Meanwhile, on the east coast, craft breweries were beginning to follow the trends in beers emerging from the west coast. New hop varieties were also experimented with and became popular in IPAs including the “older” Cascade (citrusy with grapefruit) plus now there was Centennial (Cascade on steroids) and Chinook (piney & herbal, some grapefruit). Throughout the 1980s and 1990s these west coast breweries led the way in brewing innovative IPA–mostly resulting in beers that were higher in both bitterness and alcohol content. But more on that as we dive into the background of New England style IPAs.Īs I wrote in my recent blog post History of the India Pale Ale, the revived IPA by American craft brewers started in California and was boosted by other craft breweries on the west coast including Oregon and Washington, where most of America’s hops are grown. It is interesting to note that so much surrounding NEIPAs has been in contention. Even that statement was controversial just a few short years ago. NEIPA is essentially a sub style of the IPA or India Pale Ale. However, a number of names are in circulation for this style, including New England-style, Northeast IPAs, Juicy or Hazy IPA, Vermont style, or simply “Hazies.” Nevertheless, in the last few years the beer drinking community, including nascent beer imbibers, have embraced the style and vaunted their sales so much that NEIPAs are quickly becoming the leading style of beer throughout the US–and much of the world as well. Even the name is contentious: there is no official name for the NEIPA.

Wrapped in controversy since their very beginning, NEIPAs have had a well-storied path to acceptance by the brewing community as well as many beer aficionados. New England IPAs are arguably the most important recent trend in brewing–both currently and for the foreseeable future.

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