Three Boys brewer Ralph Bungard looks into a cloudy glass and finds much to like about a good New England IPA.

Craft brewers have been at the forefront of exposing consumers to what seems like an ever-expanding range of beer styles. It was not that long ago in New Zealand where, to paraphrase Henry Ford, you could have any beer style you liked – as long as it was brown NZ draft!

That was pretty much New Zealand beer in a nutshell up until the late 1990s and early 2000s, before the appearance of new-wave craft brewers. Rather than compete with cheap “factory” brews, these pioneers tapped into the market of those who were looking for something different.

Just like here in New Zealand, craft breweries worldwide became the go-to for new and exciting beer styles and it triggered what could be seen as a brewing “arms race” – who could make the most outrageous style?

One of the most recent introductions to the brewers’ arsenal is New England IPA (or NEIPAs to those in the know). Born in the New England states of the USA, these beers are packed full of hops that bring flavours of pine, citrus and tropical fruits. However, by far their defining characteristic is their cloudiness. We are not just talking hazy, like in a well-made Belgian wheat (Wit) beer, we are talking milkshake cloudy!

The cloudiness is created by using high-protein, high-starch grains combined with haze-forming compounds that naturally occur in hops, and then leaving out all the steps that brewers normally take to create a clear beer. It gives big, mouth-filling flavours matched with full-noise hop aroma!

At Three Boys Brewery, our take on the NEIPA style is our Alpha Juice. At 6.3% alcohol, its big and bold hop aroma and flavour are matched to the rich, mouth-filling characteristics that the protein haze brings.
It certainly requires a mindset adjustment for those used to seeing beer as crystal-clear, but I’d recommend you give it a try.

threeboysbrewery.co.nz