IMO.. not very good.

If you do buy them off the shelf, don't buy one older then 8 weeks in the can. You might as well be throwing your money down the drain. Sometimes you can stretch it 10 weeks if you're craving one and nothing else is available.

You should have a store nearby that sells local craft beer. You'll find one there. If you go to a big liquor store chain you are going to get the macro options.
 
A good NEIPA/ Hazy can be a very tasty, but I’ve had a lot that fall short, very short. I don’t know that 6 hops are necessary for the style. Citra and Mosaic are well known work horses for the style. I prefer NEIPA’s over standard IPA’s because I prefer the juicier, smoother flavors as opposed to the punch you in the face bitterness of the standard variety. It’s also one of the most difficult styles to deliver a satisfactory product. Freshness is mandatory, like others have stated, for maximum enjoyment. You’ll know immediately when you get a good one. Like many styles, they just might not be for everyone.
 
Sierra Nevada responded to my question. The response was quick, considerate, generous, and a little weird.

Basically, they said two things that didn't seem to jibe. First, they confirmed that the beer was too old. Second, they said it was past the 150-day mark. The beer was packaged 91 days ago.

I am quite sure they package their ales as soon as they're ready to drink. Surely the 150-day period is counted from the packing date.

They are sending me a check of some kind, good for a 12-pack. That's really nice of them. Great customer relations. I was perfectly happy to find ways to use the beer and then continue buying other Sierra Nevada products. I took a chance when I bought it, so I figured that was on me, not them. I flat-out told them it looked like they were making a mistake, but I gave them my address because I have a feeling they'll mail the check anyway.

My plan is to try to use the check to get the other Sierra Nevada hazy I found locally. I hope I like it, because I plan to review it.

Sierra Nevada makes a lot of great beer. The fact that one guy was not overly excited about one ale doesn't mean anything.
 
They have at least four "hazy" beers in their repertoire. I like Hazy Little Thing, was not wild about Tropical Little Thing, and haven't had either Juicy Little Thing, or Dank Little Thing, which is new.

Lots of options, that's for sure...

Cheers!
 
camonick said:
A good NEIPA/ Hazy can be a very tasty, but I’ve had a lot that fall short, very short. I don’t know that 6 hops are necessary for the style. Citra and Mosaic are well known work horses for the style. I prefer NEIPA’s over standard IPA’s because I prefer the juicier, smoother flavors as opposed to the punch you in the face bitterness of the standard variety. It’s also one of the most difficult styles to deliver a satisfactory product. Freshness is mandatory, like others have stated, for maximum enjoyment. You’ll know immediately when you get a good one. Like many styles, they just might not be for everyone.
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Good post, and I agree with it.
 
day_trippr said:
They have at least four "hazy" beers in their repertoire. I like Hazy Little Thing, was not wild about Tropical Little Thing, and haven't had either Juicy Little Thing, or Dank Little Thing, which is new.

Lots of options, that's for sure...

Cheers!
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I have been meaning to try the Juicy one, but have not yet. The dank one I don't think I will try. I had a dank IPA from another brewer, I think it was Stone, and I really did not like it. If you try the juicy one please post, it is on my list to try.
 
Clint Yeastwood said:
Sierra Nevada responded to my question. The response was quick, considerate, generous, and a little weird.

Basically, they said two things that didn't seem to jibe. First, they confirmed that the beer was too old. Second, they said it was past the 150-day mark. The beer was packaged 91 days ago.

I am quite sure they package their ales as soon as they're ready to drink. Surely the 150-day period is counted from the packing date.

They are sending me a check of some kind, good for a 12-pack. That's really nice of them. Great customer relations. I was perfectly happy to find ways to use the beer and then continue buying other Sierra Nevada products. I took a chance when I bought it, so I figured that was on me, not them. I flat-out told them it looked like they were making a mistake, but I gave them my address because I have a feeling they'll mail the check anyway.

My plan is to try to use the check to get the other Sierra Nevada hazy I found locally. I hope I like it, because I plan to review it.

Sierra Nevada makes a lot of great beer. The fact that one guy was not overly excited about one ale doesn't mean anything.
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I think at one point I emailed them to see if I could get the recipe for the Hazy little thing. If I remember correctly, they sent me the ingredient list and a somewhat mash schedule and temps. It was a bit vague, but they did say that it really depended on my system and the list should get me the info I need to taylor it to my setup. I remember thinking that it was a good email from the company and it gave me what I needed but did not give up any proprietary info like yeast strains.

Good to hear the company is taking care of you, that goes a long way in my book.
 
Clint Yeastwood said:
The smell was wonderful and very intense, although it was more like orange juice than beer. I wondered what kind of hops gave off that aroma, because it seemed like I should use them in wheat beer. The web says it has 6 hops in it. I have no idea how you can make an intelligent choice involving 6 different hops, but I don't know everything.

The taste was also a lot like orange juice. It reminded me of the European soft drink, Orangina. It was sweet, but bearably so. Not terribly bitter.

The main problem I had with it was the aftertastes. More than one. It went down reasonably well, but then I got hit with weird stale and metallic flavors. Maybe that's from extreme dry-hopping? It just seemed off. Like they made a mistake. The aftertastes sort of killed the pleasure I got as I swallowed it. It tastes pretty good, but not fantastic, on the way in. Then you get the bill.
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Nearly all of your description matches perfectly within the style. Intense and wonderful fruit aroma. Citrus/fruit taste, more akin a juice than beer. Sweet upfront and bitter aftertaste.
One man's trash is another man's treasure.

I don't like it too. IMHO, looks like someone throw concentrated juice and caramel in a bitter beer. Completely off balance.

The metallic aftertaste probably is due to high dry hopping rates. Too much myrcene had been described as metallic. They probably are using some kind of extract, because if was only regular pellets, you should had taste a grassy bite as well. That's a common side effect of extreme dry hopping. Expect that in almost any beer of this kind. Few rare exceptions have been described, but I don't have access to them down here.

Don't forget to make reviews about yours next adventures!
 
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Orange juice is much cheaper. Even the good stuff. Nor is it frowned on for breakfast, on a school day. I do wonder, though, if any crafty breweries have just carbonated some fruit juice topped up with vodka and packaged it in a brightly-coloured (migraine-inducing) can with a little drawing of a cute polar bear riding a tricycle chasing orange blossom falling from trees growing in the Arctic under the norther lights. Backed up by a couple dodgy YouTube videos as ‘proof of concept’. Like chimps painting Picassos. The power of marketeering can sell anything, apparently.
 
Clearly NEIPA is just a fad. <insert clever emoticon>
 
I told them the beer wasn't that old, but they are buying me a six-pack anyway. Great customer relations.

I don't like it too. IMHO, looks like someone throw concentrated juice and caramel in a bitter beer. Completely off balance.
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"Off balance" is one of the things I thought when I tried it.
 
like blue cheese. some love it some hate it.

Not a big IPA fan overall as the many out there are never great or to style in terms of traditional IPA. NEIPA sub genre is fairly new, and people do like them. Although I have never tried one.

With everyone's taste being a little different is there a set standard that this is a "NEIPA". I have not reviewed the category in judging terms either.

I do feel the IPA category has definitely sub tiered into many things (see heavy metal genres); not at all a bad thing but gets convoluted with many varieties and in some cases something great happens.
 
OleBrewing said:
With everyone's taste being a little different
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Indeed, the heart of the matter.

In a previous thread linked earlier, the OP is not a big fan of Bell's Two Hearted but really likes Old Rasputin citing a score of 95 on Beer Advocate. Yet, Bell's Two Hearted also has a score of 95 on Beer Advocate and more ratings behind it.

One man's trash is another man's treasure applies in many different ways.
 
whoaru99 said:
Indeed, the heart of the matter.

In a previous thread linked earlier, the OP is not a big fan of Bell's Two Hearted but really likes Old Rasputin citing a score of 95 on Beer Advocate. Yet, Bell's Two Hearted also has a score of 95 on Beer Advocate and more ratings behind it.

One man's trash is another man's treasure applies in many different ways.
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I would say two hearted is a great example of American IPA. rich malt and hoppiness and they compliment each other.

I look at beer similar to cooking. Each ingredient should not over power the other, but there again there are some dishes that say this is garlic this and one would come to conclusion that garlic should be up front. a good chef would make garlic up front but not overpower the main ingredient.
 
day_trippr said:
Yup, definitely has no staying power...
https://pintpleaseblog.wordpress.com/2023/06/30/beer-trends-of-q2-2023-neipa-climbs-to-the-top/
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That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a persistent backwater style for years now. I don’t consider it a fad, because it hasn’t ever been popular enough to be called one. More a niche. It’s so millennial and as much lazy as hazy. A kind of hazing craze. I suspect American craft beer would have been more successful today had it not stumbled down a murky path.
 
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Yesfan said:
I'm kinda falling off the hazy band wagon. Don't get me wrong, I like them but I've noticed a hazy = heartburn trend for me lately. I don't get that with other IPAs.
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Aside from heartburn, I also get intestinal distress from hazy beers.


It only took me a few years to put those coincidences together.


Aside from the occasional Fiddlehead, clear beers for me from now on.
 
NEIPAs may be on an overrated list, but they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. At least not around me. I'm in CT, and although lagers and lighter beers are trending upwards, all the local breweries by me say their NEIPAs sell 3 to 1 to every other style. Just because something is overrated doesn't mean it's going away. Cheesy teeny bob pop music is terrible, yet it thrives lol.

The issue is the market is oversaturated with them. So there tends to be a lot of bad versions out in public. Again, to reference music, most musicians who take their craft super seriously probably hate most mainstream pop music made on a computer. Just like most super serious brewers hate to see such generic, bad examples of a beer style taking up 3/4 of refrigerator space at the local package store.

If you ever get to try a really good example of a NEIPA I think you'd like it. Not Sierra Nevada or Two Roads versions. I'm talking Tree House, Trillium, Other Half, Fiden's, Sloop etc. A really well crafted NEIPA is not just a fruit juice bomb. It has bitterness to balance out the sweetness and has a lot of interesting flavors from fresh hops.

Just my 2 cents, which most likely doesn't mean much. But, I tend to have a home brew NEIPA on tap almost all the time. It's one of my favorite styles to brew.
 
wepeeler said:
NEIPAs may be on an overrated list, but they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. At least not around me. I'm in CT, and although lagers and lighter beers are trending upwards, all the local breweries by me say their NEIPAs sell 3 to 1 to every other style. Just because something is overrated doesn't mean it's going away. Cheesy teeny bob pop music is terrible, yet it thrives lol.

The issue is the market is oversaturated with them. So there tends to be a lot of bad versions out in public. Again, to reference music, most musicians who take their craft super seriously probably hate most mainstream pop music made on a computer. Just like most super serious brewers hate to see such generic, bad examples of a beer style taking up 3/4 of refrigerator space at the local package store.

If you ever get to try a really good example of a NEIPA I think you'd like it. Not Sierra Nevada or Two Roads versions. I'm talking Tree House, Trillium, Other Half, Fiden's, Sloop etc. A really well crafted NEIPA is not just a fruit juice bomb. It has bitterness to balance out the sweetness and has a lot of interesting flavors from fresh hops.

Just my 2 cents, which most likely doesn't mean much. But, I tend to have a home brew NEIPA on tap almost all the time. It's one of my favorite styles to brew.
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I saw a Youtube vid on one of the popular brewers, Clawhammer or The Apt Brewer, doing a NEIPA that he said was a Tree House "clone". I thought it looked really cool, and it is on my list to do. I seem to remember though the brewer was doing something in the process that I was not able to do with my setup. Be darned if I can remember right now, but it just is sticking with me.

And I agree, just because something is popular doesn't make it bad. I enjoy Sierra Nevada's Hazy just like I enjoy their pale. I usually try and scope the shelves of the local Wines and more to see if there is anything new. IPA's in general are very saturated, and to be honest I have had some that were terrible. To me, what ever you like is good. So, have fun, drink responsibly and enjoy the hobby is what I say. Now, Rock On!!!!!!! LOL
 
Beer isn’t supposed to be like a ‘fruit juice bomb’. Smoothies, some cocktails, desserts, etc., but not beer. That’s not me being closed minded or denying anyone the right to buy into expressing their inner self and freedom to try alternatives to beer. It’s me denying millennials and hipsters the freedom to redefine beer that much; like carbonated chicken stock with enough fruity hops to mask the chickeness and finer qualities associated with beer. Call it what it is, heavily hopped barley-based fruity cocktails. Beer is much more subtle. If we compare NEIPA with beer, it stands out like a sore thumb and pushes typical ales and lagers into much more comparable groups, which is interesting. Ales and lagers are more comparable to each other than either is to NEIPA. I used to enjoy the occasional American craft beer years ago, when they were identifiable as beer. Now imports and local copies just seem to be murky and taste a little bit like mild vomit.
 
day_trippr said:
Hmm? Hazies have dominated the IPA market for years now...

Cheers!
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American IPAs? Yes, there might be some kind of “hop-industrial complex” thing going on. I can’t imagine why else anyone would take a perfectly decent beer and ruin it.
 
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McMullan said:
Beer isn’t supposed to be like a ‘fruit juice bomb’.
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Sez Who?
McMullan said:
It’s me denying millennials and hipsters the freedom to redefine beer that much
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And yet here you are trying to redefine beer. And, how hazy? Where do you draw the line? If you don't like them, I'm cool with that. It's your personal choice. But don't try and take my fun away.
I could draw political analogies here but won't, as it's not appropriate.
 

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