![]() These are very full-bodied beers that pour opaque in the glass. These are gaining popularity, much to the chagrin of some hop-purists but to the delight of lovers of light, creamy and flavorful beers. You’ll love to enjoy a nice and cloudy New England IPA on a hot summer day by the pool or at the beach.Įxamples: Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing, Blue Point Hazy Bastard IPA New England IPA (Hazy Little Thing)Ī popular spinoff from the New England IPA that deserves some note is the Milkshake IPA. The NEIPA or New England IPA tends to be very juicy, hazy and smooth with a lower hop profile. Using more complex varieties of yeast, brewers are able to coax out hints of tasty flavors such as banana, tropical fruit, and citrus. On the East Coast, the hops tend to be a little more subdued than in West Coast IPAs. This isn’t a favorite style of mine, and certainly one of the less common styles of IPA, but it could make a good intro beer for the wine lover.Įxamples: Sierra Nevada Brut IPA, New Belgium Brut IPA Brut IPA (New Belgium) This extremely dry, very crisp, almost wine-like IPA is created by using a unique enzyme called amyloglucosidase that used to be used only in stouts.īrut IPAs tend to be very light in color and have an appearance that is similar to a glass of chardonnay or champagne. In the world of wine, Brut means very dry. These beers will continue with the trend of heavy punches of dank, earthy, flavor from the “big C” hops and subtle piney and citrusy finishes.Įxamples: Three Floyds Deadnaught IPA, Stone Ruination IPA Imperial IPA (Deadnaught IPA) Usually the alcohol content is higher as well, often in the 9% to 13% range. Stronger and more bitter, with loads more hoppy flavor, doubles, triples and imperials are basically amped up versions of the West Coast IPA. In true American style, the evolution of the IPA continues to go bolder and more aggressive with the development of the Imperial IPA. These beers will often be labelled simply as IPAs, as this is basically the truest original American IPA.Įxamples: Green Flash Palate Wrecker, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA West Coast IPA (Sculpin IPA) If you consider yourself a real “hophead”, you will probably love a good West Coast IPA. ![]() Often using Citra, Chinook, or Cascade hops, these are notoriously bitter and citrusy beers with fantastic earthiness and piney aromas. The West Coast IPA stays closer and truer to the English IPA than many other styles, but it uses American varieties of hops and often infuses some bolder flavors. It will usually be a golden brown in color and have a very dry finish with ABV between 6-7%.Įxamples: Three Floyds Blackheart, Sixpoint Bengali IPA English IPA (Bengali IPA) Less common in America today, the English IPA uses exclusively English varieties of hops and is usually grassy and earthy with a hint of citrus. ![]() We begin with the one started it all, the old India Pale Ale from England. While IPAs can still be characterized mostly by their use of an abundance of hops, the flavors have become more complex and varied. Craft brewers have been having fun and learning to brew the style in new and creative ways. Today, the India Pale Ale has been fully let out of its box. Together, the hoppy and bitter combination works beautifully and creates the lovely taste profile that we love so much about an IPA. Generally, hoppiness is used to describe the earthy, sometimes even grassy or piney aromas and flavors that come from the actual hop. Session IPAs also tend to be lower in IBUs, yet higher in hop flavor due to how they are brewed. This has a lot to do with the types of hops used and at what point in the brewing process the hops are added.Ī Wet Hop IPA, for example, can be a lot more hop-forward by using fresh hops. The IBUs of a beer don’t necessarily directly correlate with the hoppy flavor.Ī beer with high IBUs will always be bitter, but it won’t always be really hoppy.Ĭonversely, a beer can have lower IBUs and a distinct hoppy flavor. When talking about “hoppiness” in an IPA, you’re going to be discussing the true flavor that is imparted by the hops themselves. The hops are giving this particular taste to IPAs While the bitterness in an IPA is derived from its hops, brewers are getting very good at drawing the true flavors out of the hops that give it a distinct “hoppy flavor” that can be discerned separately from the overall bitterness. This often measured in IBUs or International Bitterness Units. India Pale Ales are generally characterized by the flavor derived from the hops. Lifelong beer habitue and homebrew artisan
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