Serve in a teku at 5-8 °C
What it tastes like
New England IPA, often just called hazy, turned the IPA idea around. Instead of bitterness, it chases hop aroma and a soft, almost fluffy body. Brewers add most hops late, in the whirlpool and as heavy dry hops, often while the beer is still fermenting. Oats and wheat in the grist add body and help keep the beer cloudy.
It looks like orange juice, and it smells a bit like it too: mango, passion fruit, peach, citrus pith. Bitterness is low, so the beer reads as juicy rather than sharp. The yeast is usually a fruity English type that adds stone fruit to the hop character.
The haze is the style, but haze alone does not make it good. A fresh hazy is bright and fruity. An old one goes dull, sweet and slightly onion like, and the colour darkens toward brown as it oxidises. No beer style punishes age and heat faster, so it is a beer to drink close to the brewery.
Style profile
- Look
- Pale yellow to deep gold, fully hazy and opaque, with a thick, soft white head.
- Aroma and flavour
- Mango, passion fruit, peach and citrus from late hops, soft bready malt, a little stone fruit from the yeast.
- Mouthfeel
- Medium to full, soft and creamy from oats and wheat, moderate carbonation, low bitterness and a smooth finish.
- Ingredients
- Pale malt with oats and wheat, hops such as Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy or Nelson Sauvin used late and in dry hops, a fruity ale yeast, chloride rich water.
In India
Hazy IPAs have caught on fast in India, and several packaged brands and brewpubs now pour one. They are also the most fragile beers in the cold chain: a few days in a hot truck can kill the aroma and darken the beer. Buy from a fridge, check the canning date and do not age it. Fresh, it is a great summer afternoon beer.
At the Indian table
Food pairings contributed by Anuradha Rao
- Kerala karimeen pollichathuFruity hops echo the green chilli and lime, and the soft body cushions the spice.
- Pav bhajiJuicy, low bitterness beer suits the buttery, tangy vegetable mash.
- Chicken tikkaSmoky char plus tropical hops, with low bitterness so the chilli does not flare.
- Aamras with puriMango on mango, the beer's fruit and the pulp in the bowl.
Brewed in India
- Sunny Afternoon, Great State Aleworks, Pune source
- Second Haze, Great State Aleworks, Pune source
- Geist New-England Style IPA, Geist Brewing Co., Bengaluru source
Want the long read? New England IPA