NPR: The 'Haze Craze' 2/20/17

[Barley_Bob]

Hey gang, NPR has an article up today about the NE IPA trend. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but it's always interesting to see a subject of brewing interest getting national coverage.

Highlight:

...brewers may be intentionally murking up their IPAs to make them more marketable. Rumors are circulating of IPAs made hazy and viscous by the addition of flour or pectin-thick applesauce, both of which can create a milky, opaque hue in the beer without any benefits for flavor or smell.

And here's the link: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/20/515799364/the-haze-craze-beer-lovers-newfound-obsession-with-murky-ipas

 

[Weezy]

If NPR is a fake news outlet, does that mean the NE IPAs aren't a thing???

/s

j/k

 

[SoggyWood]

crazy times we live in.

 

[brewcat]

So presumably you could make a really hazy, not great beer. But some beer snob would think it was great because..."look at that haze."

 

[Barley_Bob]

So presumably you could make a really hazy, not great beer. But some beer snob would think it was great because..."look at that haze."

People like that are so transparent.

 

[JonM]

I accidentally jostled a keg of Yooper's Fizzy Yellow beer last summer and it looked like OJ for a couple of pours. Who knew I was such a trendy guy?

 

[worlddivides]

I've made some IPAs like that, but never on purpose. I just find that it's really hard to get a beer clear when you do heavy dry-hopping. Although I dry-hop 90% of the time with APAs, IPAs, and just hoppy beers in general, the few times I haven't dry-hopped, the beers have typically come up clear.

 

[Barley_Bob]

I've made some IPAs like that, but never on purpose. I just find that it's really hard to get a beer clear when you do heavy dry-hopping. Although I dry-hop 90% of the time with APAs, IPAs, and just hoppy beers in general, the few times I haven't dry-hopped, the beers have typically come up clear.

Yeah, same. My IPAs/APAs don't usually look like OJ, but they're never clear. I think that's also due in part to the fact that I don't cold crash, and I usually tend to only chill a couple of hours before I crack open a bottle (naughty, I know). I just don't care.

Which makes me trendy af.

 

[JonM]

I usually put a pound of white wheat in with an IPA, so I never bother fining them. A tad hazy? Sure. But definitely not murky/opaque/OJ.

 

[GrogNerd]

hazy is OK. murky is not

they don't have to all be crystal clear, but a glass of what appears to be an OJ & milk concoction is not appealing at all to me

but, drink whatever you want to drink, I got no right to tell you what you should put in your glass

 

[worlddivides]

I usually put a pound of white wheat in with an IPA, so I never bother fining them. A tad hazy? Sure. But definitely not murky/opaque/OJ.

That might be another factor for me too besides the dry-hopping since I also tend to put a decent amount of white wheat in my IPAs (usually less than a pound, but I've put in a pound before).

And I guess I should clarify my previous comment that my dry-hopped beers (IPAs, DIPAs, APAs, etc.) are usually quite hazy, but they never look anything remotely like OJ.

To be honest, I've never actually drank an IPA than looks like OJ or milk mixed with OJ. I've heard that some NE IPAs are like this, but I've never seen it in person, and the NE IPAs that I have had weren't like that. Personally I'm more a fan of west-coast style IPAs too (by Californian, Washington, and Oregonian breweries, for example), so... Eh.

 

[Wildcat_Brewing]

The haze craze is crazy. Don't mind a little haze even though I use gelatin on light beers but the whole flour thing is just stupid. I've seen plenty of recipes with intentional hazing, seems more like marketing a beer people aren't used to seeing so they think it's different (I happen to like a well done NE IPA)

 

[Mer-man]

Even if it has its origins in arbitrary anti- counter-isms, like so many hipster/neo-hippie things do, at least it has developed into a sub-style of IPA with characteristics other than the appearance.

 

[Barley_Bob]

That might be another factor for me too besides the dry-hopping since I also tend to put a decent amount of white wheat in my IPAs (usually less than a pound, but I've put in a pound before).

I was drinking a bottle of my most recent IPA last night, and I thought, "Hmm, this is hazy af." Then I remembered it's 60% wheat. And then I drank it. Because it's tasty, and who cares.

 

[Desertbrewer]

Good article; I like how they presented the information from Kimmich and the Trillium guys in terms of what they initially intended, separated from the hype of the thing.

Discouraging to see that most craft drinkers are still so naive to think there is a 1:1 correlation between appearance and flavor. But encouraging that the pioneers of the thing are just pursuing tasty beer. This too shall pass.

 

[mi6op]

Sounds to me that the hazy IPA has hit its peak. Expect this be known as a fad in the next few years.

 

[xCSx]

I'll keep drinking them. They're delicious.

 

[jammin]

good job, OP - you hit HBT's trigger word & rustled up the entire peanut gallery. this makes me want to revisit threads such as "glass vs. plastic carboys" or "dry vs. liquid yeast"