Being in the Midwest I’ve never had a dog in this fight, but I’ve never cared for the aggressive West Coast IPA style. But then we don’t have access to what would be considered the prime examples of NE style either, so hard to compare. I don’t drink a lot of IPAs at all, but if I do then Michigan breweries tend to be where I look to, Bell’s Two Hearted, more citrus than anything else, and definitely way less bitter than WC style, has been my go-to. Founders does well too with their IPAs. Are there any widely distributed NE-style IPAs that are considered both excellent and typical?
I consider Founders Centennial IPA to be very West Coast.
It’s too easy to get your head wrapped around an extreme definition for west coast. Just because extremes exist they don’t define us.
Bells Two Hearted would fit quite nicely into any lineup of local single IPAs.
The West Coast style IPAs are pretty popular on the other side of the Pacific ocean. We get a fair amount of West coast beer shipped in from the U.S. and almost all of the local breweries would make a version.
I think that the biggest threat to the west coast style is going to be the price and availability of hops, which seems to be a growing concern for brewers around the world.
I see this concern all the time, and I don’t think that it is that big of a deal. There will always be hops that are in short demand because full production doesn’t come until year 2, and there isn’t a infinite supply of rhizomes, but of the long run hops grow like mad. I don’t want to discount other issues in hop production, but for run of the mill hops, the spot market is well below forward contracts.
Interesting thread. For a bit of perspective, I live in Charlottesville, Virginia in a town with a bunch of great beer stores and a number of breweries, and I’m not sure you can lay your hands on a single bottle of NE style IPA in this town. Perhaps someone can correct me–I may be exaggerating.
So it’s definitely still “the new thing” in lots of areas, I would imagine.
A local brewery just–like last week–came out with a beer called “minute man” that attempts the NE style, but I have not yet had the pleasure and I already see people online scoffing at its relative lack of cloudiness.
Andrew,
I get have a lot of my hops (Saaz) from the Czech Republic, and I contract those out two years to insure that I have sufficient supply to brew Pils for those years. I’d recommend that all brewers insure that they have enough of the right hops to make their flagship beer. On the other hand, we generally use German Hallertauer Mittelfruh in our Helles. If I can’t those, we’ll use Hersbrucker, Spalt, Liberty, or something else. I no longer try to get forward contracts for bittering hops or our other aroma hops beside Czech Saaz. I’m pretty confident that I can find a replacement, and I’m tired of paying a premium for the forward contract.
Rick, had one of your lagers last night down in Walnut Creek, CA. Whatever hop-buying strategy you’re using is working 