As the IPA style continues to evolve, Michael Donaldson picks hops as a major influence in what lies ahead...

I’m often asked about trends in beer. Like many I’ve said in the past: the lager renaissance (happening slowly); the rise of sours (yeah-nah); the demise of hazies (not happening, but maybe they are treading water).

I’ve never been a great tipster. If I was, no doubt I would be retired and sitting somewhere shady while reading this, rather than writing it!

But in all seriousness, there is one trend I feel confident about – and that’s the next step in the IPA evolution.

Right now, IPA is incredibly hard to define. The world cannot even agree on what exactly a West Coast IPA should be – and that’s an iconic style. The traditional West Coast IPA has spawned a bunch of descendants such as Cold, Californian, Brut, or Bright. And to some extent, New Zealand IPAs are increasingly resembling American IPAs.

And there are breweries deliberately bridging the gap between West Coast IPA and East Coast/New England IPA (aka hazy) with the creation of Mountain IPA and other hybrids. Plus, we’ve been through the colours: Black, Red, Brown and White.

But what I’m seeing increasingly is the identification of hop varieties in IPAs and I think we’ll see brewers drill down further into that and start creating IPAs that are not so much bounded by style but by the hops themselves.

A few years ago, it was common for breweries to say little about the hop varieties they used. Perhaps that had a little bit to do with guarding intellectual property, or – more likely – they thought it was information that punters didn’t need to know.

These days, it’s almost essential to have the hop varieties listed on the back of the can. And, in some cases, they will be on the front of the can as well.

Nectaron and Superdelic, from NZ Hops Ltd, are two hop varieties that lend themselves to getting promo’d on the front of labels. Even trial hop releases, such as those with NZH-106 and NZH-110, can be a real lure for the ever-curious beer drinker.

We also see this with the world’s most popular hops: Mosaic, Citra and – to a lesser extent – Simcoe.

As drinkers become more refined and gain more knowledge, they start to know which hop varieties they like and dislike. For some, just the word “Mosaic” is enough to drive a purchase. And who doesn’t love Nelson Sauvin?

Personally, I’m a big fan of the American hop Amarillo and if I see a beer made with Amarillo I am drawn to it for its peachy-orange character. With New Zealand varieties, seeing “Riwaka” on a label is enough to get my attention.

Sabro on the other hand, with its coconut character, is one that I’d be disinclined to try, although it does work incredibly well to create a “pina colada” effect in hazy beers.

If you’re not sure which hops you prefer, trying a single-hopped beer is a great place to start. Plenty of breweries do Mosaic and Citra single-hopped beers, and in coming weeks there will be a swag of fresh hops beers featuring the likes of Nelson Sauvin, Nectaron and Riwaka, which is a great way to explore the character of these hops.

So, for 2024 my hope is that more breweries list the hops (ideally I’d love to know the percentages of each used, but that might be giving too much away) in their IPAs.

Let’s make it a trend! 

Michael Donaldson is a Beer Writer of the Year, journalist and author

beernation.co.nz