New England Style Pale Ale

  Well, it’s official. The new England style IPA is an official beer style, just ask the Beer Advocate website and the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP for short). Like it or not, the innovative nature of the craft beer industry has a history of creating new styles of beer in need of definition. What sets this style of beer apart from the “regular” IPA? For one thing, the NEIPA is unfiltered, and sold hazy. Haziness comes from a combination of dry hopping, the use of high protein grains, and a whole list of other factors.

According to the BJCP, one factor to define the NEIPA is an aggressive hop presence. That hop presence will have a more pronounced juiciness to it, than the American IPA. The intensity of hop flavors may depend on the beer’s malt presence, creating a beer with a low, moderate, or high hop profile. New England Style Pale Ale is very clear, and a rich amber in color. The beer fills my glass slightly darker than the color of ripe hay. The head is rocky, bone white, and fairly lasting.

NESPA’s aroma is very hop forward. The hop aroma is kind of citrusy, with a mix of grapefruit pith for good measure. Bready, biscuit malts lend their support, giving the citrus notes from the hops something to play off of. Beneath all this, comes a flinty, mineral quality which only helps to lend more support to the aromas of malt and hops. Citrus and bready notes combine with minerals to move into a finish that is a greener sort of hop profile. More leafy, maybe just a hint of fresh cut grass.

On the tongue, NESPA is medium bodied and assertively carbonated. CO2 helps carry the beer’s hop profile across the tongue for all your palate to enjoy. Bready malts give the flavor backbone by giving me a combination of soda crackers and toasted white bread. As malt flavors build towards the center, hops give me some flavors of citrus and lemon. All of this combines and moves towards a crisp bitterness that is assertive, bordering on aggressive. The bitter finish occupies that special place where it approaches aggressive but stops shy of being too much.

NESPA is easily worth an 8.25 out of 10. It has a lot of flavor and character, making your palate dance without bludgeoning it into submission. It’s definitely a hop lover’s dream, while having enough malt backbone to give the beer’s flavor and aroma structure and backbone. This would be a fine beer to pair with fish and chips, cream based soup, or pasta with a cream based sauce.