Modern Methods , my local brewery, has this really good New England IPA that’s called hopfart. NEIPA is really not my favorite style – sorry, Bobby – but this one is pretty good.
The ur-NEIPA is Alchemist Brewing Heady Topper. For those of you that I know likes beer and doesn’t know the story – which is, maybe, an audience of one? – Heather, Corey and I went to Vermont in 2013 and had a wonderful time in Burlington. Very walkable town with much good food and beer. Went to Magic Hat; I worshipped at Greg Noonan’s Vermont Pub and Brewery; drove to Ben and Jerry’s. On our way back to the VRBO there was this sign that said ‘Alchemist Brewery, so I turned right. And there were people lined up to get beer. There was apparently a two-case limit of this beer called ‘Heady Topper’, which was apparently a thing – and I just didn’t know it. See here
We got a four-pack and took it back. That was probably a sin.
NEIPAs have very little bitterness and a huge amount of hops aroma. Hops are very insoluble, so if you want bitterness you need to add them early in the boil, and if you want aroma you add them late. a typical NEIPA is all late hop addition, and massive quantities of that.
But anyway, I digress as much as it is possible to digress.
Hopfart is a good NEIPA, and along with it came a graphic novel. I have trained myself not to say ‘Comic Book’.
Adam, *please* get excited about hops again! <old man> When I started brewing, there were five hops. Now there are five hundred! </old man> But I get the IPA thing. Soon I will be travelling to a small town brewery where there are no IPAs, and five Saisons.
The fad popularity behind the NEIPA seems to have died down a bit with the likes of sours, black IPAs, and *gasp* hard seltzers. I wouldn’t even include hard seltzers and sours with a list of beers but just about every brewery I go into is doing it, but now I digress.
It’s still my favorite style beer currently with the DIPA right behind it. That all started with your heady topper story and my inability to recognize that $80 was too much to pay someone in Vermont to ship it. I trust your opinion in beer more than your expertise in IT and that is saying something. Let’s just say if I have to argue which provisioning storage or which type of glassware is appropriate for a beer style, well you know my route.