NIJPA

Old Dutch 'pre-craft' pioneer 't IJ, now in Moortgat's hands, attempting New England IPA, the hazy and fruity IPA style which has long overthrown the original West Coast IPA in being the dominant IPA idiom on the market globally (except for Belgium perhaps where the often enjoyable, but somehow hilariously unintentional "Belgian IPA" dominates...). One pour says enough: medium sized, off-white, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, quickly breaking but otherwise stable head on a crystal clear (!) warm old golden robe with very sparse visible sparkling - not looking like a NEIPA at all. Aroma of old onions (even stale armpit sweat) above the intended tropical aromas of slight guava (more like dried peach here) and some background pineapple (canned in this case) both thinly hovering on top of impressions of toasted garlic, freshly struck matches, old dry crackers, moist white pepper, withering leek, raw parsnip. Crisp onset, not at all juicy as a NEIPA should be, some restrained fruitiness reminiscent of green pear and unripe peach with a dash of banana, again only very thinly topped with a guava streak that comes from whatever source, all moderately carbonated but still more minerally than is custom in any kind of NEIPA. Slick, cereally and very slightly toasted maltiness, sweetish and cracker-ish, supporting an aromatically expressive hoppiness rather than completely fusing with it as it ought to be - creating notes of orange, pineapple and peach more than tropical guava or papaya, even if a kind of 'fake' tropicalness hangs around; the hops provide a white pepper-ish bitter note in the end too, much more so (and more 'traditionally' so) than in a NEIPA made correctly - and, ironically, in spite of the brewery itself explicitly stating that according to them, NEIPA is "not bitter"... Still, a pleasant sweet-sourish yellow-green fruitiness hangs around after swallowing - I would even dare to use the word 'juicy', but with a lot of reservation. Look, this brewery set up its business in the eighties, about four decades before NEIPA even came into existence, so it should not suprise anyone that they act like some boomer uncle trying to be 'hip' among millennials and that seems to be what is going wrong here: though by no means an unpleasant beer, it is not a NEIPA at all - it does not even qualify as one in the margins of the genre and it is of little use trying to see this as a true NEIPA. This is essentially (and historically understandably) a Belgian IPA of sorts - read: a Belgian blonde with updated hops - made a little bit less bitter and aromatised with something guava-ish (vaguely at least). Viewed that way, an odd construction which is bound to severely disappoint consumers expecting a proper NEIPA - clearly reflected in the ratings here. I, for a change, will be a bit less harsh towards it, because it does taste quite agreeable - whenever a beer misses its intended style I feel obliged to subtract points for that, but if it is nonetheless a decent beer, this will be only symbolic, and that is basically the case here for me. So, in short: not a NEIPA (or 'NIJPA' as they put it - adding insult to injury) but a very drinkable ale as such.

16/IV/25 - 33cl can from Albert Heijn supermarket (Oostakker), shared @ holiday in France, BB: 29/I/26, 08:28, B001 (2025-363)

Clear blond yellow beer, small creamy white head, unstable, dissipates quickly. Aroma: nice, pretty fruity, citrus, grapefruit, sweet mango, tropical fruits, oranges, zesty, nice! MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: good bitterness up front, citrus, some grapefruit, pretty grassy, a little herbal, hoppy, minty touch. Aftertaste: slightly sourish, pretty watery, a bitter touch, somewhat piny, fruity, gentle sweetness in the finish, ok beer, but not very convincing as a NEIPA.

Nijpa met lange ij moet je niet verwarren met Neipa met korte ei. Deze is niet zo hazy en ook wel een beetje bittertjes. Anyway. Deze kekke macro IPA was prima te doen. Niet geweldig lekker of indrukwekkend maar het klokte weg als een glas water.

Bottle from a local supermarket. Aroma is fruity hops with grass, zesty citrus, some tropical notes, pineapple, pale malt. Flavour is light to moderate bitter and light sweet. Body is medium. As expected nothing smashing from 't IJ, that said a fine IPA.

On tap at Brouwerij ‘t IJ, Amsterdam on 29th November 2024. Translucent haziness of gold, with shallow off-white foam and full lacing. Tangy citrus aroma. Spiced citrus zest in-mouth, a finish of grapefruit and tangerine orange. Light bodied with a smooth mouthfeel.

(Draught at Brouwerij 't Ij, Amsterdam, 19 July 2024) Hazy golden colour with frothy, white head. Fruity, hoppy nose with grapefruit, apricots, pine needles and tropical fruit. Fruity, hoppy taste with notes of citrus, grapefruit, apricots, pine needles, tropical fruit, soft malt and a balanced citric/piney bitterness. Medium body, with a touch of sweetness. Juicy and refreshing. Nice one.

Bottle. Color: Hazy golden, white head. Aroma: Pineapple, tropical fruit. Taste: Tropical fruit (pineapple, guave). Fruity hop. Light bitterness, over moderate sweet. Medium body, average carbonation. Very fruit-forward. Easy drinkable fruity NEIPA for the mass.